For all of you who asked for a picture of me with my new short hairdo – that will have to wait for a little while. Here’s the thing… I don’t have a digital camera. My daughter bought a new one to take on her trip to Europe and is giving me her old one. She just has to delete the memory stick or something. So when she gives me her old camera, I will have her take my picture and maybe I’ll post it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a picture taken that I like. Either I look a lot sillier than I thought or I just don’t take a very good picture. I promise to give it a try though.


Some time ago Mary gave me this very sweet award. It’s funny. Whenever I get these awards I always feel like the person giving it to me is much more deserving of it than I am. Thank you, Mary, for thinking of me and for your very kind words. It really is a special blessing to know someone thinks enough of you to give you an award.


Our daughter was here yesterday with one hundred pictures of her trip to share with us. She assured us this is only part one. I think she took about six hundred pictures. Fortunately we love looking at pictures. She sat between us on the couch and gave us a little travelogue of her trip.


Her first stop was Paris, which she loved. Then she flew to Barcelona for a few days – which she loved even more. The next stop was Madrid which didn’t get nearly the rave reviews the other two cities received. Then it was back to Paris for the remainder of her vacation.


I think her favorite part of the trip (besides the great food in Paris) was meeting other young people from all over the world. She stayed with a friend in Paris, but in both Barcelona and Madrid she stayed in Hostels. She met people from Tokyo, Moscow and Austria – just to name a few. They were all so friendly and kind and she enjoyed spending time with them. She also had friends in Barcelona and Madrid she had only met through correspondence, and they were wonderful about taking her to all the places she wanted to see and showing her the things they loved about their own city. I have to say, we prayed constantly for her while she was gone. She is very independent, brave and smart – but I imagined all sorts of scenarios that kept me on my knees (I need to read my own post on fear and worry I think).


She is so funny about the food. If you could see her, you would think she never ate a sweet thing in her life. She is very slim. However, she loves good food and she especially loves good deserts. She even took pictures of some of the meals and deserts she had. Paris was her favorite place for deserts and crepes, and sadly Madrid just didn’t make the grade as far as she was concerned.


She brought me back some lovely scented soap and a pair of earrings from Paris. It was such fun to listen to all her stories. She is already planning her next trip. It is her dream to be able to live in France for a couple of months out of the year. She could certainly do work from wherever she is. If she does, Mom and Dad will be sure to visit – often!


I’ve been reading everyone’s great Fall Reading Lists. I’m just a real dead beat this time around. Right now I’m reading the Mitford series for the fourth time because I just couldn’t find anything that I really wanted to read. However, I have some great ideas now that I’ve seen some of your lists. I think Angela Hunt has to be way up at the top somewhere. So perhaps I’ll just list books as I read them.


Well, time to call it a night.

Tuesday is Dawn’s birthday. Happy Birthday Dawn!!! It is also Cyndi’s daughter’s birthday. Wishes for a blessed and happy birthday to both of them.

Blessings,

I feel a bit like the White Rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland". I'm late. I'm late for a very important date!!

Well I'm not actually late for a date, but I am hopelessly behind on my blogging. I haven't been near the computer for the past few days and the next few look equally busy. So I hereby extend my humble apologies (just in case anyone has missed me) for not visiting, reading, commenting or writing. I probably won't get back to all of this until next week.

I have wracked my little brain to see if there might me anything remotely entertaining or enlightening or even interesting floating around in there - nada!!
I suppose I could tell you I had my long hair all cut off yesterday. Six inches gone with a snip of the scissors. I am glad. It took me days to finally decide to do it because it took so long to grow my usually short hair down to my shoulders. However, I am tired of having to set a whole day aside to do my hair. It is so curly, and I have to roll it on HUGE rollers so it won't be sticking out a foot from my scalp. It takes hours to dry, and there is no way I was going to let anyone see me looking like an alien (or at the very least like I could pull in 137 tv stations). It was fun to have it long for a while, but I'm over it now. Back to my short curly little self. Ah...

I could also tell you that our daughter is safely home from her European adventure. She got in late last night. I've spoken to her a couple of times, but we won't see her until sunday. She has some catching up to do - mostly in the sleep department. It was a wonderful trip - all she had hoped it would be. I can't wait to hear all the stories and see all the pictures. I am so thankful for the prayers on her behalf. God definitely took very good care of her. He just seems to have a knack for that sort of thing.

I could just go on and on about how wonderful our Beth Moore Bible Study on the Fruit of the Spirit is. She just gets better and better, deeper and deeper, more and more of a blessing to me. My friend Mary and I already have our tickets for the Living Proof Event here next August. I think she will be doing something special with those of us who read her blog. I can't wait!!

No sign of Fall here yet. It is still ninety degrees most afternoons. In all fairness, we have had a very rainy, cool (for us) summer. No complaints. Everything looks so lush and bountiful. However, I am anxiously awaiting that first cold front.

So....that's about it for me. I must hasten off to fold laundry, work on my Bible Study, iron, and practice piano. I will try to read some posts if I can squeeze out a few minutes. I always feel so bad when I don't get to visit everyone.

Y'all have a blessed weekend,

It was dusk and I was walking across the carpeted floor of our bedroom when I spotted it. Something looking uncomfortably like a huge scorpion right in my path. I jumped back startled. Very carefully I reached over to turn on the light and get my glasses...

The rest of this devotional is posted on tuesday's Laced With Grace. I'll meet you over there.

Blessings,

It has been a difficult week for many of our precious friends. Amy Wilhoite lost her battle with cancer and went to be with her Beloved Savior. Kelli was critically ill and had to be hospitalized. She is home from the hospital for now and needs our prayers. Myrna's brother also went home to be with the Lord after a battle with cancer. I am sure there are many others who are suffering in one way or another. It just seems to be part of the human experience.

It can all become a bit overwhelming, but we can echo the words of the Psalmist when he cries out:


"Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God." Ps. 42:5


No matter what the circumstances there is always hope; hope in the God who loves us and faithfully keeps His promises to never leave us or forsake us; hope in the God who has promised to work all things together for good; hope in the One who loves us so much He gave His own beloved Son to die for us.

That hope, in the face of such sorrow, was rekindled in my heart this week when I read Kristen's post about the miracle God did in her life. He is still in the business of doing the impossible. It was rekindled when our Pastor told us that nearly 600 people gave their lives to Jesus during our Revival services. Miracles - each and every one of them. He is still in the business of saving lost souls.

I am so thankful that He has given us such a precious gift - hope. My hope is in the Lord.

Blessings,

This Thursday I am filled with thanksgiving for the life-changing Word of God.

We had Revival services at our church this past week. It was so moving to see people respond to the simple message of salvation. When I think of the way I so often let doubt and outright unbelief cloud my vision, it is so refreshing to see people who are hearing for perhaps the first time the good news that Christ died for their sins and made a way back to the Father for them - accept Him with simple child-like faith.

When the invitation was given, and dozens of people stood and then walked down the aisle something happened I have never experienced before. Everyone began to applaud, and then we all stood to our feet in a standing ovation. At first I felt a little uncomfortable, and then I thought about all of heaven rejoicing over the souls that were being saved, and I clapped all the harder. What joy! What victory! What a miracle! I couldn’t hold back the tears. People who had walked into that service with no hope were leaving with new life. I never want to get blasé about seeing people receive Jesus as Savior. I pray so hard for God to do miracles, and I was witnessing the greatest miracle of all. Thank You Jesus.

Bible Study has started again, and I am so thankful. I love to study the word. I have been to a good many Bible studies through the years, but there is always something fresh and new to learn. If I will let the word get from my head down into my heart, it will change my life – every time. I never ‘arrive’. Just when I think I’ve pretty well got it all figured out, God is ready to teach me something new. There is always that next thing to begin working on.

We’re doing a study I’ve done once before, but I know the Lord has something different for me this time around. That’s the amazing thing about God’s word. It is living. The same words can speak in a totally different way according to what the Spirit is doing in my life. A verse I may have read casually a dozen different times suddenly pierces my heart with a truth I hadn’t seen before. It is miraculous.

I am so deeply thankful for the Living Word.

For more Thankful Thursday posts please visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

Blessings,

We are having revival services at our church for the next few days so I am going to take a little break. I will be back for Thankful Thursday.

I also wanted to thank you for all the uplifting comments on my last post. I knew you would feel just that way. I am so encouraged when I look at my own granddaughters and read about your little girls and granddaughters. They are being wisely and lovingly raised; they are exeriencing childhood at its best. I am so proud of you and just love you to death.

Have a blessed week. See you thursday.

I hope I don’t step on any toes with this post, but there is something that has been bothering me so I thought I would see what you think. There was a little human interest story on our local news the other evening. A stay-at-home Dad has opened a new business named for his twelve year old daughter. It is a spa for young girls. For now, the father said, they are just doing the “outward” things, but he plans to do things to nurture the inner being as well. He doesn’t want the focus to be only on appearance. They plan to offer classes (I’m not sure what those will be – but I am still not happy.)

They showed the inside of this beautifully decorated spa filled with little girls getting manicures and pedicures. They all said how much they loved it. They were all so excited to have this great place – and I felt so sad.

I was born in 1946 which didn’t seem like such a ridiculously ancient number at one time. I grew up in the fifties, and when I was twelve years old I was still playing with dolls. My sister is four years younger than I am so perhaps that explains it. Or perhaps I was just very immature. I just know I loved being a little girl.

I was thinking back last night about the things I loved to do when I was a little girl. We played with our dolls for hours on end. My Mom, who is an excellent seamstress, made incredible wardrobes for them. We had Tiny Tears dolls that looked so much like real babies. We also had Ginny Dolls – that was before Barbie made her voluptuous appearance. She sewed tiny little dresses for them as well.

We also played with paper dolls. In addition to all the clothes they came with, we used to cut things out of old catalogs to furnish their homes and accessorize their wardrobes. They were great fun until their cardboard necks got bent and then we were ready for someone new.

We lived in a small sub-division (we called it a development back then) and there was always someone there to play with. One day one of our girlfriends came over with a bunch of beautiful old gowns her mother had given her. We played dress-up with those gowns for weeks.

We rode our bikes all over the neighborhood, swam in little wading pools and swung on the swings my Dad made for us until we were dizzy. We pretended to be the characters we saw in the movies and made up stories that continued day after long summer day.

We were blissfully unaware that we weren’t as thin as models, that we probably didn’t have the latest fashions or that we didn’t have the most alluring “do”. Of course all of those things eventually did become important, but not for a long time.

I felt sad watching those little girls because childhood is so brief, and we can never go back once those years have passed. I hope it was just one of those atypical things the news likes to report. I hope little girls are still allowed to be little girls.

The closing shot of the news story was of the owner’s little girl spinning around in one of the spa chairs. That, I thought, is more like it.

Blessings,

“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”
Isaiah 30:21 (NAS)

“Jacob, be careful!” “Jacob stay behind Papa. Don’t ride off the edge of the road.”

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we were on a bike ride with our grandchildren. It was especially fun for Jacob, our six year old grandson, because his bike had been out of commission for weeks and this was his first ride in a long time...

To read more about Jacob's adventure please join me at Laced With Grace on thursday.

Thank you so much and blessings,

When I decided that I had to spend less time on the computer, my one big fear was that I would somehow miss something important that I needed to see. That is exactly what happened the other day. Tammy gave me this wonderful award and said such nice things about me - and I missed it altogether. She very graciously left me a comment so I would know it was there.

Thank you so much Tammy. It just made my day. It is such a blessing to hear encouraging words. It just lifts the spirit. I could easily just return this award to Tammy. I love her sweet posts about her family. Her warm, loving spirit just fills each one. I also love her stories. She is indeed a gifted writer.

Thank you Tammy.

I sincerely hope I don't miss anything else in the next few days, but I will be away from the computer for the next few days. I have a post all ready for thursday, but it will probably be friday before I am able to spend any real time on the computer. Today is piano lesson and then dinner at Mom and Dad's.
Tomorrow is Bible Study, volunteer work at church, and choir practice in the evening.
Thursday we have an appointment to learn to use the new insulin pump my husband will be using. When we finish that we take our daughter to the airport for her trip to Europe!

Our very sweet, independent daugher is heading for Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid all by herself!! If you think of her, I would appreciate prayers for her protection. I have been praying since the day she made her airline reservations. She is so excited. She has a friend to stay with in Paris, but Spain will be on her own except for a friend she has been corresponding with (email). I don't think I could be so brave.

Blessings,

It is one of those afternoon that has “comfy chair, good book and a cup of tea” written all over it. The sky is overcast – heavy with the promise of rain. It is very quiet here with just my husband and me in the house. Soon he will turn on the television and watch a golf tournament or a car race, and I will pick up my good book (I’m reading the Mitford series for the third time. I just got tired of bringing books home from the library that promised to be terrific reads only to discover within the first few pages they weren’t living up to that promise). If every book could minister to my soul the way these sweet books do, I would feel like it was a bit of heaven on earth.

We were meant to be in Houston this weekend having fun with the kids and grandkids, but I woke up the other morning with a sore throat. When it had only gotten worse by the next day, I called my dil to see if she wanted us to come (me and my sore throat). It wasn’t really a hard decision. No one wants to expose five healthy children to germs on purpose. So the trip is postponed to another time. The boys (Papa, daddy and the two grandsons) had plans to go to a drag race which was the only reason we considered going, but there is another one in a few weeks.

It was a good thing we didn’t go. My sore throat has blossomed into an honest-to-goodness chest cold. I pushed to do the usual Saturday things yesterday, but I’m giving in and taking it easy today. I so rarely get sick it always takes me by surprise when I do. I’ve jokingly said to my husband that a good inscription for my tombstone may very well be: “But She Was Never Sick!”

Although we don’t have the back to school things going on in our home any more, we are slowly easing into the fall schedule. Our volunteer work in the music department has started as has choir practice. This Wednesday our Ladies Bible Study begins. We’re doing a Beth Moore (yippee) – “The Fruit of the Spirit”. I’ve done it before, but I know that I will get something new from it this time around. That’s just the way the Lord works.

Speaking of Beth Moore, her special get-together for the ladies that read her blog is going to be at the Living Proof Life event here in San Antonio next August. When I read her post, I immediately called my dear friend and asked her if she wanted to go. She does, and we are!! I’m forever saying I want to do these things and then for one reason or another I don’t. Then I’m sorry afterward. I decided not to let myself have time to talk myself out of it. I called right then and ordered the tickets. It would be great if some of us could meet there. I don’t think all the details have been worked out yet, but I think she is going to be doing something special with the bloggers.

We aren’t experiencing that chill in the air that some of you are, but as soon as we do I need to haul myself out to my little flower garden and do some serious cutting back. With the abundant rains we’ve had this summer (I only watered the lawn twice. Absolutely unheard of !!) my flowers have gone totally berserk. It looks like a mini jungle down there. I just don’t have the energy to get out there in the heat to do anything about it, and so they continue to get totally out of hand. I can hardly see my little antique rose bush any more. Shameful.

I think it’s about time for some lunch. Have a blessed Sunday and a fun holiday tomorrow. We have no big plans. I think I may just do a repeat of today!




Blessings,