WON'T BE BLOGGING...(until Monday)

Have you ever been away on a retreat, completely away from your normal, hectic life? DH and DD have to stay home, but this weekend I get to be at a "RETREAT"... with
about 120 other Christian women.

Retreat defined is "a place one goes for peace" (kind of hard to imagine 120 women being in the midst of peace when they're all together...'cause we're gonna be talking and sharing I'm sure, especially during our breaks and free time).

As I ponder our up-coming weekend of "peace", the synonyms of retreat give me cause to look up their meanings--the first is a word I don't remember having heard: adytum--a sacred place the public was forbidden to enter; an inner shrine

We will travel to this far-away, peaceful place which will become an inner shrine for this week-end group...this one special time to acknowledge a week-end peace, ours to recognize and claim. We must be intentional about recognizing it as an inner shrine.

Just as Noah's family and their animals were secluded on the ark--in their refuge, not exactly knowing the outcome once the door was closed and the rains began. I hear we are expecting a lot of rain this weekend, hhhhmmm, a coincidence?, or a creative way to get our attention by keeping us inside, out of the showers and storms that are expected? I know God has a Word to share with each of us in our "ark" of this weekend. We may not know what the plan will be after we open our door and get off "our ark" Sunday evening.

What Word will He be sharing with me? I'm eager to hear what He has laid on the hearts of our speakers. Their time has been spent readying their presentations for us, for me...I must be intentional to turn my attention away from the world--away while in this hermitage. The more intentionally I put away the world, the better I will hear His guidance through our speakers. I don't want to miss "hearing" during this get-away, during this weekend peace.

In addition to large group time, we will have seclusive time in our small groups, meeting and sharing with one another. In this remoteness, I pray to be more open so I may respond to someone's questions or concerns. My being there might be for the support instead of for me, or to possibly be an open ear just to listen as a sister pours out her heart or wants to vent or repent, each so sacred in its own right.

During this week-end sanctuary, I must provide immunity from judgment and immunity from impatience...here more than anywhere else I must value our differences and patiently listen. We will be on equal footing, equal status in the eyes of our Lord, all loved and cherished. He will be guarding each of us individually and us as a community; we will be secure in His Word as we study it, discuss it and possibly question it.

Having been on many "get aways", I have well-founded confidence each will return changed in some way, rejuvenated from the quiet, and filled with the joy of His grace and the love He has for each of us.

I don't want to waste "this peace" ... for "I will never pass this way again" with this same gathering of women.
(Oh, I'm showing my age...that sounds a lot like an old Seals and Croft song from the early 70's)

EVIDENCE SPRING'S A - COMIN' . . .

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY HERE...ONE OF THOSE CRISP, DRY DAYS STARTING OFF WITH BEAUTIFULLY BLUE SKIES AND A SLIGHT BREEZE. CAN I STAY INSIDE WITH THE OUT OF DOORS ENTICING ME EACH TIME I WALK BY THE DOWNSTAIRS WINDOW?

NO...ITS CALLS TO ME ARE TOO POWERFUL AND SEDUCTIVE TO MY SUNSHINE-DEPRIVED EXISTENCE. WALKING SLOWLY AROUND THE EDGES OF THE FRONT ISLAND AND SEEING THE GREYS AND BROWNS OF THE OFF SEASON, THERE ARE LOTS OF BRANCHES CALLING OUT TO BE PRUNED. (I'M THINKING OF DH WHO RECENTLY PRUNED THE BUTTERFLY BUSH, THANK GOODNESS, IT'S LARGE AND WOULD HAVE DONE ME IN HAD I TRIED TO DO IT ALONE. )

THE PLUM TREE AND THE MAPLE TREE CALL ME TO THEIR SIDES...(THIS IS MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO USE A NEW "BREAST CANCER" SET OF PRUNING SHEARS I BOUGHT RECENTLY TO SUPPORT RESEARCH.)

PRUNING AWAY DEAD AND OVERGROWN LIMBS, I'M THINKING OF THE PRUNING GOD MUST DO WITH US..."MY ARMS ARE HURTING AS I REACH HIGH AND PULL LIMBS DOWN TO ME."...GOD'S HEART MUST HURT AS HE REACHES FOR US BUT WE TURN AWAY FROM THE MOMENT...CRUSHING ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR SHARING HIS LOVE.

I'M GROWING WEARY AS I CUT AND STACK, BEND AND STRAIGHTEN. " I AM SO THANKFUL OUR LORD DOESN'T GROW WEARY AS HE KNOCKS AT THE DOOR OF MY SOUL." IS HE IS YOUR ROCK, YOUR STRONG TOWER? HE CAN BE IF YOU ASK HIM TO BE FROM YOUR HEART.

I'M SHARING MY PICTURES AS A "BEFORE", SO I CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND MY THANKFULNESS COME SPRING WHEN I WILL POST THESE SAME LOCATIONS (THEN WE'LL SEE CONFIRMATION, TOO, OF HOW HE RENEWS, GROWS, AND STRENGTHENS...HIS FRUITS WILL MAKE THEMSELVES KNOWN IN THE LEAVES, THE FLOWERS, THE COLORS, AND EVEN HIS BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES COMING TO TAKE PART.)

ENJOY THIS TIME OF REST, LISTEN TO HIM IN THE QUIET OF THE WINTER CHILL AND IN YOUR SLEEP... FOR SOON, TOMORROW, WILL GROW INTO A NEW SPRING BURSTING WITH HIS GLORY AND BLESSINGS!

JU-BI-LEEEEEE, JU-BI-LEEEEEE! *updated*

My year of JUBILEE...Described in Biblical words as a special time, a time to “...proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you..."For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you." Leviticus 25:10,12

Half a century ago......a lot of neat things were coming into our world.

The year, 1959...Boots and H. J. were expecting "twinkle in their eye" to arrive as all the following events joined in the year's celebration:

• Pantyhose are introduced (Thank goodness it didn't take long for all the stockings, garters, garter-belts, and corsets were thrown away...today, I hate pantyhose even...thigh-highs are the way to go if I have need of hosiery...even those are a pain if I'm in slacks, then its KNEE HIs, baby!)


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• She's here! BARBIE! (Yes, Barbie is actually older than me...woo hoo! How she keeps that body, I'll never know!)
• Jiffy Pop! was brought into being... (yeah, "the magic treat"what would I do without it...I didn't remember Ruth Buzzi being in this commerical, but I sure loved this ad) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgF8jVJf5nA
• Maxwell House inaugurates the "Good to the last drop" ad campaign (and we still recite that little ditty as we drink our lattes and java-chip grandes, don't we?!)
  
• BIC ballpoint pen is introduced in America! (those little pens kept me in business as a stenographer for many years...thank goodness I didn't have to use a cartridge pen b/c whenever I did use a cartridge pen more of the ink leaked onto my fingers and clothes than ever flowed onto the paper.)


• Alaska was admitted to statehood on February 3, followed by Hawaii on August 21.
  
• Bonanza debuts on TV (I must admit, I was a LITTLE JOE fan!! He was just too cute in those leather chaps and boots.)
• The microchip is invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce of the U.S. (I owed a lot of my telecommunications career to this invention...boy, we wouldn't be having these blogs if it wasn't for that little chip ingenuity...BIG little chip ingenuity I should say)


• Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released. (Awwwww, sharing birthday months with Barbie and Sleeping Beauty...wow, the competition is tough!)

In today's times, the word Jubilee brings quite different meanings and sights.

• The Queen of England had her year of Jubilee and they produced stamps for her...apparently she gets a stamp every 10 years....(Dog, I haven't gotten my first one yet! Guess my blood's not blue enough)
  
• There are showgirls in Vegas in the show Jubilee! at Bally's.





• (I've been to Vegas but didn't go to Bally's...I was constantly closing my eyes while I was in that town, and that can prove to be dangerous as you're walking down the main drag. I didn't want to see the ads on the back-ends of taxis and the billboards, or the nasty, little business cards being pushed at you by the "side-walk" promoters of the "off main" sites that can't afford the billboards and taxi ads. I was praying for forgiveness that I was even there, although I did enjoy the time with hubby when we saw BLUE-MAN GROUP at the LUXOR...Do you reckon they'll get stamps since they're very obviously blue enough!?)
  
• X-MEN has a Jubilation...they call her "JubiLee" for short, and she had the superhuman power to generate "fireworks" of explosive plasma.
• (Oh, I want that power...there are times now when I'm starting an internal fireworks show, and I think this power would really bring the message home not to bother me at the moment, you know, while I'm in the tropics...it would be nice to enjoy an explosive gala in the sky! AHA, as Liddie would say, "I KEN LEE JubiLee and her powers, especially if I could have them :) )

Golden Jubilee Barbie looks quite different than the 1959 version above. (I just might have to invest in this one)

***I can't believe I forgot the Gospel Jubilee...I was raised on this...hearing it as we got ready for church each Sunday http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=54fcc6461f830e6fad48

A beautiful golden crown was given to me for my JUBILEE

I also received new, bedazzled spectacles to adorn profile (that is growing every wider every day)

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And I got to proclaim my liberty by blowing out my candles (thank goodness they didn't have 50 candles on the cake...it would have burned the house down and I sure wouldn't have had enough air in these lungs to extinguish the flames!)

• After getting a look at my party pictures, I bit the bullet and went to the salon...I'm done with the long hair.

TAGGED...I'm IT!

Thanks to "Livin"...she tagged me in her post...for "6 random things".
Hhhhhhhhmmmmm, what have I not referenced in these memes before today's request??

• When I was a little girl I would "ballet" around the house literally up on the knuckles of my toes, spinning, posing in front of the full-length mirror on the back of our bedroom door.
  
  


• My sister and I shared a bedroom our "entire" lives at home...she was a better big sister than I would have been...she was 8 years older, and she didn't mind if I tried on her clothes, held her stuffed animals, and even tagged along on her dates. I cried for many nights after she married at the age of 21 and I was suddenly alone.

• I loved writing and drawing on the sliding glass door when it was get "steamed up" in the winter...my Mother didn't like it so much, but some of my best art was born on those cold winter mornings and evenings. You know, smiley faces, hearts, special messages sometimes.
  
  


• My Daddy was playing baseball with my sister one time in the backyard...I was too small and was told to stay clear of the bat...but I was never a "fully obeying" child because I ALWAYS wanted to be in on the fun...I snuck behind my Daddy to catch the ball as my sister threw it to him just as he drew back to hit the ball and clipped me instead!
  
• My senior prom was at the Peachtree Plaza...Ya'll, this was a BIG deal (at that time it was the tallest hotel in the world) in 1977 and I remember my Mother being so scared about our going there and being "up that high". (One of the girls from our school caught her dress in one of the escalators going up to our ballroom....poor thing lost her dress and her evening was over).
  
  
  
• I love to fly airplanes--yes, FLY the plane--I discovered I had this LOVE from a dear friend/ pilot who had flown f-14's in "'NAM"...I would accompany him in flying single-engine planes out of the "Naval Air Club" at Dobbins, where we would do all of our own system and security checks before taking off. The sunsets were gorgeous, once we got out of the congestion around the Atlanta area. After I was married DH surprised me with a flying lesson at our local airport...(that made 5 times for being in control of an aircraft)...yes, me in control of a large vehicle more than 500 feet above the earth...it is exhilarating each time I do it.

• Now it is my turn to pass the fun to another blogger...How about it?

TAG, your turn, to the following six bloggers...if you've already posted today, wait and post your turn tomorrow...I know how hard it is to get two in one day.

• Be Still
• Technonana
• Simple Things in a Complex World
• Life's Short
• mezzo
• Just a Southern Girl

So eager to read your "randoms"!

DAS AQUARIUM AND BACH...

Do you have an aquarium in your city? We do...it's a bit of a drive from our house--winding our way on the interstate and then meandering through the city's streets...which have changed names since we were there on our last visit. (this town is CONSTANTLY doing road work and it makes for challenging adventures as you immerse yourself in and around all the skyscrapers, not knowing if your road will get you where you need to be...or rerouted with major detours).

Family was visiting from other regions and they wanted to see the Titanic Exhibit at Georgia Aquarium...so, off we went. Other than a little chill in the air as the gusty winds engulfed us, we walked to the front door with no trouble.

Naturally we couldn't take pictures of the exhibit...it was very detailed, with lots of actual items from the Titanic, pictures of crew members and passengers, etc. We each received a card with the name and personal information about a passenger...at the end of the tour, they had the passenger/crew lists, and we were able to find out if our person had survived or not...so, so sad, especially seeing the children.

When we emerged from the depths of Titanic display, many wonderful things were there to greet us in a large, flat pool on the 1st floor...a petting tank of sharks and stingrays!

I took lots of pictures and wanted to share some of the better ones with you. I may write more about the fun we had tomorrow, but for now...enjoy the 1min-40sec-show as you hear Bach's Prelude #3!!

HEY, HOW YA' DOIN!?...CAN I HELP YOU!?

Had a physical today...yep, one of those wonderful things you just can't wait to do every three years or so. No eating past midnight, "step up on the scale, please"..."have you had water only since midnight?...I promise this tourniquet won't be on long...(five vials later, the REAL fun begins.)

"Everything off, the gown opens in the back"...(why are doctors' floors so cold??!!) But, fear not, as soon as I sat on the table one of my "tropical vacations" ensued and I can confirm I wasn't COLD the rest of the exam...(there are some miracle moments in life. )

Pinching, probing, listening, tapping, more listening, pushing, deep breath, hold it...golly, that stethoscope's cold, too! Mild heart murmur. (Not too bad.)
Lights in your ears, in your eyes, up, down, back/forth, every angle imaginable...follow my finger...all the way to the tip of your nose. (and they didn't stay that way, Mom!)

The hardest part was trying to pull information out of my brain to update my chart...with all the lasts...last EKG, last tetanus shot, last migraine, last colonoscopy, last chest xray. I had to really work to remember when those things took place, my memory seems to be in a little red wagon that I pull behind me (...sometimes things in it just fall out for no reason...sometimes it gets away from me and goes flying down the hill all on its own and I can't control it, especially in my dreams at night)...sometimes at night I just want to dump everything out of that wagon so it won't be racing around as I try to go to sleep.

Wow, when I want memory I can't find it ... when I don't want it, it won't turn off, it seems. Have you ever found yourself in that situation?
As life quickly moves along, I have to laugh in those moments when I struggle or "feel really old" and be appreciative of the knowledge that "this too shall pass" and I'll probably feel better later or remember whatever it was I was trying to recall. I just had to laugh when I piggybacked over to Charlotte's Weblog and found this...I just know I'm a member of this group...

"This one is not to be passed along TO others...it is to be TAKEN.
If you consider yourself eligible to receive the DORY AWARD, then by all means please take it and display it proudly on your blog!
And if you do, WELCOME to the DORY CLUB!
If you're not qualified to join, be thankful!"

In addition to the graphic award, I had to post an "audible" of Dory below...I must admit, this is one of my favorite movies of all time, and ELLEN did a "fan-tabulous" job on this part! So the next time you hear me saying "Can I help you?", or if I'm repeating, "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney"; know I'm "having a moment"...and please be kind! : )

IT'S HEART MONTH...DO SOMETHING...please

Five minutes is all I ask...
to understand a little better what some babies and families experience...

Are you grateful for your health, grateful for being able to go and do whatever you want?
There are those who struggle just to survive every day...
Our precious great niece, Katie, is a 2yo with CHD (congenital heart defect)...she is a miracle, has struggled through many health issues, and is loving life.
She will be having another surgery this summer...this will bring many extremes for Katie and those who love her.
--fear will try to work its way in
--anxiety will try to overtake the adults
--needles and unknown pain is always a concern
--unknown issues popping up loom in your psyche as she goes off to the hospital.

The following video (down below my comments section) was produced by a congenital heart patient who wants to get the word out about congenital heart defects.
Since I like to blog, I CAN help.

Please view this...become more aware... then, you can help by:
-donating blood or plasma
-sending donations to the American Heart Association for research,
-rocking a baby in a local NICU...some times, presence is more important than presents!
So, let's all pull together and help in some way...

You can also visit the AHA site for more information, etc.

(The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency to help reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.)

Project 365, Week 6

Time's marching on...we're in week six of Project 365...for more, go here:

http://thebowyers.blogspot.com/2009/02/project-365-week-6_06.html

We had about 270 kids at our youth Super Bowl event...

they loved the big blow-ups...they had to take their shoes off, so there was a great opportunity to have a "foot" contest...this group won for most colorful!

I just didn't understand why the teens weren't as "into Bruce" as we were...his music did NOTHING for them...yet we found ourselves cheering and dancing...it was fun...not pretty...fun!

Monday was "grocery day"...so off to Wally World. I usually don't go there, but I was on that side of town. The main reason I was going there was to get the 3d glasses so we could watch CHUCK!


Tuesday was spent steam cleaning my carpets....absolutely wore me out from head to toe.

Wednesday started with a wonderfully warm cup of joe as I blogged ...

later was lunch with a girlfriend at the local Wendy's...it was only 17* outside, so we felt we HAD to have chili for lunch.



Our prayer share with the senior high teens went very well...they sing like angels...and one of the boys brought the message. They had good discussion and sharing...and they ate, and ate!!


Thursday followed with dental appointments...aaaahhhh, good job, no cavities...

Friday was supposed to be a counselors' social...but it turned into a surprise birthday party for me!...boy, does time fly.
Friends and family were very kind to me...we laughed a lot...DS posed with me and "Weston" who kept us company during the party...he's so precious!

Games, cards, presents, food, an absolutely beautiful cake (except for the larger-than-life, big blue 50 staring at me)



And, finally, the week ended with my doing laundry all day...no picture of that because I know you know what that looks like. Hope you had a great week, too!

ITS A GOOOOOOOOOOOD THING!

Yes, I'm happy and my Mother will be so proud!

I love being able to state, "NO CAVITIES" and

I love the art of Norman Rockwell...

could he capture a situation or what??!!

How was your last dental appointment??

Any good stories??

Proverbs 15:30

Bright eyes gladden the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.

(What?? Not sure I get it, but I just had to post this, it made me laugh

...and I have no-cavity teeth to smile with during this post...ha ha !!)

TRY-T0-AVOID DAY!

Are there things you just don't like to do...other than your regular "have to's" like going to work, washing dishes?


I've not been looking forward to today...which I know is terrible to say. Every day is a blessing and a GOOD DAY...hence the cartoon to the left.



However...I must do one of my "try-to-avoid" chores...I'll be "steam cleaning" my first-floor carpets...and next week will be the second-floor's turn.

So, changing my attitude is my next step ...immerse myself in those scriptures to uphold my spirit...look to my "how to" book, b/c His Word will give me strength...the strength and perseverance I need to get through the next few hours of moving furniture, pushing, pulling, pouring, re-filling, and finally sanitizing the sink.


1 Corinthians 4:12 "...we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure..."



Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is my strength and my shield;My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;Therefore my heart exults,And with my song I shall thank Him."



1 Corinthians 3:8Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.?



Thank you, Lord, for giving me health to be able to clean my carpets. Your strength will uphold me through my labor today...remind me of your Words as I labor. I rejoice in knowing I will look upon my reward once my labor is completed, my clean floors that will be hosting about 40 teenagers later this week for Your glory. Amen and Amen

How are you being challenged in your "laboring" this week?