Update

I've been away from my blog for a long time. Many things have happened since I last posted. My Mother was getting up in years and I took to going to her home every day to help her. I cooked, cleaned, did her grocery shopping, paying bills and taking care of her banking.

She broke her hip in December 2010, had surgery, and then to rehab. I brought her to our home where she spent the next 2 1/2 years. She passed away in September 2014. She lived a long life and productive life of  97 1/2 years. God was good to her because she was a faithful Christian.

We certainly miss her every day. Just looking at the recliner where she spent her days mostly and passing the bedroom where she slept gets to me at times. But I wouldn't wish her back. She was ready to go, and she was so tired, didn't eat much at last. Her hearing had gotten very bad and I know that played on her mind. She could watch television, but couldn't hear it good.

I came home from church that last Sunday. She said she was hungry, so I fed her lunch. She ate every bite. Later she started shaking, which scared us. We got her cleaned up and called the paramedics. She got to the hospital that afternoon where they told us she seemed to be having problems (didn't tell us she was shutting down).  The staff had her in a room, all cleaned up and she  said she was hungry and wanted some water.  She ate about 2 bites of applesauce and said that's all she wanted. She took a few sips of water. We had no idea she was so close to leaving us. She passed away not long after midnight.

I know she's in the best place she could be in, no more sickness, and reunited with my Daddy, her Mother and sister, and a host of other relatives. She's probably singing around the throne of Jesus!

Turn From Sin

Do you remember when you were a child playing in the dirt? You got your clothes and your body all smeared with dirt. Your Mom would take you in the house and give you a bath. This would make you feel so much better. And the clean clothes made you also look better. Nothing like facing the world with a clean body and clothes!

Well, sin is the same way. You are human and have a sin nature. The devil will have you sinning and you think all is well. But, somewhere inside that body of yours, you are constantly having the feeling that something isn’t right. Well, the devil has you believing that your sin is not sin, that it is okay.  But, until you realize that it is really is a sin, you will go right on making the same mistakes over and over. And you can just hear the devil laughing!  He’s saying I have this person right where I want him/her. He doesn’t make you feel bad, but your conscious does. So many people sin and trying to make themselves and others believe that what they are doing is okay. But, behind that hard exterior, they are usually suffering. But you won’t hear them admit it until God gets hold of them.

But there are also many who do not believe in God; they do things ‘their way’ and will refuse to listen to anything spiritual. If they only realized how wonderful life can be when they actually turn their lives over to the Lord and let him handle the mistakes they make. Sure, we aren’t perfect; nobody is but Jesus. But we can work towards being as perfect as we can be here on earth. AND, with His help, we can sin less and less. Christians do not habitually sin. If they do, they aren’t living for God. We make mistakes, but our conscious immediately calls us on it and we should repent and ask God for forgiveness.

We face many temptations from day to day. Without God, it is hard to pass up those temptations and you always have that little man sitting on your shoulder, telling you all is well. But, it’s not. Each temptation can draw you further and further into sin until your conscious is seared. You just think you are having a good time, when all the while, you are getting farther and farther away from what is truth. The Bible says if we are in Him (saved by grace through faith in Him) then we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free. John 8:32 KJV. 

Remember that God loves us no matter how bad we are. He will forgive us of anything, IF we ask of him. He’s a loving God and a forgiving God, but, if we don’t turn from sin and ask for forgiveness, then we are on the path to destruction and that leads to hell. There will always be eternity – but the question is: Where will you spend eternity? It will be one of two places – heaven or hell. It’s our choice to make. God gave us free reign over our lives after Adam and Eve sinned. He could have turned away from us, but he didn’t. So, if you are at the cross roads of decisions today, why not turn your life over to God and find out what He can do for you! He can give you peace that passeth all understanding! Phil 4:7 KJV

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Placing Hope In Tomorrow

Today we buried my husband’s nephew. He was only 52 years of age. And, we had no idea he was sick or that he would leave us so quickly. And I am sure he had no idea that he would not live longer than he did.

We are not promised tomorrow through God’s Word. Only God gives us hope.

Psalms 119:114, "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."

James 4:14, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Vapor in our language means ‘something insubstantial, worthless, or fleeting.’ Without God, there would be no life, no tomorrow. Instead of counting on tomorrow, let us put our hope in God alone. Then when things happen, we know we can call on Him and He will be there for us. Tomorrow may never come for some of us like it didn’t come for Dan, but with God there is always HOPE!

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Checking spacing in new format

I just found out tonight from a friend about the new format here at Blogspot.com. I never had a problem with the other, but apparently the owners thought they needed an upgrade.

I have no idea how this will turn out. Others are having problems with spacing. I am just typing as I usually do, to see how this comes out. My main objective is to have it appear nicely on my blog, not jumbled up.

I am going to insert a picture to see if I can do it correctly:

The picture is of a tame crab apple tree in our back yard. This picture was made about 2 years ago. It wasn't in good bloom this year. It usually is gorgeous at Easter time.

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Unwanted Thoughts When Trying To Sleep

When one is sitting around, the mind seems to wonder. Doesn’t matter that you are reading, watching television, or playing on the Internet. As they say, the mind has a mind of it’s own.

Have you ever been in bed and things come up in your mind that you did not want to dwell upon? How hard was it for you to focus on something more suitable to your taste at night? Seems those thoughts you didn’t want to dwell upon seem to keep coming up, even as far as ‘seeing them in the mind’s eye’. This has cost me lots of sleepless nights!

I have often wondered how one could control the mind to keep thoughts from showing up that one didn’t want to have there. I know it happens more when you are very tired and the mind plays tricks on you. It knows it’s hard for you to fight off these thoughts when you are too tired.

I believe, if we were to go to bed thinking on God’s Word, then this would be in the forefront of our minds. These unwanted thoughts would be crowded out with the scriptures, giving you a reprieve from the longing to sleep – sleep would come naturally. I know, when my sleep gets interfered with, it is hard to keep those thoughts away. Sometimes I do manage to get the Word on the brain and try and concentrate. But, then, it takes me longer to go to sleep. I pray one day that my mind will be in line with the Word, that those unwanted thoughts will no longer be in the recesses of my mind to bother me any longer!!

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We all suck, at times

None of us are perfect, by any means. I know there are those out there that think they have it all together, never make mistakes, miss appointments, or forget important dates. They just haven't caught up with the 'true me'.

I just finished reading a great article called 'Things that Happen Because I Suck' over at Prisca's Voice. Go read it; it will certainly make you think and perhaps align your life with hers. I know I read 'myself' in many of the things in which she thought she sucked.

I used to be a perfect housekeeper, moreso when my children were small. But, over the years, I have learned there is more to life than a perfectly clean house. I keep a fairly neat house, but by no means is it perfect.I make my bed when I want to, and that's not every day. Some of my closets are like hers, jammed to the max! We have taken time out to clean out our closets, given box after box away, and they seem to just keep getting trashed over and over. I'm guilty of keeping things that I think we will need: doesn't every one? Surely I'll 'be able to get in that suit one day again' - mentality of those unable to get rid of 'things'.

I'm guilty of procrastination big time! My motto should be 'don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today'. But that's too hard; I do what I feel like doing and leave the rest until tomorrow, whenever that comes. If everyone was honest, I am sure they would admit to sometimes procrastinating! Truth?

I cannot say you will find dust bunnies or anything else under my furniture. It's not because I run the vacuum cleaner all the time. But my husband does and he does it often. Now, if you run your finger across my furniture periodically, you may find dust. Gosh, dust seems to settle here all the time.

A week before Christmas, my husband and I took on the job of 'cleaning house'. Almost did us in, but we were determined to have a clean house for Christmas when everyone gathered here. And, on top of that, we knew my Mother would be coming here to recuperate from surgery for a broken hip. Didn't want to have to do much cleaning while she was here. It has really been a life saver for me. It has been so easy to keep a clean house.

But, guess what!! That Christmas tree that was coming down the day after Christmas - it is still up in my living room. The table that goes in front of my picture window is still sitting in my foyer. Well, nobody comes to my front door; if they did, they'd be strangers. So, until I have time (should be doing it now!) to get down all the boxes and get busy for hours, the tree will sit where it is for awhile.

Now, if all this makes me suck, sure I do. I just like to think we all have periods of being lazy. That doesn't make us bad, just humans. And human I am!! After all, Life is not a bowl of cherries. :)

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Innocence of the Young

I have a picture of my great granddaughter as my desktop on my laptop. She is so precious. She has things she doesn't like, and is adamant about it. If she doesn't want you to mess with her, you will certainly know it.

But, at her age, they are so innocent. They look to adults to keep them safe, to feed them, and help them with whatever needs they have. They learn from those who are older. We all set standards and rules for the young. If we show them in our own actions what is acceptable and what isn't, then they will more than likely pick up on those actions. Too may parents do things or say things in front of the young that isn't appropriate. Then, when they try to emulate those things, the child is punished. We need to be careful what we say and do in front of the young.

Teenagers are also very easily influenced by their peers. I believe we need to monitor our children's friends to make sure their actions are in line with how we are raising our children. When children spend lots of time with other children,they tend to pick up on things they do or say. And, if there are negative things in their actions, our children will most likely pick up those things. It's easier to keep our children safe and away from those who will tend to influence our children negatively than it is to try and undo what has been done.

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Living in the "Dash"

We attended the funeral of my husband's niece's husband today. It was a very sad occasion. This man was a great man, a Christian, wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. You never saw him unless you saw that sweet smile and you also got a hug. He had them for everyone who was around.

The preacher that preached his funeral had been his pastor only 5 months. But, he had known him for 35 years. So you could say he actually 'knew' him! And, he gave an analogy of life. He said, when you go to the cemetery, you see two numbers on a tombstone - the date of birth and the date of death. There is a dash between the numbers. Therefore, we, who are living, are in the Dash.

The Dash represents the life we show others. Whatever we do during this dash will affect what happens in that last phase. If we know the Lord personally when we die, then we will have eternal life with the Lord. A good life will not get us to heaven. It takes a personal relationship with God. If one leaves this DASH without knowing the Lord, one is lost forever.

We know today that this nephew is gone on to face his maker. And, it was so wonderful to see even a sweet smile on his face in death! It warms your heart to know the life he lived is reflected in his face! I told his wife last night at the viewing that we can tell what he's doing. She said, 'yes, he's living what we have always studied about' - and he's seeing those who had gone on before.

So, live the best life in your Dash - get to know the Lord personally. You will never regret it!

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Through His Eyes

As we grow older, our eyes seem to need more attention. One day, we are fine, reading the smallest of print. Then, all of a sudden, we realize that our eyes aren’t seeing as good as they used to. We find ourselves holding the book closer, maybe squinting to see the words clearly. Then, one day, we realize we probably need glasses, but hesitate to go have our eyes checked.

I had worn only reading glasses for years. Although my daughter had worked for an ophthalmologist for many years, I only got them checked one time in all her years there. She changed jobs over 3 years ago and I finally made it a priority to have my eyes checked again. I ended up getting progressive lens, glasses I can use for all my needs, reading up close or at a distance, and, yes, even on this laptop! I am so pleased. I had them checked again this year and my eyes are still the same as they were then. But I will continue to check on them because I don’t want to be without my ‘eyes’!

Our eyes view others every day. We ‘see’ a thing in people that perhaps helps us may our assessment of those people, whether good or bad. As Christians, we sometimes look at someone without realizing that what we see may not be what God sees. As humans, we have a habit of looking for the first time and make a judgment of that person that may or may not be totally correct. The Bible tells us to first remove the beam from our own eyes before trying to remove the mote from someone else’s eye. I think God want us to love the people, regardless of what we may think about them. Love goes farther than a harsh judgment with a person. If the person is not a Christian, perhaps they will see the love of God in us and want what we have. And, even if that person is a Christian, yet not living a really Godly life,perhaps we will have a chance to help them get closer to God by seeing God at work in our own life.

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Life's Fleeting Moments

When we were children, we thought that a long life was in front of us. We never gave a thought to dying. Of course, we would reach those great ages, as we saw them through our young eyes, sixteen and twenty-one. At sixteen, we knew we would be able to drive. And, when we reached twenty-one, we were considered adults. We never got beyond the thought of growing up and living a long life.

As we grow older, we realize days pass by quicker, the week isn’t as long, and the next year rolls around ever so quickly. I’ve noticed that the year now passes very quickly for me. We’ve always heard people say ‘it’s Christmas in July’. Well, now, seems even Christmas in December comes around twice as quick as Christmas did when we were children. I know the time is the same, but life is much busier as we grow older and time does seem to pass quicker.

Our neighborhood, which is like other neighborhoods, has lost many older people. It’s hard to turn loose of them, having known them for so long. Looking at their home when we pass by reminds us that life ends some day for us all. Perhaps it is quicker for some than it is for others. But none of us are promised tomorrow. James 4:14 tells us that life ‘is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.’

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Will our nation survive?

What are your feelings toward the way the failing economy of the USA has been handled by the Obama administration and the Congress?

Do you agree that the bill just passed in the House will help us rise from the vast debt they have gotten us into? Do you actually believe there are no tax increases among the pages of that bill? I have yet to see a bill passed without some concessions made. So much is done behind closed doors. We hear one thing and they do another. It's hard to believe most any of the congressmen anymore.

We live in the best country in the world. Yet, our government has gotten us into the biggest mess we have ever been in and it's happened in the past 2 1/2 years! Of course, they love to blame it on the Bush Administration since they do not want to accept responsibility for the things they have done. But the American people know what is going on. We aren't as stupid as we are perceived to be by some in Congress.

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Pet Peeves - How about you?

There are some things I wish could be changed or people would change. There are so many things that bother me at times. I don't sit and grieve over them, but they are aggravating at the time they come about.

1. THIN tissue paper in public bathrooms.
2. The lack off seat covers in public bathrooms where they have the holders for them.
3. People hurrying to get in front of you on the highway only to turn right. Why not wait?
4. When having a conversation with someone, someone else comes up, starts a conversation and the person you are talking to tunes you out!
   
5. The new faucets in some public bathrooms that sense hands - and sometimes the water doesn't work!
6. Jeans where the waist hangs almost to the knees! Don't like seeing the behind!
7. And to cover up those LOW jeans, a shirt that would fit 4 people - sick!
8. Trash thrown out on the highways.
9. Potholes in streets that never get fixed.
10. A rude salesperson or waiter/waitress.
11. Someone calling my phone and never says a word. If you get the wrong number, apologize and hang up.
12. Someone arguing over the Bible.
13. A know-it-all attitude
14. Wrinkle-free clothes that aren't really wrinkle-free.
15. A technician that knows nothing about his job.
16. A slow Internet connection when you are paying for a fast one!
17. People who don't keep their word
18. Hearsay being repeated as the truth
19. Someone lying to you when they know you know the truth
20. Advertisements to draw you in to buy and the product doesn't work like they say
21. Too high gas prices!
22. The government taking over in our personal lives
23. Freedoms being taken away that are rightfully ours!

I could list from now to night fall and never finish! There are so many things in this world that need to be changed. Our government is out of control. They aren't responsible with the finances. They are spend-thrifts, spending on things that aren't worth a 'hill of beans' to the average American, when they could be putting those millions of dollars toward the national debt.

If most of the government workers in Washington, DC had to live the way most average Americans do, I believe we would see a drastic change in their attitudes and their working habits. The average Joe/Mary can't make it on a few weeks of work and then a 4 week holiday! It's work until you drop 5 or 6 days a week all year and some never getting a day off or a vacation.

Another thing that really bothers me is the government's ability to give themselves pay raises whenever they want. They spend our money like it's theirs while they give themselves pay raises to cover cost of living and the rest of the country does without cost of living raises! Even Social Security was not given a cost of living this past year and from what we've heard, we still will not get one for a couple more years. But the Government and the President and family go on their merry way doing whatever please them while most of the rest of America suffers! The President tells us what to buy and eat while he continues to spend money like it grew on trees and not coming out of the tax payer's pocket!

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The Love of God

Most of us do no stop to think that God is in our every day lives. We don't seem to 'see' him at work or even that, in the least things, God can be found. I've come to realize we've missed special moments with God in not keeping our minds tuned on him.

Last night, we attended a music get-together. A Christian band was the one to close out the show for the night. They sang some great songs and were very good! But what caught my heart was the fact that one of the singers went down to get three little children, two boys and a girl. One of the boys was a child with down's syndrome. I assumed the head of the band was the boy's father since he told the story about getting him ready for bed and his son talking about 'his love'. It pertained to a song they had been learning and this little boy picked up on the love of God.

The thing that struck me and brought tears to my eyes was the love that was shown to this little boy by the girl (lead singer) who had brought him on stage. She would kneel beside him, prompting him to sing what he could. She would touch him sweetly to get him to sing. She never seemed to tire of giving him and the other two children her attention, constantly on her knees are singing at their ears. You could just see the love of God in her!

Matthew 22:39 tells us to 'Thy shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'. And I have never seen a sweeter demonstration of love than this girl showed that little boy.

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How Did We Manage?

The question at hand is 'how did we manage?' back in the days of no power, no phones, etc. I remember back in my younger days of having none of the things we now consider necessities.

Sitting in my Mother's Den today, the power suddenly went out. She has a problem with all the light coming through the big windows, so the drapes stayed drawn together. It was very dark in the room. And it got very hot when the air conditioner wasn't working. I decided to call the power company to see what was going on. My cell phone was in my car on the charger, so I picked up her wall phone, knowing her other phone would not work. Low and behold, the phone was dead. There we sat with no air and no phone! Seemed like old times.

I thought back to when I was a child. I remember the only power we had came from a light hanging from the ceiling, but I also remember lights going out for long periods and we still had to use kerosene lamps to read at night. We had no such thing as air conditioners. We didn't have a fan until I was much older. My parents just could not afford these things at that time. But I didn't feel like I was doing with out; nobody else around us had them either. We didn't have electric heat or gas heat. We heated with a coal stove in the kitchen and a fireplace in the living room. We didn't have a refrigerator with an ice maker or freezer. We depended on the ice house coming around with ice. Our neighbor had an icebox and they kept what they called 'hot' ice in it from the ice house that we used. Our water came from a well. Although we had great water (the best in the town), it didn't provide for water to wash, so my Dad had to haul it from his sister's house.

All of those memories make it seem as though we were poor. But we were not, and, even if we had been, we wouldn't have known it. I did have friends back then that were lots worse off than we had ever been. But none of us dwelt on the fact that we did without things that we might have wanted. Back then, there were no cell phones, no electronics. And, in fact, I was in the ninth grade before we even got a television.

So, sitting in Mother's Den, and getting hotter by the minute, I wondered how our parents and theirs felt when they were growing up, doing without even part of what we think now of as necessities. I know they didn't have power. They grew all their own vegetables and had chickens and cows (of which we did, too when I was young). I remember when Foremost Milk Company started coming door to door bringing milk. Was I happy! I always hated cow's milk. I learned to milk, but never liked the taste. What a joy to get the store-bought kind!

We learned that it was a joy to get out and PLAY - something most kids now do not do. Well, lots of children are into sports, but, when they get home, they sit in front of the television with their electronic games or they are on the cell phone, texting or talking to friends. We loved to be outside at night under the street lights, playing marbles until our parent called us in. I love to play basketball better than I loved to eat.

We all survived and came to know all the good things that have been invented since back then. But I would not want to do away with those days. It taught us that we can survive without having all the amenities that we take for granted today. When the power goes out, we gladly take down our kerosene lamp and our candles and light them up. We go back to talking, something lots have forgotten they can still do. Conversation is almost lost when the television is on or the games are playing. We can still read under the lamp or candles.

I braved the time (about 3 hours) without power today with my lighted Kindle, reading a book. That was the only light in the house. Mother had no light to work on her Word book, so she talked or took a nap. And when the power came back on, I heard her freezer in the next room kick on. So I quickly fixed her television and told her to turn her table lamp on. I was getting ready to leave since it was late, but the lights went out once more. They stayed off for another 15 minutes before coming back on. She was trying to get me to leave because it might get dark before I got home (not likely). I finally got to leave, hoping and praying the power stays on tonight. I had learned earlier today from my brother that the same thing happened last night, letting me know why her television wasn't on this morning when I got there. Hopefully, the power company has the problem fixed and it won't happen again!!

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Happy Mother's Day

To all the Mothers out there, we wish you a Happy Mother's Day.

I am the Mother of two children, a son and a daughter. I remember the day they both were born and the excitement that filled our then 'young' hearts. We had only picked out two names before our first child, our son, was born. We picked out a boy's name and a girl's name. So, when I was pregnant the second time, we never picked out another name for a boy. It was an understanding with me that it was a girl. So, the night I went into labor, we were within a few blocks of the hospital when my husband said, "We never picked out another boy's name", to which I said, "Just get me to the hospital; we are having a girl." I never once doubted that God would give me the desires of my heart (Psalms 37:4), which was a son first and a daughter second. And that is what He did!

My children were a delight to us and now their children are also delights to us! It is like having your children all over again except you can send them home. But I love having my grandchildren around. And now our oldest grandson has added great grandmother/grandfather to our names since he now has a one year old daughter that we can love.

Thank the Lord for all Mothers who love and nurture their children in the ways of the Lord. He tell us to raise our children in the way they should go and they will never depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) They may not be where they should be with the Lord at this moment, but hold fast to his promise and they will surely come! His promises are true!

Technorati Tags: Holiday, Mother's Day

Thoughts on the Tornado Disaster

For four days this week, I sat with only a small sports transistor radio listening to the voices of different radio hosts talk to those devastated by the tornadoes, or to those helping those same people try to get back part of their life. Here I sat with no electricity, but we had our home and cars and all our family was safe. All I could do was shed tears for those people who were in harms way.

Tornadoes hit all around us, but our property was spared. Only two dead trees fell. The church near us sustained damage from a falling tree and others that fell in their yard. This was one of the reasons our community was without power. But I have to stress again, the tornado did not touch our community. But so many people around us did sustain major damage.

I cannot even imagine what the people throughout our state who were hit by this storm feel today, especially those who have lost relatives or have someone missing. I just checked one of the pages on the Internet that lists missing people. There are so many still missing and some may add to the already high total of people killed by these deadly tornadoes here in Alabama.

We have listened to the devastation talked about and watched so much of it on TV since getting our power back Saturday evening. But my husband says, until you get out there and experience first hand, you have no idea how bad it is. He has been going by Pratt City almost every day this week. And he says it is hard to believe what Pratt City once was just looking at the devastation there.

My church is only about 3 miles from me, but it's in Cullman County. And Cullman County is still out of power and have no idea when they might get it back up again. So our church was naturally out of power. But our pastor's wife said she could not even think about us not having church since so many churches around were hit hard. And they were all having church on the outside. I just read about the Phil Campbell Church of God having church outside on the concrete pad where their church once stood.

The pastor Chris Burns of Phil Campbell Church of God has this to say:

"Last week, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Phil Campbell, Alabama."

Those of us who were unscathed by the deadly tornadoes on Wednesday should be praying for those who were and pray for the safety of those relatives yet to have been found. Also help in any way you can, whether it be through physical help, a donation, or visit to the Red Cross. Today our church is making a donation to Red Cross. We are a small congregation right now, but we know it's important to show the love of God at a time of need. You will be blessed. Remember we are untouched by the disaster, but our friends and neighbors throughout Alabama may have not been so fortunate.

Technorati Tags: Tornadoes, Disasters, Alabama

Easter Sunday

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!

Today has been a great day. First, we are ALIVE. God gave us one more day in which to praise and worship HIM.

I got up very early, put on a roast, potatoes, and carrots for lunch. None of the family came today, so it was only my husband and me. But it was good!

I went to Church early this morning in order for us to get the singing ready. Four of us ladies led the singing and it was wonderful! One young man, a grandson of one of the ladies, sang "Amazing Grace-My Changes Are Gone" a cappella. It was so anointed hardly a dry eye in the building. I know there wasn't on stage. Afterwards, he came over and hugged our necks. He was so nervous, but you could tell that he felt what he was singing! It is such a joy to see a young man sing for the Lord.

Today is Decoration Day at the Cemetery where my husband's people are buried, along with my youngest sister-in-law who died last August. My husband went with his sister to put flowers on all the graves. And we are going up there in a little while to walk over the graveyard and see all the beautiful flowers people have put out for their loved ones.

This has been a very good day. We've had gorgeous weather although it looked like rain this morning when I went to church. But even the little kids had a ball having an Easter egg hunt after church. And we had so many birds on the yard - the kind that bury their eggs in the ground. I felt bad for one little bird that kept walking around chirping at the top of it's lungs - around and around - as though someone had taken it's eggs. But perhaps it was only trying to ward off the predators - the kids and adults walking around.

Thank the Lord for another wonderful Resurrection Sunday. May His blessings be with you this year.

Thinking of buying a Kindle?

I once made the statement that I wouldn't buy a Kindle because I love the fill of a real book in my hand. After much consideration and talking to a few friends who have them, I changed my mind! One friend reads many books a week and she says it has really saved them money. With that I can now agree. The other friend highly recommended the Kindle. She said she even sat in church and downloaded the Bible in just a minute or so!

I first downloaded Kindle for the PC to find out if I would really like the Kindle. Almost got addicted to that. But I wanted something I could take with me without much fuss. The laptop is a little large to take only to read books.

Yesterday, I received my Kindle. I was gone to my grandson's soccer game, so I was about 11:30 PM getting home. Well, that did not deter me from checking the Kindle out. I knew it had to be charged for about 3 hours. It came with a USB cord and an adapter to hook it up to the power to charge the battery. So I quickly hooked my Kindle up to my laptop USB port.

I did lots of research on what I could and could not do with the Kindle. I found out I could 'eject the Kindle' from the computer and download books or search on the Web while it was charging. My husband explained that 'ejecting' meant going to my Windows Explorer, locating the drive my Kindle was on, and then deleting it, which I did. SO, on the search I went. Before long, I was reading a book I had previously downloaded to my Kindle for the PC. And, the great thing is, you never lose your place no matter what you are reading on! There are APPS for many devices, including the iPhone, etc.

To protect the Kindle, I knew I needed some sort of a cover. I checked them all out. And, on the advice from a friend, I decided to buy the lighted leather cover. The Kindle snaps right into the cover. Now, it was hard to get on and I was afraid I would break one of the snaps on the cover or harm the Kindle. So, I thought about YouTube! Sure enough, there is a great DEMO that will show you how to attach the Kindle to your cover without harming either. It was a life-saver for me! Very easy to do and easy to get the Kindle out of the cover, also.

The light is in the upper right hand corner of the cover, and is easily pulled out to use, if you need it. Most of the time, I will not be using it since I read in good light and not much in the bed or dark rooms. But it is definitely a good asset to have if you ever need the extra light.

I haven't had the Kindle long enough to say it won't give any problems. But I went on the advice of a close friend who received hers for Christmas from her husband. And she loves it and said it has never given her a minute's trouble.

I am sure I have forgotten many things you would love to know about. But the Kindle is easily researched in Google or even on Amazon. So hope you have fun researching and hopefully, you will find you can't do without one, either.

Technorati Tags: Kindle, Cover, Books

Memories

This morning, my husband said to me, "We need to clean off that refrigerator." I responded with,"This is a place for memories." And it is.

There are things on that refrigerator that has been there since my daughter was in elementary school and then after her children were born. She turns 40 on Tuesday, so that tells you about how long a couple of those things have been on those doors. And I will not do away with them. The little furry dog on the top of the left hand door was made by my daughter when she was in early elementary school.

There is a picture on the right hand door on the bottom that my granddaughter drew 4 or 5 years ago as she sat at my kitchen table. There is a snowman on the left door that one of the older kids made in school. There is a 4 generation picture at the top of the left hand door that has my mother, me, my daughter, and her daughter when Heather was about 3 years old. And she turns 21 in March.

I have two friends who have passed away whose memories are on those doors. One was a woman I sang with at church. She made little fly swats that had a real-looking fly on them. I have one on the door. Also, another friend from Australia sent me several things, one of which was a magnetic map of Australia and these two things are at the top of the right hand door.

There are memories of Bible school when my daughter's oldest son and daughter would come and go to VBS at the church. They would make something and bring it home to me. Well, some of those things are also on the door.

There are memories from bus tours I took with my mother to different places including New Orleans and Pigeon Forge. There is a guitar that I got at the Alabama Museum in Fort Payne, AL last summer. Also Bill's sister gave me the little piano which plays a tune. She had given him a computer, but it got knocked off and broken. She later gave him a Mr. Fixit. It hangs just below my daughter's two oldest children (they were about 4 and 5 there).

There are so many memories hidden beneath the things on that door that I could not begin to throw them away. Maybe they look ragged or perhaps even distasteful to some, but to me, they are precious memories.

I am a keeper if lots of memories of both my children and my grandchildren. When I pass the refrigerator, I can always think of them and what they mean to us. And I know that, when you display what they have made or given to you, it warms their hearts. My daughter has taken after me and has a refrigerator with probably more displayed than me.

Technorati Tags: Memories, Children, Pictures

The Christmas Tree

Most of us want a beautiful Christmas tree for Christmas. And we are among those who love a pretty tree to decorate for Christmas. I love to see the lights burning and the children (now our grandchildren) gathering around the tree, waiting to open the presents that have accumulated there.

This year I have yet to get my tree up and decorated. But, believe me, it will be there before Christmas morning. I suppose this is the latest I have waited to put mine up.But I've had things that I had to do that have kept me from doing other things I really want to do. Hopefully, tomorrow night I will be able to get the tree up and decorated. I even bought a new one this year with limbs that just drop down from the trunk - no more of this having to place each one in the trunk. And this one is pre-lit and no more having to string up to 10 strings of lights! It really gets tiresome! So I thought I'd make it easier to put up and easier to take down. The decorations are no problem - just those lights got to me last year.

But the one Christmas tree that I found so nice was one that has been growing in a yard in Tuscaloosa, AL, since 1968 when the owner of the place first set the seeding out on his lawn. Now, 42 years later, the Christmas tree, which has grown to 50 feet, is once again lit for all to see. Oh, it came with a price since they had to hire a crew to put up all the lights. But it makes them feel good to know it is now lit after 42 years! Check this tree out in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Technorati Tags: Christmas tree. Tuscaloosa, AL