Emmanuel, God with Us

Last year my husband gave me Willow Tree's Nativity Set for Christmas. It was something that I really wanted, and when I opened the box, I was overjoyed that he had given it to me.

I love the Christmas Story. I love the reminder that the birth of Christ has been foretold by the prophets and that it actually came to pass in such a miraculous way. I love the thought of miracles, and I love the peace of knowing that when God sent Jesus to earth, He sent Him as our Emmanuel, which being interpreted means, "God with Us."

As my husband was putting the decorations away last year, he asked me what I would like to do with the Nativity Set.

"Could we leave it up? It looks so beautiful on the mantle."

"Sure, I guess," he said, then he asked me this question, "Do you think it is kind of strange to leave up a Nativity Set all year?" I mean, after all, as a Baptist preacher he is well aware that Jesus coming as a baby was only the start of His ministry ~ what He did as an adult and on the cross is really the significant part.

"No, I really don't. You see, to me, the Nativity scene is special because it reminds me of a very comforting truth found in Matthew chapter one . . . they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Every time I look at this beautiful Nativity set that you bought me, I am reminded that God is with me."

He continued to pack up all the other Christmas decorations and put everything away, but the Nativity Set stayed up, and to be honest with you, its message has brought me comfort during every month of this year.

In January its message strengthened me when my Dad was suffering stroke after stroke. Don't be afraid, the little Nativity Set reminded me, God is with Him.

In February its message comforted me when my oldest daughter turned 27 and she was discouraged because she wasn't dating seriously at the time. Don't be discouraged, the little Nativity Set reminded me, God is with her.

In March its message supported me when I became ill with pneumonia for the first time in my life and had to miss attending Pastors School with my husband and church family. Don't become anxious about this thing, the little Nativity Set whispered to me, God is with you.

In April and May its message comforted me when I went through my first shoulder surgery and suffered through the worst pain that I have ever experienced in my life, and then had to endure the stress of painful physical therapy sessions three times a week. Don't be overwhelmed, the Nativity Set reminded me, God is with you.

In June its message encouraged me as the relationship between Kina and Jonathan grew stronger and we could tell that they were falling in love. "See how good God is?" the little Nativity Set silently shouted to me, "I told you God was with her".

In July its message brought peace to me and the precious heart of a dear friend as she buried her son that passed away. Because of Me, the Nativity Set reminded us, the young man was able to get saved and is walking on the streets of gold in Heaven today.

In August its message brought hope as my husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary with a special tour of different places in Michigan. Faith is the victory, the little Nativity Set reminded me ~ God has been with you, and you have become a happy Christian couple because of Him.

In September its message comforted me once again as I experienced the painful recovery of yet another shoulder surgery this year. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me", the little Nativity Set silently sang its sweet message to me, reminding me that because God is with me, I am never suffering alone. And then it turned around and encouraged me when my daughter called to tell us that she got engaged to the man she loves. Emmanuel, God is with us.

In October its message fortified me as I took a group of women to Ladies Spectacular and then trusted God for the strength to encourage Moms of grown children in a talk I gave at that ladies meeting. Remember, when you are weak, God is strong, the little Nativity Set reminded me, as it stressed to me the importance of God being with me during this time of needing supernatural strength.

In November its message caught me off guard when I encountered serious complications following what was to be a simple operation to remove a kidney stone. God is your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, the little Nativity reminded me as I saw God not only be with me, but be with the doctors that were taking care of me as well.

And this month, as I continue to gaze into the meaning of the little Nativity Set that is now sitting on top of the desk in my home office, I am reminded of the truth that God has spoken to me in II Corinthians 12:9, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

As I think back about the many events that took place this year, I have come to the conclusion that this was a most wonderful year. A most wonderful year? What? Am I crazy?

No, I'm not crazy, I am just a woman that has become convinced, from the message that has been spoken to me from this beautiful little Nativity Set this year, "That neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Emmanuel, God with Us. He is with you, and He has been with me too. Through the ups. Through the downs. Through the spinning of wheels and going round and round. The Nativity reminds us that His name shall be called Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us.

Productive Days

Monday morning I woke up and decided that it was high time that I began to do my own work around this house again. So many people have been so helpful (especially my daughter Sabrina and our cleaning lady Dana), but no matter how helpful people are, there is nothing like doing your own work yourself.

I have not been officially "released from light duty" so I have been working slowly through my housework 'to do' list.

On Monday I mopped the kitchen and hallway floors, dusted the living room, dining room, office and kids room and swept and cleaned the laminate floors. I also washed a couple loads of towels and made dinner. I started the afternoon off with physical therapy, and by the end of the day I was spent, but it was a good spent. I took a hot bath, some pain medicine and went to bed at an early hour.

Today I have been able to do four loads of laundry, dust and vacuum my room and the whole downstairs and embroider aprons for the hospitality ministry and work shirts for the maintenance department at church. Later tonight I will type up my Sunday School lesson and Bible Study notes for Friday.

Tomorrow my plans are to clean both bathrooms and the laundry room. That should just about cover all the rooms in the house for now. I might even try going grocery shopping in the afternoon :).

On Thursday I have physical therapy again and my goal is to get my hair trimmed and finish my Christmas shopping on that day. We'll see how well I am holding up by then :).

It has been so long since I have enjoyed genuine productive days working around this house. It feels so good to be back in the swing of doing my own house work again.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to the Caribbean We Go!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, in January it's off to the Caribbean we go!

This past September, our church family pitched to purchase us a trip to the Caribbean as an surprise gift to celebrate Pastor Dave's 8th anniversary at our church. Our son in law Jeremy was responsible for organizing this, and I want to publicly thank him for doing this.

I am so excited about this vacation! I have been to the Bahamas once, but I have never been to the Western Caribbean area. I love to see new sights. I love to enjoy vacation time with my husband. And we both enjoy the wonderful feel of warm weather ~ especially smack dab in the middle of winter.

Last week we mailed off the stuff to get our passports. We should be getting them back in a few weeks. Our summer clothes are within arms reach, and come the middle of January ~ let the packing and traveling begin!

God always takes care of those that serve Him in such a special way. No matter how much money my husband gives away each year (to the church or to the people of the church), God makes sure that there is always a way for us to get away for some rest and refreshment at least twice a year.

I'm so thankful for such a kind and giving church family. They have been so generous to us. We love and appreciate you so very much!

A Kindred Spirit

A few weeks ago I began talking to a young lady who was being cared for on the physical therapy table next to mine. The physical therapist that works with me said that this young lady needed some encouragement, so I thought I might try and make a friend out of her while I was there.

As I began talking to her, I found her to be a delightful young lady. She seemed happy and positive and a sweet young bride to be looking forward to her wedding day that was coming up in a few short months.

"I didn't know you were engaged," our mutual physical therapist said to her one day as we were laying on our tables side by side."

"Well, you never asked. Mrs. Julie asked me about it, so that's how she knows."

The fact that she is engaged is not the only thing I have learned about this delightful young lady in the past many weeks . . . I have learned that she is a born again Christian too.

As we were working on the machines one day, I asked her what she was planning on doing with her master's degree when she finished her studies.

"Oh, probably work in some counseling center," she said.

And then a few minutes later, when no one was around, she leaned over to me and said, "I would really like to work in a Crisis Pregnancy Center helping people who struggle with those issues, but I don't dare say that around here, because . . . well, you know how everyone around here thinks."

I knew exactly what she meant. As much as I have tried to enjoy my time at physical therapy this year, it has been so discouraging to listen to all the talk about people living together, going to bars, the loud rock music and the crude jokes that are passed.

I thought it was precious that this whole worldly environment bothered my young friend too.

Then one day, as we were talking about God, her upcoming marriage and church, our physical therapist looked at us and said, "Boy, you two sure have seemed to hit it off."

"That's because we both love Jesus!" my young delightful friend shouted.

"That's right," I shouted too. And then I looked into the eyes of my physical therapist that I have been witnessing too for the past eight months, "We are kindred spirits because we both love the Lord."

When I said this, my physical therapist, who is a very nice typical worldly lady just looked at me with a little mist in her eyes and said nothing. She knows that she needs the Lord. It's just so hard for her to let go of the world.

A few minutes later, my dear young friend was told to do some yoga move on the mat on the floor. She looked up at me and whispered, "I don't like anything to do with yoga. They say that it has to do with some eastern religious stuff and I'm totally against that kind of stuff."

I smiled at her and thought to myself, "And I'm totally FOR Christians that love God like you do!"

As I was getting ready to leave that day, my young friend shouted, "Bye BFF!"

In all my years of living, no one has ever called me a BFF. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even sure I knew what it meant. But after asking around, I have come to learn that it means Best Friends Forever.

Best Friends Forever. That's what me and my new delightful young friend have become since we both love the Lord and are not ashamed to show it.

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:3

Spiritual Conversations with a Silly Little Boy . . . Well, Sort Of

"Mommy," little Conner said to his Mommy the other day, "Will you tell me about Jonah?"

"Sure Conner, I will tell you about Jonah." And she told him about Noah.

"Will you tell me about Noah?"

"Yes, I will." And she told him about Noah.

"Will you tell me about poop?"

"Why not?" And she told him about poop.

"Mommy, will you tell me about God?"

"Yes, I would love to," his Mommy said. "God is the creator of everything and He lives in Heaven and He loves you so very much."

"Does he love ALL of me?" Conner asked in his sweetest little three year old voice.

"Yes, he does. God loves all of you."

"Even my bo*bies?" Conner said with a grin and a giggle. Bo*bies is his new shock word and he is enjoying every moment of saying it.

"Yes Conner, God even loves your bo*bies," his Mommy replied with a sigh. I'm sure at this point she was starting to think this conversation needed to be replaced with eating a snack, playing with trains, or something that would bring some sense back into the thoughts of this silly little boy.

"Mommy?" Conner asked again, "Will you tell me about Jesus?"

"Why certainly. I would love to tell you about Jesus." And then she went on to tell him about how Jesus came to earth as the Saviour of the world. How all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

And then she told Conner about how he could trust Jesus as his Saviour and how he could someday live forever with Jesus in Heaven after he died.

"Conner, would you like to live up in Heaven with Jesus someday?"

Conner thought about it for a few moments and then said . . .

"Uh no. I think I would rather live at Collin's house instead."

:)

Special Prayers for a Special Man

Today at 11:30 a.m. my daughter's father in law will have open heart surgery. The surgery is scheduled to last all day long and maybe even into the night. Because Jerry's stress testing and EKG showed that he has experienced three heart attacks previous to this, the surgeon has made it clear to the family that this procedure is risky. There is a chance that his heart will not be strong enough to endure.

This a fearful day for Jerry and Emmy. They are wonderful Christian folks, but like you and I, they are human folks. They are trusting the Lord, they have accepted His Will . . . but still, there is fear.

They need our prayers. Would you join me in praying for this dear man today? Pray that God's mercy would overshadow him and the surgical team that will be operating on him. Pray that God will strengthen his body. And please pray that God will strengthen the spirit of his precious wife that will be in the waiting room close by.

My son in law has the best parents. These are those "salt of the earth" kind of people. They are wonderful servants at their church. They have been so kind and good to our daughter. They are so loving to the grandkids. They are such good friends to others.

Yesterday was Jerry's birthday. He spent the day with his family. He asked the doctor if he could enjoy one more birthday celebration before he have this surgery. The doctor agreed.

But today is the day. My husband will go over this morning and pray with him. I'm sure his Pastor will be there too. Jeremy and Sabrina will be there too.

I will be here . . . praying and praying and praying. Thank you for your willingness to pray with me today about this too.

*Update: Jerry came through the surgery fine and is now in recovery. PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD. Thank you so much for praying. "The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much."

Hayden & the Potty Chair

Last night our telephone rang a little after 10:00 p.m..

"It's Sabrina," I said.

"How do you know?" my husband answered as he walked towards the phone.

"It's her ring."

I have my telephone programmed with special rings for each one of my family members. Sabrina's sounds like a bird chirping because I always called her my "tweety bird".

"Hi Sabrina," I heard my husband say as he picked up the phone, "Really? That's great! Here, tell your Mom the good news."

"Hi Sabrina," I said as I was handed over the phone.

"Guess what Mom? Hayden went poo in the potty chair!"

"Wow! That's terrific! He is such a smart little boy. Only 15 months old and is already going poo in the potty chair."

Grandmas and a Mommies get very excited about things like this.

"How did it happen?" I asked.

"I saw that he had that "look" like he had to go, so I just took his diaper off and sat him on the potty chair. Then I showed him how to strain his face and push and they he did it. It was that easy. After he was finished I gave him an M& M and a few minutes later he was ready to do it again."

Sabrina is onto something, because Hayden will do anything for an M&M.

"That's amazing. Good for you. Good for him. That's great. Thanks for letting us know."

"Isn't that great about Hayden going poo in the potty chair?" I asked my husband after I hung up the phone.

"It sure is! He is an amazing little guy! Such an amazing little guy."

I guess Grandmas and Mommies aren't the only ones that get excited over these kinds of things . . . Grandpas (and probably Daddies) get excited over them too :).

Parenting Advice from a Three Year Old

"Mommy," Conner said to Sabrina one morning a few weeks ago, "You don't need to sp*nk me today."

"I wasn't planning on it unless you did something naughty."

"Well, the Bible says that you shouldn't sp*nk your children."

"As a matter of fact," Sabrina said in response, "The Bible says that I should sp*nk my children." And then showed him in the book of Proverbs where it said that.

"No it doesn't," he retorted. Not even showing him God's Word could convince him it did :).

Then the next day she was holding baby Hayden and Conner looks at her and says, "Mommy, that's my brother, and you better be nice to him!"

"I am nice to him," she told him.

"Then you better not sp*nk him!" he says in return.

Sabrina just looked and smiled. Obviously the consequence of all this obedience training has been starting to weigh heavily on this little fellows mind.

Then a few days later Conner walks up to her and says, "You don't need to sp*nk me today."

"I wasn't planning on it," she tells him, "Unless of course you are planning on being naughty."

Seeing that this tactic didn't work, he tried a new one when he got up the next day.

"Mommy, thank you for sp*nking me."

"I haven't sp*nked you today."

"I know, and you don't need to either."

Funny little fellow. Already trying to work his way out of needing to be corrected for his transgressions.

Then at Sunday dinner this past week she tells me that now when she has to give baby Hayden a little swat on the hand Conner runs up to her and says, "Good job Mommy. You are doing a good job as a Mommy!"

Children say the funniest things. And I'm beginning to think that three year old little boys seem to say the funniest things of all :).

Of Course I Work

As many of you know, I have been in and out of many, many doctor offices, physical therapy sessions, and hospital admission stations this year. As I have been reflecting over the past ten months of being in and out of these places, one thought has amused me ~ every time I have had to fill out some sort of questionnaire with them, I have had to explain to them that "Yes, I Do Work."

Here is how the conversation always goes . . .

"What is your occupation and who is your employer?"

"My occupation is home keeper and my employer is my husband."

"Oh," said with a everything they can muster into a kindhearted glare, "So, you don't work."

"Of course I work. I work at home for my husband."

"But you don't get paid for the work, do you?"

"Sure, I do. I get paid every week. And in addition to my weekly pay, I receive monthly room and board, medical and dental coverage, a new wardrobe twice a year, access to a beautiful car, and two weeks of paid vacation. And that doesn't even include my Christmas bonus :)."

At this point they usually smile, and agree with me that I have a pretty good job. One time a lady even told me that I had the BEST job because in her eyes mine was the most important work.

To which I told her, "No, mine is not the most important work. Everyone's work is important. What you do is just as important as what I do. That is why we should all work hard and do things well. But I do appreciate your acknowledgment of the fact that, yes, I do work."

You know, I'm not one of those home keepers that has an axe to grind with anybody. I don't go around making an issue of home work being the hardest work, the only work, or the only important work.

But I do believe it is work. And because I believe that it is work, I do my part to stand for the right of having it recorded as so in the paper work that I must file and the interview questions that I must answer.

Whatever God has called you to do, be proud of what you do. Do it with diligence and do it with excellence. Give yourself a reason to stand and be counted when asked if you work.

"Of course I work," I always answer when the question is asked, and then I tell them, "My husband is my employer and I work at home. Been there for the past 28 years. The pay is great and the benefits are out of this world." :)

Sunday Dinner with Baby Hayden

I've been learning something about Hayden and his eating habits over the past few weeks since we have been having family dinners together on Sundays . . . Hayden doesn't mind eating savory food as long as he can feed himself . . . and he doesn't mind being fed if you are feeding him something sweet!

This past Sunday we had lasagna (made by my dear friend Donna Parker), and I gave Hayden a fork and a small piece that I had cut up and he ate the whole thing one "forkful" at a time!

Hayden is amazing with the fork. For a one year old, he has amazing hand and eye coordination. What he isn't able to stab with the fork, he picks up with his opposite hand and puts it on the fork so he can eat it.

But when it comes to eating ice cream, M&M's, or even pumpkin pie (as we learned this past Sunday) ~ Hayden is happy to sit still on your lap and open his mouth wide :).

Hayden has the most adorable personality. He notices just about everything and points to things that he wants and things that he sees that aren't right. The Sunday before last I forgot to put the gate up before he came, and when he walked in the foyer and saw the stairway open, he looked up at everyone, pointed his finger and grunted as if to tell us, "Hey, you forgot to put the gate up today!".

Children are a blessing from the Lord, and grandchildren are such a special blessing ~ that's for sure!

Elmo & A Big Chicken

Yesterday Sabrina and her family joined us for Sunday dinner and I had the opportunity to sit with Conner at the kitchen table during the meal time.

"Gramma," he began, "I'm so thirsty. Can I have something to drink?"

"Yes, you can," I told him, then I asked him what he would like.

He wanted apple juice. Of course.

So I reached in my cupboard and grabbed one of the disposable cups with a straw and lid that I had purchased for him to drink from and poured him a drink.

"Gramma, who is this on the cup?" he asked me.

"It is a picture of Elmo and Big Bird," I told him.

"No, this is not a picture of Elmo and Big Bird," he said to me so matter-of-factly, "It is a picture of Elmo and a Big Chicken."

I couldn't help but start laughing. I find the practicality of a three year old little mind absolutely hilarious at times.

"But they call him Big Bird," I said.

"No, he's a big chicken. This is Elmo and a Big Chicken."

:)

Then later on in the day while we were eating an apple together the refrigerator made a loud noise.

"What's that noise Gramma?"

"The refrigerator just made a loud noise."

"Is there someone in there?"

"No, there is no one in there."

"I better go see. I think there is someone in there."

So he walks over to the refrigerator and opens the door very slowly and looks in.

"It's fine. There's nobody in there."

I just started laughing again. He hasn't figured out yet that a person couldn't exist two seconds shut up in the refrigerator.

This reminded me of a time when Kina was just three years old and we were driving in the car and we passed by some farm area where everything smelled real bad. She looked at us real funny and then asked my husband, "Daddy, is there a dog in the car?"

I just laughed and laughed then too. Didn't she think she would have known if there was a dog in the car? Didn't she think she would have seen him at least once? :)

Little kids say the funniest things, and one of my favorite past times for many years has been to just sit around with them and listen to them ♥.

No Littering and No Shop-Lifting

A couple of Wednesday nights ago, as Sabrina was getting Conner's car seat ready for me to use, I said to her "No littering!", teasing her as she brushed little cookie crumbs out her car door and onto the new parking lot pavement at the church.

As soon as I said this, Conner piped up and began to shout very loudly, "No littering! No littering Mommy! Pleeeeaaasssse! No littering Mommy!"

"What was that all about?" I asked Sabrina, wondering why on earth Conner reacted like that.

"Oh, we have been learning lessons on not littering lately," Sabrina said so matter-of-factly, and we have been learning lessons about not shoplifting as well."

"Not shoplifting?"

"Yes, Conner is quite the shoplifter. Just about every time we walk out of a store lately, he has something in his hand that we didn't pay for."

"Oh."

So I told him, "Conner, you can't just take things out of the store without paying for them. That is called shoplifting. Then he tells me, "But I wanted it." Well, you can't have it if you don't pay for it. That's shoplifting. And shoplifting is stealing and you will get in big trouble for doing it. To which he says to me, "Let's go pay for it, because I want it." And then I have to tell him, "No, we don't always get what we want. You must ask for it and mommy must pay for it BEFORE you take it out of the store." "Okay mommy," he says," so then we have to go back into the store and put it back. It's all a big hassle, but it is worth it to teach him to do what is right."

No littering and no shoplifting. Funny lessons to be teaching a three year old little boy.

Funny lessons, but important lessons too . . . because someday that three year old little boy is going to grow up to become a twenty year old young man . . . and his littering and shoplifting won't be a cute little matter. As a matter of fact, it will be a grave, big matter that will cause him to get fined, thrown in jail, and will make him a great burden to society.

Good citizens are not just made, they are trained. Trained to obey the laws that are laid out around them ~ whether they feel like it or not.

I'm thankful for young moms, like Sabrina, that take the time and make the effort to train their little ones to do what is right, so that when they are grown, they will know how to live right.

"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." Proverbs 14:34

Surgery Complications & Thankful on Thanksgiving

On Tuesday morning, at 6:00 a.m., my husband and I arrived at Hinsdale Hospital so that I could have my kidney stone removed.

It was supposed to be a routine surgery that would take about an hour, and when it was all said and done, we should have been home again by noon.

But the surgery turned out to be anything but routine, and the past few days have been very overwhelming . . . to say the least!

The kidney stone was impacted and infected. It had to be shattered and a part of it pierced a hole in my ureter tube. The doctor had to put in a long stent. And when the anesthesiologist tried to bring me out of my sedated state, my body did not cooperate so they put me on life support!

Life support! Isn't that crazy?

My husband was so frightened, and my Dad who just flew in from Florida was home all day alone. Poor things. This was a very unsettling day for them. For my daughters too.

While I was on life support I couldn't move or breathe, but I could hear ~ and the sweet anesthesiologist kept apologizing and saying over me, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know. There was no way I could have known. You don't have the enzyme it takes to bring you out of this, I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

So badly I wanted to say something to calm him down and comfort him, but of course I had no control over my physical body.

But what did make me laugh inside was after a few minutes of listening to the doctor talk to me about how sorry he was about all of this, the little nurse standing next to me says to him, "Would you just be quiet already! You are going to scare this lady to death saying things like that."

Apparently she understood that even though I couldn't move, I still could hear :).

Hinsdale Hospital is filled with such nice and helpful people. They couldn't help that so many things go wrong. Sometimes that is just the way it happens.

Around 5:00 p.m. I was finally released complete with a pile of instructions, two medications and a catheter and the b*g ~ something I was sure that I would never in my life be able to deal with.

But guess what? I'm dealing with it and everything is going to be okay. I'm in quite a bit of pain, the stent feels like someone is stabbing me in the side. I'm running a low grade fever and I have spent most of the time in bed resting.

My daughter Kina, who is in Nebraska visiting with Jonathan's family for Thanksgiving, called me late Tuesday night with great concern and a couple of funny questions. "Mom, I love you and I was so worried about you. Were you afraid? And did you see a bright light or anything?"

Through a smiling face I answered, "No, I didn't see a bright light or anything and no, I wasn't afraid. Just uncomfortable. All I felt was very uncomfortable."

Please continue to pray for me. Pray that everything will run clear and I will be able to survive the next three weeks until this stent comes out :).

Today was Thanksgiving and we had invited a group of friends to join us this year. I want to publicly thank my Dad, husband, Sabrina and our friend Jennifer for cooking all the delicious food . . . and my dear husband for doing all the clean-up! What an amazing team they were, and from the sounds of chatter and laughter that I heard from my room, it sounded like everyone that came over had a wonderful time.

I also want to thank my friend Robin in California who sent us a beautiful Thanksgiving floral arrangement, and the sweet ladies of my church for the new dress suit that they purchased for me, the nice card they all signed and the "bear claws" which I am looking forward to eating soon! What a wonderful Thanksgiving surprise! Thank you all for being such good friends.

Well, this is about all I can handle for now. I pray that each one of you enjoyed a wonderful day with your family and friends as well. May God bless and encourage you.

Love & Prayers, Julie

Smudges on My Make-up Mirror

"Ohhhh Dave! Why do you always have to put your finger prints on my make-up mirror? It drives me crazy to see these smudges on it all the time!" I say as I express myself rather ridiculously from time to time.

And each time I rant and rave about this, he always responds in the same way.

"You should be glad that I make smudges on your make-up mirror. I know many women who would give anything to see their husband's fingerprints on their make-up mirror."

Of course he is right. On my prayer list right now are the names of many women who are heartbroken because their husband has passed away this year or left them in divorce. If these women had to do it all over again, I'm sure that they would not ever want to complain about such a petty thing.

And yet, so often I do. So often I let my feathers get ruffled over the most ridiculous things. So often so many of us do.

Every week I hear women complain about the socks that HE left on the floor, the mud that HE dragged in, the things left HE left in his pockets before his things went into the wash, the way HE doesn't pick up after himself, doesn't play with the kids, won't take out the trash, doesn't buy her nice things, and the list goes on and on.

So many of us complain so much about such little things, don't we?

Today I am sitting still before God and thanking him for the wonderful opportunity he has given me to be a wife to a good man. To a man that is a good provider, a good father and grandfather, a kind husband, a Christian servant. But even thought he is a good man, I must always remind myself that he is a real man. And real men do real things that will sometimes annoy me . . . like making smudges on my make-up mirror.

And when that happens, I must remind myself to remember how blessed I am that my husband even wants to be around to do that. When I really stop to think about it, I have so much to be thankful for . . . and so very little to complain about.

And the same probably goes for you, too.

Important Lessons, Important Words

The other night I was playing with Conner in the kid's room when something that he was playing with broke.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he looked up at me with a genuinely repentant face.

This little three year old boy often surprises me with his "much bigger than his age" tenderhearted words.

"That's okay," I told him. "It will be all right."

"Thank you Gramma."

Then a few minutes later I broke something that I was trying to put together for him.

"I'm so sorry Conner. I'm so sorry that I broke this."

When I said this to him he looked up at me with a sweet face of compassion and said, "I forgive you Gramma. I forgive you."

I'm so sorry. I forgive you. These are probably six of the most important words that every little person needs to learn if they are going to be successful in relationships in this life.

Life is filled with so many opportunities to offend and be offended. So many people have no idea how to be sorry or forgive. And because of that, so many friendships and family relationships are unnecessarily splintered or broken apart.

Conner is learning some of the most important lessons of his life these days. In the midst of running and jumping and playing and being silly, he is being taught how to humbly handle those nasty issues of life, that if not handled improperly, will be used to steal, kill and destroy the abundant life that God would have him enjoy instead.

While we were talking the other night, he informed me that he is a "toddler" now. And now that he is a toddler, he is putting off some old things (disobeying his Sunday School teacher and hitting the kids in the nursery) and making every effort to do better things ~ like be nice to others and obey what he is told.

Be nice, be obedient, be sorry and be forgiving. Good words of advice for anyone . . . but especially for this Gramma who has been given the privilege and opportunity of ministering to and working with real life everyday people . . . who she wants to be nice to . . . who are often hard to obey . . . who sometimes do things to offend her . . . and who she has been known to offend.

Important lessons. Important words. They aren't just taught to you in the classroom. Sometimes you learn them in the kid's room as well.

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

Hayden and the Raisinettes

The other night, Hayden was visiting with my husband in his office after church. While he was there he noticed a box of Raisinettes.

Like any good one year old who loves sweets, he began to point and whimper.

"Mhhh, mhhh, mhhh," he said as looked as his Papa and reached out for the yummies.

"You want some raisinettes Hayden? Here you go. You can have some."

I don't really know what my husband was thinking when he gave this little guy chocolate covered raisins ~ can a one year old even chew and swallow a raisin? :)

In any event, my husband said that after he sucked all the chocolate off of them, he spit out the raisins! I love it. I love the funny eating habits of this little boy. He makes us all laugh with his natural love for chocolate.

Sabrina called me last night and told me that she cooked some steak and sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter for dinner. She gave Hayden some of the sweet potato stuff, and you know what he did? He sucked all the butter and brown sugar off of them and spit them out!

God makes all of us special with our own quirks, doesn't He? Hayden is only fourteen months old. He was nursed for the first thirteen months of his life. Nobody gave him kool-aid in a bottle or lollipops or cookies. But as soon as he started to eat solid foods, he knew exactly what he wanted ~ chocolate and ice cream.

If you ask me, I think he takes after my side of the family. My Dad loves chocolate and ice cream, my Mom loved chocolate and ice cream, and I think every one of my sisters do too.

I think it is a sign of great heritage to love the sweetest things in life. Even the Bible tells us, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."

Hayden is just starting early to enjoy the good taste of being loved and cared for by the goodness of the Lord :).

Different Plans

I went to the urologist today for a small procedure called a cystoscopy (thinking this was going to take care of my stuck kidney stone) only to be told that my bladder looked good and was free of any tumors.

This is something that I thought we already knew, so you can imagine my shock when the doctor looks at me and says, "We will schedule surgery on Tuesday to remove the kidney stone. Kidney stones can only stay in the ureter for six weeks. Then they need to come out."

Next Tuesday will make six weeks. I thought I was going to start crying right then and there.

"I thought today we were going to remove this kidney stone. I thought you told me that you were going to reach up and grab the thing or shove it back into the kidney and shock wave it."

"Are you kidding me," he says to me, "You have to be put under for that sort of thing. If I tried to do that when you are awake, you would kick me to death."

I love this doctor. He has a wonderful bed side manner. But I did want to choke him and I did want to cry. My right side is aching. My stomach is inflamed. My Dad comes on Monday night. Thanksgiving is on Thursday.

"Can't we do this today?"

"When is the last time you ate?"

"This morning."

"When is the last time you drank anything?"

"Right when I got here."

"It has to be at least six hours. Anyways, we have to do this in the hospital under anesthesia."

"What? In the hospital? What hospital?"

"Hinsdale Hospital."

"You have got to be kidding me. What is the recovery for this sort of thing? Am I going to be able to cook Thanksgiving dinner?"

"You are taking this whole thing a little too calmly," he says to me, "How much Vicadin have you been taking?"

"I haven't had any pain meds for about a week."

"You need to be taking pain meds. Kidney stones are very painful."

"Listen," I told him as nicely as I could, "Kidney stones are nothing compared to recovering from shoulder surgery. I have terrible side pain and my stomach is burning to death. But I can deal with this stuff."

"Go home and take a pain pill, you need it."

"All right," I told him, glad to be encouraged to do what I really knew would be good for me to do.

"And the stomach thing, that is normal when kidney stones are stuck. The urine stuff backs up and overflows into the stomach and it makes it sick."

Gross. That is really gross.

"Call us immediately if you run a fever of more than 101 and start throwing up. Maybe you will pass the stone before Tuesday. Sometimes that happens," he said in his hopeful manner trying his hardest to cheer me up.

And then he showed me samples of real live stones. Gotta love this doctor who takes the time to make everything as practical as it can be.

After he showed me the stones, he began to describe the seriousness of the procedure and explain to me what usually happens after wards.

Just hearing about it made me feel a little bit nervous. At least my Dad will be here. God knew that I would need my Dad to be here. My Dad will cook the turkey and make the stuffing. My Dad will take care of his first born grown up girl.

As he walked out the door, he stopped to shake my hand and wish me well until Tuesday. His nurse stayed behind and reminded me to sit down because I wasn't ready to go anywhere yet. We had some surgery planning to do.

So, here I go with surgery again. I know it is not the end of the world. I know that there are people that are going through much worse. As a matter of fact, there is a dear man in our church that has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I'm sure he and his wife would give anything to be going through something as minor as this.

But for me, this unexpected turn of events is unsettling. I already made PLANS for next week. I invited my Dad to come out. I asked ten people to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. This little 'not so minor remove the kidney stone surgery' is going to throw off my plans.

And I don't really like when the plans that I have made have to change.

But according to Proverbs 16:9, I better just get used to it. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." I planned to be done with this. But God had other plans. And if I know what is best for me, I will make every effort to trust in His plans.

Why? Because Psalm 18:30 reminds me, "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him."

Hayden the Magnificent

Our little grandson Hayden is already fourteen months old! The other day my husband said to me, "Hayden is such a cutie, too bad he gets short-changed with the attention."

"What on earth do you mean?" I said, not having a clue what he meant by this.

"Well, it seems like we did a lot of recording and writing about what Conner did when he was little, and we hardly ever write anything about him."

We? He means me. And he is right. As I look back on this blog, I have oodles and oodles of posts about Conner doing just about everything . . . and only just a few about Hayden.

But it's not because I don't notice what he is doing or spend time with him enough to collect fun and interesting stories . . . it's just that I have been busy . . . trying to keep up with everybody and everything else. Somehow I knew that baby Hayden would understand. Most people expect things like that out of the second born. It's not right, but it is the way it usually goes, isn't it?

In any event, I want to fill you in on what has been happening in the life of Hayden the Magnificent.

Hayden loves to eat sweets! His favorite food is chocolate and ice cream. He will turn his nose up and purse his lips when you try to feed him oatmeal, peas, or chicken and rice . . . and open his mouth gladly for a Klondike bar or M & M's. It's hilarious. I have never seen a baby do this before.

Hayden loves to hug! And he gives the sweetest hugs on the planet ♥. Even in the middle of playing with toys or other children he will stop and walk over just to give you a big hug.

Hayden loves his mommy! It is so sweet to see how his face lights up when she enters the room. He even claps for her and everything. Hayden is a big boy and his mother is a very tiny woman ~ it's quite funny to see him cling to her hip for dear life just like a koala bear.

Hayden loves to handle his own problems with others. Because Hayden is the second born boy in the family, he is used to someone trying to jump on him, hit him and take things away from him. When this happens, he just grabs a hold of the person that is bothering him and holds onto them until they either stop what they are doing or give him what he had. He doesn't cry or whine or go running to his mommy . . . he just handles it. Everybody should start out life like baby Hayden.

Hayden loves to play with toys. He is one of those children that genuinely enjoys toys. He will occupy himself for hours and never show one sign of even being slightly bored.

Hayden loves to communicate. Most of the time he points and talks like a little Martian. "Tktktkabbaddadoodo," he says as soon as he sees his Papa, ice cream, his bottle of milk or anything else he wants or likes. He does say thank you, "Ta Ta," and hello "Ha Ha" when he is talking on the phone. And of course he can say things like Da Da and Ma Ma. He is quite fun to listen to.

Hayden walked at ten months, sleeps in a toddler bed (most of the time:)!), refuses to take any kind of medicine, squirms when you try to dress him, is cutting teeth, is almost as tall as his three year old brother, loves his family, and gets the biggest kick out of his brother Conner. His face just lights up as he watches Conner do his thing ~ it really is so cute to watch.

We are so thankful that God blessed us with our own little Hayden the Magnificent. He is such a cutie pie, and so much fun to have around!

Let's Be Friends Again

In the past couple of years my daughter Kina has been a very, very busy young lady. Even though she still attends our church, she lives and works about 25 miles away. She works six days a week and has an apartment right around the corner from where she works.

And in March of this year, Kina started dating a wonderful young man whom she is now engaged to be married to in April.

A busy life is often a productive life, and anybody who knows our family knows that it has been our goal to raise our children to live productive lives.

But over the past few years, we have all come to realize something about living busy, productive lives ~ they don't leave much opportunity for the kind of time that we need to really slow down and enjoy the friendship of one another.

Our family is a close family, and because of this, we miss it when we can't spend enough "friendship time" with each other.

Last night, as Kina and I were sitting close together during the evening service, she grabbed my arm and leaned over and said to me, "Mom, we need to be friends again. I miss you so much. I know that we are both so busy, but we need to make more time for each other again."

I knew what she meant. We needed more than just to be together during our Sunday family meal times. We needed more than just to sit together at church. We needed more than just to talk on the phone every now and then. We needed just "Kina and Mom" get together times. We need to call each other more. We need to slow down and take the time to make things together again. I knew exactly what she meant. And it is something that I want to happen too.

I love my daughter Kina was so much. When she was growing up we were the best of friends. We are so much alike and we have always enjoyed the same kinds of things. I have missed her being around these past few years. But she had to grow up and move on. It's the way life goes. It is the way life is supposed to go.

Nowadays we are both so busy. Busy with the work that God has given us to do. Busy with the relationships that God has given us to enjoy.

So we must make the time. Being friends takes time. It takes extra time. It is certainly something that is worth the time. We both need to just make the time.

And we will, because it is something that we both really want to do.

My New Favorite Verse

I have a new favorite verse and it is found in Luke 21:19, "In your patience possess ye your souls."

The word patience in this verse actually means perseverance in sustaining afflictions, and the verse itself encourages me to handle whatever is being sent my way like a good soldier, so that my testimony will remain intact and I will be the winner in the battles that I am called to fight.

Right now I am fighting a health battle. It's a tough thing to be mastered by the afflictions of one's body ~ especially when those afflictions are strong enough to keep you pinned down.

But health afflictions aren't the only battle I fight as a Pastor's Wife and Christian woman. Daily I fight the battle of keeping my opinions to myself, resisting the temptation to return evil to those that have sent evil, and to love the things of God more than I want to enjoy the pleasures of this world.

Life is a battlefield, and the Bible teaches us in Romans 8:37, that because of our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be "more than conquerors" as we fight those battles from day to day ~ "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

But in order to have the victory, we must have endurance, and endurance only comes as we persevere.

"In your patience possess ye your souls." It's my new favorite verse. My new battle cry. My new motto to live by.

Life is full of battles. But with God I can win. God's Word promises me that I will win.

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" I John 1:4-5

And you know what? Because the promises of God are true for ALL who believe . . . if you will be willing to endure through perseverance, God will make sure that YOU will be a winner too ♥.

Conversations with Papa

"Look at me Papa," our little three year old grandson Conner said, "I have my teacher suit on just like you! We are looking so sharp, aren't we Papa?"

"Yes, we are," my husband said as he scooped him up and placed him in the back seat of his car. My husband had been invited out to preach in Elgin and Conner was going to ride with us.

"Papa, I like your car. My mommy doesn't have a car like this Papa. Hers doesn't go faster and faster like yours does."

"Papa," he continued as he looked out the window while we were riding, "I see something."

"What do you see Conner?"

"I see the sunshine is following us."

And then a few minutes later . . . "Hey Papa, where did it go? Where did the sunshine go? Did it get lost?"

"Papa, are we going to church together tonight?"

"Yes, Conner, we are going to church. But we are going to a different church. We are going to Brother Gomez's church."

And then I piped in, "There is a little boy named Max at the nursery there for you to play with. You will enjoy playing with Max in there."

"Is he the REAL Max Papa?"

"Well," my husband carefully answered, "He is another Max. The real Max is at our church."

Of course.

"Papa, do you want me to sing you a song?"

"Sure"

"Okay, I will sing you 49420N."

And then he started singing this very quietly in the back seat ~ "49420N. 49420N. It's true, it's true, 49420N."

After he had been singing this same song for about two minutes I suggested that he tell Papa his Bible verse.

"I'm singing my song right now Papa." :)

"Papa," he said after we had been driving what seemed like a very long time, "I can't see you."

"I'm right here," my husband told him.

"But I can't see your face."

"I know little Buddy, but Papa must keep his face forward while he is driving."

After the church service my husband took the whole family out for ice cream at a near by Culvers. On the way there, Conner says, "Papa, I really, really missed you while I was at that church."

"I missed you too Conner."

"Papa, you were on the T.V.!"

"I was?"

"Yea Papa, I saw you on the T.V.. Once you were hiding Papa. Were you hiding Papa?"

"I don't think I was."

"Actually," Conner said, "You were."

Actually. What a funny grown up word coming from the mouth of such a little man.

"Conner," I said to him, "Did you have fun playing in the nursery?"

"No," he said looking all sad for a minute . . . then his face perked right up and he said, "Actually, I did!"

Then he looked at me and said, "Gramma, you are not going to the basketball game. Just the mans are going. You will go to the Princess one, okay? Only mans can go to the basketball games, not ladies."

I love this little guy so much and I love the relationship that he has with my husband who is his Papa. I never had a grandpa, both of mine had passed away long before I was even born. My grandsons are so fortunate to have the love of not just one grandpa that loves them, but two. Jeremy's father, who they affectionately call "Pops" is such a great grandpa to them too.

"Papa, I had so much fun with you tonight," Conner says as his parents prepare to take him home, "I love you Papa."

"I love you too my little buddy."

Book Its, Bible Studies, Bible Conferences and Babying a Kidney Stone

As usual, this has been a busy week. My husband was invited out to preach twice this week, so we did a bit of traveling as well. Last night the whole family was able to join him and that was fun!

On Tuesday my Urologist's office called to ask me to bring him copies of my CT scan and X-Ray ASAP, so on Wednesday I picked up those things and took them to his office.

While I was there he and his nurse kept asking me how I was feeling. Apparently my 5 mm kidney stone is traveling down the ureter tube and I should be in tons of pain. I'm so thankful that I'm not. I have too much to do to be in any more pain :). But since no "stone" should be traveling alone ~ they gave me a strainer and cup to go with "him" :).

Today I outlined a Bible Study lesson entitled, "Loving Daughters" that I will be sharing with our home school moms (and whoever else shows up) tomorrow while the kids are in chapel. I also worked on the book it rewards for the home school kids who fulfilled their book requirements this month. I also went through two boxes of old photos and weeded out the ones we don't want. Sabrina will be proud of me for doing that.

I had a tough physical therapy session this morning, so I spent most of the afternoon moaning and groaning under a warm blanket with a heating pad. I praise the Lord for the time and lack of intense daily responsibility today that allowed me to do this.

My husband spent the day putting the Christmas lights up around the house. They look beautiful. He will do the rest of the outdoor decorating next week. This year he is trying to get it all put up before the weather gets too cold. Smart man.

He is taking a nap right now in the recliner and I think I am going to go take another warm bath. I don't know about you, but a warm bath always makes me feel better.

Oh, and I would like to ask you to pray for my little one year old grandson Hayden, he is down with the swine flu. Poor thing. Pray that he will be able to rest.

The Kindness of a Friend

In the month of June, 1999, I began to fervently pray for God to provide for me to be able to fly home and see my Mom, who lived in Florida, before she passed away.

My husband was in Bible College in Indiana at the time and we had already spent all the extra money we had in sending me to see her a few times before this.

This was such a stressful time. I wanted to be with my Mom as much as I could, my husband and teenage daughters needed me to be at home with them, so I was always limited in how long I could stay. My five sisters wanted me to be there more than I could afford to be . . . it was such a stressful time. Such a very stressful time.

I remember on the night of June 17th, after exhausting every initiative I could think of to get the money I needed in order to fly down to see my Mom, who was now in a coma, one last time, I locked myself in the bathroom and ran some hot water in the tub and stepped in to soak and pray.

"Dear God," I prayed, "I don't know what to do. My Mom is dying and I want to be there with her. My sisters are there. They want me to be there. But I have no way to get there. We have spent all the extra money we have. My husband is in Bible College. He can't get away. My Mom is dying. I don't know what to do. I just don't know what to do."

At this point I was sobbing and the telephone was ringing.

"Julie," my husband said as he knocked on the bathroom door, "It's your friend Mishel from California is on the phone. She wants to speak to you."

"Tell her I will call her back in a minute. I will get out of the tub and call her back in a minute."

"Okay," he said.

So I got out of the tub, dried myself off, got dressed and called my friend Mishel.

"Hi Mishel," I said.

"Hi Julie, listen, my husband and I have been talking about what you are going through and we want to send you the money to fly out and see your Mom."

Tears just began to flow and flow. My friend Mishel is such a sweet lady. I met her and her family when my husband was stationed in 29 Palms, California. She is such a good and giving friend. Everyone that knows her loves her. And I love her too.

"What?" I said, "You want to do what?"

"We want to give you the money to fly to see your Mom. We will send it immediately."

And that is exactly what they did. These dear friends of mine sent me $300.00 so that I could purchase a plane ticket to go visit my Mom.

Mishel Ferguson is an amazing Christian woman and a very kind and generous friend.

She and her family have been going through some very tough times lately. Her husband has become ensnared of the devil and taken captive by him at his will. It is a heartbreaking situation. I think about them and weep for them every day. I wish I could do something to fix her broken heart. I wish there was some amount of money that I could spend to turn her husband's heart around.

But there isn't. Money can buy plane tickets to visit dying loved ones, but money can't purchase what is needed to bring back a sinful heart.

Only prayer and love can do something like that. And so, in an effort to show kindness to my good friend, I am offering up to God three hundred dollars worth of prayer. Prayer for Mishel as she grieves over the loss of that man who WAS a good, loving husband to her and a good Christian friend to others . . . and prayer as she moves forward and tries her best to set up some sort of a new life in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Dear Lord, I pray that you will bless my friend Mishel in a special way as she moves forward into the unknown. As she gets a new job, makes new friends, and settles into a new place. This would be a scary thing for her to do if she didn't have You . . . but she does. She has You and she loves You and I know that You have gone before her with thoughts of peace, and not evil, to give her an expected end.

And Lord, I pray for Rande too. Please do whatever you must to remind him of the good man he was. The good man that you made him to be. The good man that he should be."

You know, even though I bought that plane ticket that my friend Mishel and her husband sent me money for and I was able to fly to Florida just a few days after I spoke with my friend Mishel . . . I never was able to see my Mom alive again. She ended up passing away the night before I came.

I don't pretend to understand why this happened. But it happened. And what I learned from it is that life doesn't always work out the way we think it should. But it does always works out the way it goes. And as it goes, is how we must learn to deal with it.

I made the decision way back when to just trust the Lord and let Him lead. I don't look back, think around, or try and change what is coming . . . I just accept what God has allowed and depend on Him for the wisdom and strength to do the next things.

And this is exactly what my friend Mishel is doing. Accepting what she can not change and moving forward.

I'm praying for her as she does, and I would like to ask for you to pray for her too.

Remembering Mom Today

If my Mom were still living, today would be her 69th birthday. She married my Dad when she was just 19 years old and gave birth to me 9 months later ♥.

Mom and Dad had one of those wonderful marriages filled with love, devotion, common courtesy and respect. Even though they were very, very different from each other ~ my Mom was a southern gal straight from Louisiana and my Dad was a city boy born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, they had the sweetest relationship and it was such a comfort and blessing being brought up in their home.

My Dad was in the military for 26 years and my Mom enjoyed everything the military life had to offer! She loved moving every other year, she living in new places, eating different kinds of foods, making new friends, and attending special formal functions.

My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer in her mid 50's and unfortunately it traveled to her brain and eventually to her heart and liver. She passed away on Father's Day, June 20, 1999.

It's a very sad thing to lose your mother to death. Even I never lived near my mother after I got married, we both made the effort to stay very close to each other through visits, phone calls and gifts.

I still miss my Mom. I don't know that I will ever get used to not having a mother. I don't think my sister's will either. Just a minute ago I received a text message from my sister Debby reminding me of Mom's birthday today.

As I have been thinking about my Mom today, I have been especially reminded of these wonderful qualities that she possessed:

I loved her Sense and Sensibility. In a day and age when many moms are leaving their marriages to "find themselves", putting on the latest fashions in hopes of looking younger, paying an enormous amount of money for plastic surgery and wrinkle creams, it refreshes me to remember my mother's sensible approach to life.

Mom was thankful for what she had. I never once heard her complain about anybody or anything. When life gave her lemons, she just went about doing the next thing and made lemonade. Mom was faithful to put on her Oil of Olay and other lotions every day, but I never once heard her talk about it. She didn't fret about things. She just did what she could with what she had and trusted that would be enough.

There were 8 of us in our family growing up and yet we always had plenty of food in the house and clothes to wear. We were taught early that you shop where you can afford and you buy the best that is there.

Mom was an immaculate housekeeper and an orderly mother. Order is sensible. Beds were always made. Stuff was always picked up and put away. Her children were taught to mind and obey.

Mom was a Hopeful person. Every day was a new day with Mom. Things could always be better tomorrow. If you worked harder, things were bound to get better. Mom believed the best about every one. Every one had potential with Mom.

Mom was a Forgiving person. Mom had 6 daughters and every one of us grew up to disappoint her in one way or another. But Mom never held a grudge. She just handed us over to God (and consequences :)!) and kept loving us just as if we had never done anything wrong.

When I was a teenage girl, I wanted to grow up and become anything BUT my Mom! Even though I loved her, I didn't want to follow in her footsteps and get married, have lots of children and keep house the rest of my life. I felt that life had MORE to offer me than just that. I wanted to make a name for myself and a lot of money in the process of it.

But you know what is funny? As my adult life unfolded, God made sure that I grew up to become just like her! I married a military man, just like she did. I became the mother of all girls, just like she did. I have devoted my time and energy to becoming a devoted housewife, just like she did. And I have grown up to become sensible, hopeful and forgiving, just like she was.

Moms are such special people. I'm so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful woman to be MY Mom. And I'm so proud to say that I grew up to become just like her.

Love you Mom. And I miss you so much too.

Good Friends Are For Always

Last night we had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with some dear old friends from way back when our children were just 6, 7 and 8 years old and we lived in Virginia. These are people that we met at the first church that we joined after getting saved many years back.

It was so much fun to see them again. Have you ever noticed that good friends never seem to change? Even though we hadn't seen these folks for many years, as soon as they stepped in the door, we picked up right where we left off.

As we sat in the living room talking after dinner, I couldn't help but remember how instrumental this friend of mine had been in my desire to grow in my Christian life. It was this dear woman that invited me into her home, spent time doing fun stuff with me, showed me how important it was to take time to be thankful through the art of writing kind notes, introduced me and my children to the importance of Christian literature and education, loved me for who I wasn't, and proved to me that God was big enough to handle any kind of hardship that would come my way.

Isn't it funny how important being a friend can be? When my friend Gail befriended me so many years ago, she had nothing to gain from being kind to me. I was nothing but a struggling wife with a wild and busy traveling husband and two happy spirited worldly kids. I was a new Christian, my kids went to the public school, and I had no real concept of all the politics or doctrine or any thing else that was associated with going to a non-Catholic church.

And here I am now, a woman whose husband is now a Pastor and whose kids went to Bible College and turned out to become pretty terrific Christian adults.

I wonder where I would be today if my friend had not reached out to me and invited me to be a part of her wonderful Christian life so many years ago? Would I have been willing to struggle through my hard times? Would I have been so insistent that my children get a Christian education and grow up around the activities of the local church? Would I have the desire to serve God and read and study my Bible like I do?

I don't think so. I truly believe that I would have chosen the path of least resistance (doing what came natural, rather than spiritual) had it not been for the friendship and great testimony that I found in my friend Gail. Gail made me feel like I belonged . . . belonged to God, to the church and as a vital part of other Christian's lives.

Good friends are for always. Even though the years pass by, and sometimes you must part and walk separate ways, the love and care you have for them never change.

And as I was reminded by my visit with Gail and her family last night ~ the love and care that they have for you never seems to change either.

"A friend loveth at all times."

The Gift of Affliction

Lately, my schedule is beginning to look like it belongs to a 70 year old woman! Almost every day I have an appointment with a doctor, physical therapist or to have some medical test done. This is a strange thing for me, especially considering before I turned 45 I had never had a stitch, broken bone or any type of major health problem or surgery.

Times have certainly changed for me over the past 4 years. Nowadays I am struggling with recovering from two shoulder surgeries, trying to figure out some kidney stone/bleeding issues, and keeping an eye on some cyst that is growing inside of me above my right ovary.

For a girl like me that believes everything should be cured by drinking more water, getting more sleep and exercising three times a week ~ going to all of these appointments, having all of these tests, and taking so much medicine has been a bit overwhelming.

Not to mention the fact that I am only able to do "half" of my work load by myself. I still move in slow motion, forget to do a lot of things, make lots of mistakes, and need lots of physical help.

Being in this recovery and "discovery" stage of life has been something that I have been trying to adjust to with patience and peace.

Yesterday I went to see my Orthopedic doctor. It has been 8 weeks since my last surgery and I was looking forward to her giving me the "full duty" go ahead.

But after testing my range of motion and arm strength, she told me that it will still be a few more weeks until I can do more.

*Sigh* I am really ready to get back into the swing of doing it all again.

Tomorrow morning I will wake up to drinking a large bottle of this Barium stuff to prepare me for a CT scan with and without contrast imaging. A few hours later I will drink more of it. Then as I am laying on the table they will be injecting dye into me to "light me up" so that they can see everything that is going on in my kidney and abdomen area.

These are not the things that most women look forward to. These are the kind of things that most women would like to try to avoid. But these are the things that God has called me to experience.

And as I am experiencing them, God is enlarging my heart and filling it with compassion for the many people around me that are experiencing this kind of stuff on a regular basis as well. To be honest, I never realized how many people around me were struggling with serious health issues until I began to struggle with mine. So many around us have been given the gift of affliction in which to glorify God through.

As the holidays are approaching, I have been busy planning and ordering special things for my family members to receive on Christmas morning. I want them to have things that will encourage them and help them in the work they are doing and the life that they are living. Why do I take the time to do this? Because I love and care for them so much.

My loving and caring God has sent me the gift of affliction this year, and He has sent it to encourage me and to help me in the work I am doing and the life I am living.

As a Pastor's Wife to my husband here at the Grace Baptist Church, God has seen me work hard and become absorbed in the work. He has also seen me work too hard and become too absorbed in the work. For many years I knew that it was God's will that I slow down and become rooted and fashioned as being my husband's wife at home again, and not his helper at church, but to tell you the truth, I really didn't know how to get away from it and get back.

But God did. He knew just what would slow us both down to the point where we would realign ourselves and our relationship back to where HE had designed it to be.

And to tell you the truth, even though it is not fun being in pain all of the time or having my time taken up with so many doctor visits and medical tests . . . I am experiencing that wonderful feeling of peace again as I spend my extra time and energy just loving my husband, encouraging him in what he is doing and taking care of his needs at home. And he is slowing down and sweetly caring for me in so many special ways too. Because of my afflictions, we are back to enjoying our happy God fashioned roles again, and our relationship has become so much more peaceful and productive because of it.

The Bible reminds me in Psalm 119:71 & 75 that the affliction that I am experiencing right now has been sent my way, through the approval of God, for my good and from His goodness, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes . . . I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me."

I don't ever question the WHY of what is going on with my health these days. I know that God is in control. He has a timetable and a purpose for all of this. And if this kind of stuff continues . . . then, oh well, I will just have to accept the fact that God wants me to enjoy being loved and cared for and spoiled in such special ways :).

Sweet Conversations

"Gramma," my little three year old grandson said to me as we were eating Sunday dinner together this past weekend, "You remember when you were just a little baby and I used to hold you?"

After he said this, he gave me a great big smile.

"Yes, yes I do Conner. I remember it."

His smile got even bigger. Conner has the sweetest little voice and smile. I love to listen to him talk. He always has the most precious things to say.

"Papa," he said to my husband as we were all driving home from church together the other day, "I like your car Papa. Can I see your map Papa? I'm trying to find your house!"

"Thank you, keep looking for it, we will be there soon." my husband said.

"What's this?" Conner asked, lifting up the earphones my husband uses when he works out at the gym.

"Those are my earphones."

"Oh," Conner said. And then silence. I looked back and noticed that Conner had stuffed the earphones into the drink holder underneath him.

"I broke them," he said.

"That's all right. Give them to Gramma and I will fix them."

He reached down and grabbed the tangled mess and handed it over to me.

"Papa," he said a minute later, "I'm so sorry I broke your ear thing."

"That's okay Conner."

"Thank you Papa."

Such a tenderhearted little fellow.

On the way back to church that night he said to my husband, "Papa, I'm so hungry."

"Okay, Papa will stop and get you some fries."

"Thank you Papa. Gramma? Are you so hungry too?"

"No Conner, Gramma is just fine."

"Papa, where are we going?"

"We are going back to church. Do you like church?"

"Yes! I love church!" he said with a great big grin.

Today I was over playing with him and Hayden and while I was there he asked me, "Gramma, are you a nice person?"

"Yes Conner, Gramma is a nice person."

"My daddy is a nice person."

"That's nice," I told him.

"My mommy is a nice person too." And then he hesitated and said, "But sometimes she is mean to me."

"Really, what does she do to be mean to you?"

"She spanks me sometimes."

"When I was a little girl my mommy used to spank me too," I told him.

"Really?"

"Yes, she did. She didn't want me to grow up and be bad. She wanted me to be a good girl."

"Oh," he said, and then he went back to racing his car.

A little while later he looked over at me and said, "Gramma, I like God. Mommy says that I have God."

I smiled when he said this. I also smiled as he recited the John 3:16 Bible verse that his mommy had been teaching him.

We sat down at the table and ate a snack together. It is fun eating with a three year old boy.

"Gramma, do you like these?" he asks me as he pulls out the piece of taffy candy that I had just given him.

"No, not really."

"My mommy loves these," he tells me, and then he asks, "Can I have some of your food? Here I will have these and you can have those."

After we finished eating our little snack he says to me, "Gramma, I love you so much. Do you want to play playdough with me?"

"Yes I do. What would you like to make?"

"I want to make some bowling pins and a bowling ball."

Then as we were working with our playdough he started singing, "A helper I will be, a helper I will be, there's work to do, there's work to do, a helper I will be. Amen!"

Little people really do sing the sweetest songs.

When his mommy walked in the door he looked up and said to her, "I obeyed Gramma while you were gone." This brought a sweet smile to his mommy's face. She has been working really hard lately at training him to obey.

A few minutes before I had to leave, Conner looks at me and says this, "Gramma, remember when you were just a little baby and I used to carry you around all the time?"

"Yes, I remember," I told him. "I remember."

I could spend all day long listening to that little three year old boy talk. I never tire of his sweet little conversations or the precious things that he always comes up with to say.

What Not To Wear

About four or five years ago my sister Maria introduced me to a show while I was visiting my Dad in Florida. The show was called "What Not To Wear".

As many of you know, the hosts of the show "What Not To Wear" do their best to help women that struggle with dressing appropriately to find a fresh new style that works for their particular shape and lifestyle. If you have ever watched the show, you know how thrilling it is to watch the transformation. Especially when they get to the make-up and hair styling part!

My sister and I have such a good time watching these shows whenever we get together, and although I don't take the time to watch them when I home, I am often reminded of Stacy and Clinton's "rules" when I go out shopping . . . Dress according to your size. Buy clothes that fit. Be feminine. Dress appropriate to the occasion. Look for jackets that accentuate the waist. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. And finally . . . Dress modestly.

Dress modestly? That doesn't sound like a rule that we learned from TLC's "What Not to Wear". Oh, that's right. That's not a rule I learned from Stacy and Clinton, that the rule I learned from God as I have been studying His Word in an effort to please Him over the past many years.

I Timothy 2:9-10 tells me, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

Dressing modestly is one of those "good works"that I do for God so that I am not a stumbling block or a hindrance to others.

What does it mean to "dress modest"? It means to dress in a way that draws attention to my Christian countenance, not my feminine "curviness". Someone once said that our clothing should be fitting enough to remind everyone that we are a lady and loose enough to remind them that we aren't a harlot!

As I go shopping for my clothes, I ask myself these two questions as I am in the dressing room trying them on:

1. Does this outfit expose parts of my body that God would want generously covered?
2. Does this outfit emphasize parts of me that should be generously covered?

There is a big push in today's dress culture for women to dress seductively and immodestly. We are a sex crazed nation and even many Christian women dread the thought of being passed over when the attention of others is looking by. They fear growing older, and even worse, they fear looking wholesome and pure.

Well my friends, in the economy of God, purity is in and immodesty needs to go out. It is high time that many of us "Abhor that which is evil;" and "cleave to that which is good." And dressing in a way that is modest and respectful of others is something that God considers to be very, very good.

Does this outfit expose parts of my body that God would want generously covered? Is the neck line low enough to cause a man to look twice and a woman to feel uncomfortable? Is my whole chest area sufficiently covered, or are the arm holes exposing some of it? How about my thighs? Does my outfit reach down to my knees, covering all of my thighs? Did you know that the Bible teaches us in Exodus 28:42 that God considers the exposing of our thighs in public nakedness? It does.

Does this outfit emphasize parts of my body that should be generously covered? Is my shirt so tight that my bra lines can be traced through it? Does my skirt cup the shape of my bottom, leaving very little to anyone's imagination? Are my clothes loose, but too sheer? Does the slit of my skirt rise above my knee? And for those that argue over a woman's right to wear pants (even after they read that God doesn't want a woman to dress in that which pertaineth to a man in Deuteronomy 22:5) ~ are your pants loose enough so that your private parts aren't in any way defined? God would hope so :).

I'm thankful for shows that help us to learn how to look our best. It has been good for me to be reminded not to dress frumpy or in styles that bring out the worst on me. But I'm afraid that in an effort to look our best for those that we see in this world . . . many of us have lost sight of the fact that God saved us to be a peculiar people that would shew forth His goodness to those that are watching us in this dark and sinful world.

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." I Peter 2:9-10

How wonderful to have been called out of the darkness into His most marvellous light! Let's show God how much we appreciate His mercy by being willing to outwardly identify with Him by dressing like women of the light.

Encouraged by the Goodness of God

Last week I was feeling a bit discouraged. It had been one of those weeks when many of the Christian folks that I have loved and looked up to were making foolish decisions with their lives.

Oh, I know that we are all sinners and that sinners are prone to do sinful things . . . but there are some people in my life that I admire, and well, when it seems like they keep on doing sinful things . . . well, it just plain ole' discourages me.

On Friday morning, as I was pouring out my burdened heart to the Lord, He reminded me of so many wonderful Christian people that I still had in my life that were doing wonderful things with their lives.

He reminded me of many of the precious ladies in my Sunday School class. God sent forty-five of them yesterday with their sweet praises and testimonies to remind me that there are many, many ladies (right here in my own church even) that are growing and bringing glory to God with their lives.

He also used my new friend Debbie Russ to encourage my heart as well. I met Debbie at a Sword of the Lord Conference that my husband and I attended at Dr. Bobby Roberson's church this past summer. Debbie Russ represents everything that God desires a Christian woman to be. She is beautiful. She is gracious and kind. She is encouraging. She is a devoted wife and mother. She is a good friend. Just this past week she sent me a Christmas cd as a gift and her husband sent my husband one too. Debbie and her husband are the kind of people that use their good Christianity to invest in the lives of others, and their testimonies are an encouragement to me.

And just yesterday, God encouraged me by the testimony of Jonathan Wicks, who is my son in law to be. His trio sang in church yesterday, and when Pastor Dave asked them the name of their group, he told them that they were the "Four J's".

"Four J's?" my husband asked him.

"Yes, the Four J's. Jonathan S., Jeremy B., Jonathan W. and JESUS."

My son in law to be is a wonderfully balanced Christian young man. I'm so encouraged that God saved him especially for my daughter Kina.

God is such a good and encouraging God. Even though He sees that sometimes I get sidetracked because of my discouragement in the behavior of others, He is patient with me. Rather than scold me for it, He just gently guides me and my focus away from that which is discouraging, and towards that which has been encouraging Him.

Halloween is Not for Me

If I had a nickle for every time someone has asked me about what I think about Halloween, I would be an even richer woman. Halloween is coming and many growing Christian women want to know how they should feel about it.

I always start off telling them that Halloween is not for me. "Why do you feel that way?" they usually ask in response.

"Because the Bible teaches me that God hates the whole occult thing. Consider some of the things that God has to say about witches, divination and the devil:

Exodus 22:18, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Deuteronomy 18:10, "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch."

1 Samuel 15:23, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."

2 Chronicles 33:6, "And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger."

Galations 5:19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

John 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Acts 13:10, "And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?"

1 John 3:8, "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

God is serious about His hatred for this whole occult thing. He doesn't think that witches and devils and magic are cute or fun or something that should be the least bit celebrated in a joyous way. And if God doesn't think these things should be celebrated in a fun or joyous way, neither do I.

Call me old fashioned if you will, but I am one of those Christians that genuinely wants to do what God says.

The next question that I am usually asked by the growing Christian woman who is wondering about how she should handle this whole Halloween thing is this ~ "Have you ever celebrated Halloween?"

"Yes," I tell her, "Before I knew how God really felt about it, I celebrated it just like everybody else you know does. We dressed up. We went to parties. And we bought candy and handed it out. As a matter of fact, if you look in my family photo albums you will find a picture of me as a great pumpkin and my daughter Sabrina dressed up like a scary little witch. Yes, a scary little witch. Black hair, black lips, black hat, black dress, and a broom to boot."

What kind of a mother dresses her little girl up like a witch for Halloween? The kind of mother that doesn't know any better.

But those days are passed and now I do know better. And since I do, I have made the decision that Halloween is not for me. I don't dress up. I don't hand out candy. I don't carve jack-o-laterns. I don't watch scary movies or visit haunted houses either.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why God is so adamant about warning us about associating with the occult? I have. And as I have studied His thoughts on this, and the history of the traditions that are commonly celebrated at Halloween as well, I have come to this conclusion ~ He knows how dangerous and damaging the devil and his occult practices can be. He has dealt with the devil from the beginning. He has seen everything that he has done to steal, kill and destroy and He wants to protect His people from him.

As a born again Christian, I am one of those people that He wants to protect, and I'm so thankful for that. How wonderful it is to be cared for by the All Knowing and Almighty Creator Savior God.

What do I think about Halloween? I think it is a time when the devil seeks to steal, kill and destroy the faith and good testimony of the people that he can get to participate in it. Because of this, I have made the decision that Halloween is not for me.

And if you are a born again Christian, you might want to prayerfully consider whether or not it should be for you either.

"What's Your Name Again?"

Last week I was over at my daughter Sabrina's house helping with the kids and stuff because she was sick. Sabrina has been such a big blessing and help to me over the past six months, and I was thrilled to be able to do something to help her in return.

While I was there, Conner and I did a bit of laundry together. We would gather up the laundry, the detergent and our quarters and walk down three flights of stairs to the little laundromat in their building to do it.

Sabrina does this every week with two small children. My hat goes off to her.

After about our fourth trip down, Conner was getting very tired and cranky. He had also been sick the week before, and he was still recovering himself.

"I don't wanna be here anymore!" he shouted to me from his place up against the door. "I wanna go back home!"

"I do too," I told him, "But we have to finish what we are doing first."

"I don't want to! I wanna go NOW!"

"I do too," I told him again, "But we must finish folding these clothes first."

"I DON'T LIKE YOU!" he shouted, and then he shouted it again.

"Well, I like you very much. We will be finished in a minute and then we can go back upstairs."

"I WANNA GO NOW! I DON'T LIKE YOU! I AM LEAVING NOW!" he shouted again.

I really did feel quite sorry for the little fellow, but I didn't know what to do. I had to finish folding the clothes so that I could bring them up with us, so I just calmly said, "I sure do like you. As a matter of fact, I sure do LOVE you. I'm just about done. Just one more minute."

After I said this, he looked at me for a moment and then he said this . . . "What's your name again?"

"My name is Gramma," I told him.

"Gramma," he said in a sweet little voice, "I wuv you."

"I love you too," I told him.

Then I grabbed the bag of folded clothes, took hold of his little boy hand, and we walked peacefully up the stairs together as we headed back to his home.

It's so easy to say things we don't mean when we get frustrated, isn't it? And it is so easy for others to do the same as well.

I remember when Sabrina would get mad at me when she was just a little girl. She would stand up straight, put her little hands on her hips and look at me sternly and say, "I never, never my Mommy!"

When her sister Kina was upset with me she would say, "Mommy, I need to talk to you for a moment. I don't think you are being very nice to me. I think you need to change the way you are behaving."

Everyone responds differently to stress. Some hold it in and some are more verbal about it. Either way we need to let it go and not make a big deal about it. Stressful people don't really mean the mean things that they say. Especially when the stressful ones are little children.

I ♥ Mondays!

I love Mondays. I always have.

When I was just a little girl my mom taught me that Monday was the day we could all push the reset button and start things over anew and afresh.

As I grew a little older, I learned that Mondays were the days that I would see my friends again at school and the day that my social life could launch a new course again.

After I got married and had children, I used Mondays to get started with things. It was the day I made a new "to do list" for the week, organized my house work that needed to get done, and it was the day that I began to focus on the school activities that my girls needed to accomplish during the week.

Now that I am a Pastor's Wife, I love Mondays for an entirely different reason. Nowadays the reason that I love Mondays so much is because Monday is the day of the week that I have set aside to spend the majority of its day with my God.

Monday is the day that I spend lots and lots of time in the scriptures ~ reading my daily Bible reading and studying for my Sunday School lessons. It is also the day that I spend the most time praying. Although I have an organized prayer list for every day, because I am usually home alone with God all day on Mondays, I am able to pray longer for so many more people and things.

Is that all I do on Mondays? Just spend time with God? Well, yes and no. Just like every other woman who is a full-time home worker, I have beds to make and rooms to tidy, dinner to make and clothes to wash. But I have tried to make it a priority to keep this day a day that is not entangled too much with the "issues" of others. I try real hard to limit myself to doing physical things that God and I can enjoy doing together.

I love Mondays. I always have. It's the first real workday of my week. And I love work. I really do. And the most important work that I do is to prepare myself spiritually to deal with everything else that is going to come at me as the remaining days of the week unfold.

And you know what? As I have taken the opportunity to make the most of my Mondays over the years, God has been kind and given me the strength and attitude to be able to enjoy the most out of the rest of the week as well.

Enjoy your Mondays. They are a gift from God. He has given us Mondays as a day to begin again. To start afresh. To get ourselves organized again. To get filled up.

Make the most of them. If you do, they will help the rest of the week to make the most of you ♥.

Southern Grace

I returned home a few hours ago from attending this year's Ladies Spectacular at the First Baptist Church in Hammond. What a wonderful event it was!

The auditorium platform was decorated so nicely with yellow roses and greenery and the theme colors of yellow, black and white were refreshing.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the early morning sessions or the Thursday evening session, but the sessions that I did attend were fabulous!

We heard so many great messages on speaking graciously, being gracious home keepers, standing strong in times of weakness, and a variety of topics were taught during the special Thursday afternoon split sessions.

I was invited to speak during the Parent/Adult Relationships session, and I enjoyed listening to the wise advice that was given by the other speakers as well. My topic was "How to Stay Close Without Choking Out Your Kids". Many said that it was helpful and encouraging, and for that I am glad.

My very favorite part of the whole conference was the opportunity to see Mrs. Hyles again and hear her speak. I miss her presence in my weekly life. Mrs. Hyles is the most gracious Christian woman that I have ever met. She loves the Lord with all her heart and she has such a sweet love for others as well. I had the wonderful opportunity of spending time with Mrs. Hyles through the Hylander Wives ministry when my husband was at Bible College, and her beautiful womanhood was such an inspiration to me. It was so nice to hear her speak again. I told my husband that I wish she had a daily radio show that I could turn on and listen to each and every day. The world needs more women like her, she is just such an encouragement to so many.

The other highlight of my time at Ladies Spectacular this year was spending the days with my sweet daughter Sabrina. Both of her little guys were old enough to leave at home with Daddy this year and it was so great to sit with her and just "hang out". On Thursday afternoon Kina came up to listen to my talk and it was so nice having them both there together.

Mrs. Schaap has done a wonderful job with the whole Christian Womanhood ministry. The magazine that they put out is first class and the annual Spectacular is a very encouraging event.

One of my dear friends, Helen Sweet gave me a card on the first day with some money in it to buy a special something with. I took that money and purchased the book "Southern Grace", a book written by Cindy Schaap about her mother's gracious testimony and I am thoroughly enjoying reading it.

I love ladies conference events. I love to listen to ladies teach. I love learning about how to live a better Christian life.

Even Better, Sambucol and Other Neat Things I've Discovered Lately

About a week ago I was in need of some new foundation and I discovered the most wonderful product for my oily skin that tends to break out when it sits under foundation too long.

What is the name of this wonderful new product that I discovered? Even Better foundation by Clinique. The coverage that it provides is amazing and it stays on all day without becoming the least bit greasy. It looks natural, or I should say, it makes my face look like it is naturally more flawless than it is. I love this stuff and I would encourage anybody looking for a new foundation to try it.

Another product that I have discovered this last week is something called Sambucol. It is a natural immune booster made from elderberries and it is fantastic! Last week I was struggling with a nasty cold (which I was sure was going to become something more serious) and after taking 2 teaspoons of this stuff every day for the past 7 days I feel better than ever. I bought it at Walgreens for $12.99 and it tastes a little like licorice. They also make a Sambucol Plus product that is specifically for colds and such, but I bought the plain one because my main interest right now is strengthening my immune system (which has been through the ringer this past year).

In an effort to strengthen and rebuild my internal system I have also discovered two other pretty amazing products that I am loving ~ Omega 3-6-9 and Joint Advantage Gold.

The Omega 3-6-9 is a combination of Omega 3 fish oil, flax oil and Borage Oil that is supposed to strengthen and promote good heart health, cognitive function, and healthy skin and hair. It has a lemony taste (which is much better than the fishy one that usually comes with this kind of a product). This particular product is made by Natrol and I purchased it from Wal-Mart for less than $10.00.

The Joint Advantage Gold supplement is a combination of herbs that are supposed to strengthen my joints and tendons and reduce my inflammation and pain. For the past six months I have been taking very strong pain medication (for which I have been very thankful for), and now that I am healing and getting better, it is my desire to get off the pain meds completely. I believe that this product is going to help me to be able to do this. I ordered this product from the web-site of Dr. David Williams and I think the price of it was around $30.00.

It has been six months since my first shoulder surgery and I am so happy to report that I believe I am finely on the up side of all of this. Every day I feel myself getting stronger and I am able to do more and more each day.

I love discovering new things. If you have discovered something new lately that you are thrilled about, please share it with me because I would love to hear about it!

Precious In His Sight

Today was my day to be an altar worker. As I was standing up on the side of the altar after the evening service, my heart was overwhelmed by the sight I saw at the altar.

Children. So many children. On their knees with their faces buried in their arms. Praying. Praying for God to bless them and help them.

As I was watching them, I caught the sight of a little girl to my left asking her Mom if she could go forward. She wanted to be at the altar with the other children. She wanted to pray. She needed to pray.

As I watched this little girl kneel at the altar and bury her head into her folded arms, my eyes began to fill with tears.

I love this little girl so much. I pray for her Mom and Dad every day. I love her sister that struggles. I love this family so much.

Her desire to go to the altar and pray to the God she has just recently trusted as her Saviour encouraged me. She is only four years old. And yet, she knows.

She knows that Jesus died on the cross so that she can be saved. She has been learning about Him in Sunday School. She is learning about how much He loves her. She is learning about how much He cares about her needs.

The other little children are learning this too. And they are hungry to know. They are hungry to know about a God who loves and cares about them.

Some of them come from broken homes. Many of them live difficult lives. But when they come to church they feel free. Free of the burdens that are so heavy. Free of the feeling of being unloved. Free of the pain that their daily heartbreaks bring.

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Jesus loves the little children. They are precious in His sight. He loves to see them at the altar. His heart is blessed to hear their prayers.

Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight. Jesus is no respecter of persons. All the children are special to Him. He doesn't care how they come dressed, whether their hair gets fixed or not, if their teeth are rotting, or if they had trouble sitting still during the church service.

When He looks down and sees them kneeling at the altar, His heart is pleased. They are the humble ones. They are the trusting ones. They are the ones who really believe it all. They are the ones who make His heart smile.

Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I'm so thankful for all the little children that come to the Grace Baptist Church. Their wholehearted love for God and being in church inspires me.

Jesus loves the little children of our church . . . He loves them so very much . . . and their Pastor and their Pastor's Wife love them so very much too ♥.