FAREWELL FRIDAY...saying 'see you later' to my Uncle

Dear Lord,

Please hear our prayers for your wrapping around our family as we grieve.  Words don't seem appropriate enough to express our hearts.

Welcome my Uncle Jerry with open arms and I especially ask your tender care for my Aunt Barbra as she is engulfed with her husband's loss.

His smile was wide, his love for his twin brother and the other five siblings was evident. In order from left to right, my Uncle Terry, Jerry's twin brother...then Uncle James, my Mother Betty, Aunt Jackie and Uncle Willis.

Thank you for his showing us 'I can' throughout his many paraplegic years...

he still fished, bowled, and greatly enjoyed retirement from 30-years of repairing watches and jewelry sales...

he taught me about enjoying life with an affliction; especially when he gave me a ride in his lap or hanging off the back of his chair!

I will always love you, Uncle Jerry.

Blessings,

Jer. 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." 

BS&K....the WORLD should know...

The WORLD should know...yes, it should...

God has blessed me with one of THE SWEETEST, KINDEST, MOST GIVING GIRLFRIENDS...WHOOOOOOO:

-unloaded books from a large box

-reloaded books into smaller boxes

-carried multiple boxes to our basement

-carried multiple vases and serving pieces back to our basement

-tied little white bows on lollipop sticks until she couldn't see straight

-washed all the pots and pans used for the chocolate and cake recipes

-helped unload yesterday's washed dish washer

-stood for multiple hours in my kitchen today, layering white chocolate onto cake balls for graduation lollipops

ANDDDDDDDD,

-she STILL loves me.

God is GOOD, ALL the time...ALL the time, GOD is GOOD!!

Yes, He ISSSSS!

Thanks again, BS&K...you're helping save me through this thing called 'graduation' and I love you more for your compassion and hard work.

:)

Jer. 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you

and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."Blessings,

\0/ To His Praise...KATIE VIDEO ("Stinker Monkey" & Grandma MoMo!)

What an answered prayer came my way

when I checked Katie's care page today.

I have to celebrate it with you,

all my blogging buddies...who have been holding her up as she is fighting the horrible infection in her heart-surgery incision.

I love how she calls herself "munkin" later in the video...referring to herself as a "stinker monkey"...one of those little pet names she has acquired on this journey. This video will put a smile on your face, too...it sure did put one on mine :)

He hasn't left us and hasn't forsaken us, He is a God of promise, Jehovah Jireh, the Provider, our High Priest who intercedes for us; Yahweh Raffe, the great Healer...

yes, He IS our God of His Word...and as the following poem states:

A MAN OF HIS WORD

Look and you shall find the answer you seek

from Him, the Lamb of God, so loving and so meek.

And be you not forgetful to thank the Lord above,

for sending us a Savior, the essence of His love.

Seek out His kingdom first then and added unto you

will be His daily blessings, from dawn 'til day is through.

Share the joy you've found with other far and near

for your reward is in heaven and the path to Him is clear.

Remember all His blessings...His words you have heard,

give all your heart to Jesus, a true man of His Word.

Written by: Riki Jeanne

PSALM 20:5 "Delight thyself also in the LORD and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart!"

MOSAIC MONDAY...may memories

WON'T YOU JOIN US FOR MOSAIC MONDAY WITH MARY:

grab a cup o' joe ~ D|

then click it to see a MUCH BIGGER image 

OMGOODNESS...WHAT MAY BRINGS...

flowers,

showers

....and lots & lots

of new memories being made

...year-end banquets

...final chorus shows

...graduates who we will miss

our last "together-hoorahs"!

I just love 'em all...

the kids most of all

and the wonderful memories they've given.

Many others are on Mr. Linky over at Mary's Little Red House

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.)

CHRISTMAS FAVES...

Here's my Friday Favorite 5 for this week:

While eating lunch today I was startled as something whammed up against my front door, the doorbell rang and I found this year's Christmas presents from North Carolina...we'll unwrap them later and spread out under the tree. Thank goodness they made it to the door this year...a few years back, they were delivered to the garage door without a doorbell ...this was before they made rear-end sensors...there was a "crunch" as the SUV backed up, we jumped out to find one box under the truck and one box lodged up against a tire...only one thing was broken and a large picture was a little bent but we were able to straighten it back out.




Decorating the tree is one of those sweet & sour, ying & yang, good & bad kinda things...we have to use a fake tree due to allergies so needless to say we have to wear gloves when positioning all the branches and tips into the right positions (after they've been squished all year under the cover) . It really hurts as the needles of the tree poke and scratch. The good of seeing the childhood ornaments and remembering the people associated with them outweighs the pain. This little white dove is very special (he was on a bouquet of flowers at my Daddy's funeral in 1990. Each year he's positioned in the tree, it's like having part of my Daddy with me (and it gives me another opportunity to talk with my daughter about my Daddy 'cause she never got to meet him. ) One of my fave memories...we gave him a folding workbench...he was playing around and sat down inside the legs of the bench and got STUCK! It made a great picture --he laughed so much his false teeth almost fell out!


This is my newest snowman in my kitchen Christmas collection...he's guarding my nuts right now, but soon he will be holding fresh, homemade goodies for the holiday. Since we don't get a lot of snow here, this helps me get in the Winter-feel.

Hubby collects nativities and I found this one for him at an "angel" shop in North Carolina several years ago...it includes the entire nativity as it hangs on the wall...(I figure as we get older and may not be able to put up a tree one day, this will proudly hang above the mantle where ever we are and be our entire Christmas decoration...it never hurts to plan ahead for the retirement home)...especially since I heard my 16yo say last year while her church choir was entering an elderly home to sing, "Oh, this is a nice place; I'll have to remember it for my mother when she gets old".

When dear daughter was 3, she had this Christmas picture made at her daycare...can you tell she was excited. I have multiple Christmas pictures I hang throughout the house during the holidays. (She still reminds me how much she hated her hair in this picture as we bring it out)...In reality, she loved her hair short because she could brush it...and Lord knows she wouldn't let me brush her hair 'cause I made it hurt....have I ever mentioned how much we loved "NO MORE TANGLES" spray?! God bless whoever invented that stuff, it even works with bubblegum! I love remembering back on the innocent, excited "Santa" years...what fun!

Join us in posting your favorite five from this week...go here for MR LINKY: http://susannesspace.blogspot.com/2008/12/fridays-fave-five-17.html

LOVIN' FELLOW BLOGGERS...

A sweet gesture today from Carrie, http://oakrisecottage.blogspot.com/2008/12/angel-giveaway-and-two-awards.html



I appreciate her taking the time during this busy holiday season and sharing words of kindness...and there's a link to a beautiful angel-giveaway...

So, with a heart of continuing the love, I've chosen 4 nominees (couldn't do 10 with all the Holiday activity ) for this award are:

• Amy at http://signsmiraclesandwonders.blogspot.com/ (an unending attitude of love and compassion for her children and many others, living through life's challenges, sharing and giving back every day)
• Robin at http://rlambright.blogspot.com/ (true peace of from a friend who tells it like it is, loves you in spite of your shortcomings, and shares her love of Christ with all those around her...pouring her heart out while gaining understanding of valleys and mountaintops)
• HT at http://livinmividaloca.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/santa-jammies/ (have watched this one grow up into a mommy and a professional giver...loves the simple and builds up those around her)
• Linda at http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com/ (what can I say? she's a hoot...loves to laugh and I love to read her renditions of life, love, family and pondering the world's activities...)
  

Here are the rules for this award:
• Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or
Gratitude!
• Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
• Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
• Share the love and link to this post to the person from whom you received your award.

Psalm 112:4

Light shines in the darkness for the godly.

They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.

Not Forgetting His Glorious Miracles

Two years ago

we were waiting on her birth...

knowing there would be medical concerns...

early scans had shown an enlarged heart...

her birth proved their theory and surgery was required...

many other issues kept her at the hospital for months to come...

long nights, unending days while her doctors worked to make her better

and prayers were said...

Two weeks ago

I got to go shopping with her...and my sister. His miracles are abundant in her ... I love watching her run, jump and dance!

God has so blessed us with her bright, dancing eyes...she loves to look at EVERYTHING

Many prayers have been and continue being said for her continued strengthening and endurance during her surgeries to come...

God has so blessed us with her unending giggles...and her sweet little words that are beginning to form. She can now say "bye", "cat", "ho ho ho", mama, and daddy


She climbs up on the doctor's exam table and tries to help put on the EKG wires...

she helps remove her blood pressure cuff. Even in the midst of her exams, she smiles at everyone she sees

...many people don't know what all she has been through in these last 24 months, but we do; and HE does

We are so grateful we have her,
grateful for the doctors and nurses, they sustained her...cared for her while in and out of the hospital,

so grateful for family that cares for her, her Mommy and her Daddy,
grateful for modern medicines' miracles and

grateful we know who they are from...He holds her in the palm of His hand!

Psalm 78:7

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.

DIG the ROOTS -- Part 4 of 6 Parts

Are you digging your roots in the Lord deeply?
Do you ponder?...read?... and re-read your Scriptures daily to see what new nutrients He wants to give your roots?

Our obedience to His wooing will richly bless us when we put our day to the side while we absorb His Word. It's only through our study that we will "know the truth" of His Word and be able to compare it to what the world is trying to put in our minds through movies, tv, music and the written press or internet.

Our senses are blasted day and night with ad after ad in today's society; and sometimes the ads touch on subjects so gingerly and subtly, we don't catch the undertone.

One ad that kinda "gets my goat" is one from Staples. It's called "the easy button"...highlighting in various stressful situations they just hit "the easy" button...and handle the situations..."that was easy!" they say. You can even download their Easy Button, http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/easybutton/index.html onto your computer for easy access to Staples.

It sounds nice, doesn't it?! Yet a certain part of me cringes. I remember when working hard for something was not a far- away concept like it seems to be today. Am I alone in believing there must be sweat, which sometimes feels like blood, to achieve your higher goals? You, then in turn, are extremely thankful for the end product, the achievement, or His guidance in getting you there.
In Acts 20:35 we're reminded by Paul, "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "


Working hard and giving of ourselves in study, giving of ourselves in mission, giving of ourselves in attitude, giving of ourselves for someone else's sake IS NOT EASY but IS what we are called to do. This kind of giving establishes us in love and grows long, deep-reaching roots, so we can associate with the deep love He had/has for each of us.
(Ephes. 3:17 “your being rooted and established in love may have power to grasp how long, high, wide, deep is the love of Christ.)

Lord, thank you for wooing us to You for rest, peace, learning, and love.

May we want to start every day at your feet,

being still and listening for Your input.

We don't want to be captured by the world's expectations or tricks

to lure us into thinking Your ways are too hard.

I pray we lay everything before You everyday

and depend on You and Your yoke,

which has already triumphed!

Amen

Colossians 2:6-8
" You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living in him. Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before. Make sure no one captures you. They will try to capture you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic things the people of this world believe. They don't depend on Christ."

Wasn't It Just Yesterday?

This came too soon...
Wasn't it just yesterday she held the car keys as she sat in the grocery store buggy...jangling them , clanking them against the handlebar...she was loving the sound ...oh no, she's put them in her mouth. Sweetie, let's not chew them--they're dirty. Well, now it doesn't matter because she's just flung them up and over her head into the back of the buggy! Her squeal catches the grocery clerk's attention who smiles at the big, blue-eyed baby giggling with her Mommy. We'll leave well enough alone and find something else to play with from Mommy's purse...what in there is good to chew on?? Let's see...I know that was yesterday...

Wasn't it just yesterday... she's holding the razor skooter in its travel bag, begging to ride with Emily down the culdesac...I'm big enough and I promise I'll be careful. (Yes, I know it was yesterday) the day I said, "OK, but I'll watch from the window!" Minutes later, Cody the albino great dane is hearing her skooter crash, so he's jumping the fence and standing over her until his Daddy is scooping her up from the pavement. Only a few bumps and bruises were the outcome but she understands the unforgiving attitude of the pavement. (Maybe it wasn't yesterday).

But, it had to have been yesterday as she was peddling her mountain bike around Callaway Gardens with the Summerbell clan. "Yes, Ma'am, I put on sunscreen and I'm staying with the group as we ride through the azaleas and past the chapel. Yes, your Mommy is nervous again...I can't seem to see her from the window. She's moving further away each time...oh, what will tomorrow bring?

You're saying, it wasn't yesterday, but it feels like it was. My days must be passing quicker now, but there are still 24 hours...how can it be going so quickly? Another yesterday come and gone...can I put a hold on her for a little bit? Each picture I am taking is capturing her latest "new" adventure. Today's driving test was a challenge--nerves were popping out all over, for me and her. As she's smiling for the picture, I'm excited for her achieving her goal yet nervous for the reality of "letting God" be her co-pilot now...unknow roads ahead without my being in the car.

So, I'll be standing at the window watching and waiting...praying the phone rings each time she leaves and arrives and her telling me, "I'm leaving or I'm here!"--then, my heart will slow down for the moment.

Yes, I know it was yesterday...but those yesterdays are coming so quickly they're feeling like tomorrows...and by time I realize it's today, it's really yesterday.

HATIKVA, ISRAEL !

Yatir Forest in 1965

60 years ago...

Israel's War of Independence...

Our Lord's homeland...Did you know Americans helped save it...

They were immigration ship runners before the establishment of the state who brought more than 31,000 Holocaust survivors to Palestine.

In 2005, I facilitated a Disciple 2 class and at the end of our 34-week Bible-study journey, they presented me with a certificate I never expected...one confirming the purchase and planting of two trees (in my honor) from the National Jewish Foundation in Israel. I was taken aback.

And today, our Lord saw fit for me to stumble on the

IN JERUSALEM website...today is Israel's 60th birthday!

Look what has been done for His homeland !

Lord, bless Israel's 60th birthday--Bring Your Peace to them. Hatikva, Israel! Hope, Israel!

Amen

Yatir Forest, 2008

WHERE FRIENDS MET

Central Perk 2008, open

Senior-pic cake, couches, white-linen tables
“I’ll Be There for You!”

Balloons, hand-decorated bags
Chattering friends, enjoying the moment
Flashes flashing

Junior hosts, hostesses
Seniors servants, black and white attendants

Showing, serving love

Favorite youth memories
"Ridin' with Allen", beach "Sun-sets, no -rises"
Campground, peanut butter plexiglass

Button-downs, ties, skirts
Expressing themselves, uniquely
Kids, no longer

Hugs, all around
Wanting to freeze the moment
Wet cheeks, bright smiles

Growing up shots
Couches, listening, love letters remembering
Small then, Now grown

Mentors’ golden advice
Meredith: Always Seek Him; Andrew: Go Big or Go Home!
Allen: Seek Christian community FIRST

Into the world
Continue His Elevation, out there!

Central Perk 2008, closed

AM I CARRYIN'?

Jesus calls us His vessels.

Each witness an embodiment of Christ...called to carry His love, encouragement, and mercy to EVERYONE we encounter.

What do those around me (family, friends, strangers) need? Not want, need.

After reading in Relative Truths... seeing how God covered him in such a creative and special way through the Disciple participants reaching out...loving Him...for what He will be doing for Christ's World. Where have you seen someone carry someone else's concerns or meet a real need recently?

1 Peter 4:11

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

MASTERPIECES

We're God's most-prized possessions, His masterpieces--"beautifully and wonderfully made". Yesterday as Disciple graduates walked out of the church, some shared their experiences with me; then as I drove home, wonderful memories flooded my mind about my Disciple I Closing back in 1994 and the confirmations I received about my God-given gifts. Gifts given to me for His Glory (not the world's approval). Thank you, Lord, for reminding me of Your love, Your giving us each unique gifts and talents, Your forgiveness. I so needed this memory!

“Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?

Galatians 1:10

“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”

Psalm 36:5

Thing that made me go "AAAWWW"

Often times we only hear about all the bad headlines involving teens. Tonight I was at a local high school play getting to watch and listen to several of them who are extremely talented with their voices and dance moves. While standing outside the stage door to hug the entertainers, another young man was catching up with me about his upcoming weekend (usually they will be "hangin'" with friends, working a part-time job or sharing excitement about seeing one of the latest movies).

But this gentleman excitedly told me he will be doing yard work for his Mom, his early Mother's Day gift to her. AAAAAWWW! Isn't that sweet...and his dancing eyes and wide smile spoke even more than his words. I love these kids...there are GOOD ones out there, we just don't get to hear about them very often. : )

"FAFE, he calls her!"

Oh so precious....holding a newborn baby! My "adopted grandchildren" came for lunch today and I got to meet Erin's dollbaby, Faith. She is big to Erin but she is oh so small and dainty to me. As Mommy, Robin and I listened, Big brother, Ben, introduced Faith to Channing saying, "See....Fafe!" Oh, how I innocent and loving he was...toddlers, God's gift.

Chicken salad, lettuce, honey-sesame crackers, apples, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches were the spread as we enjoyed catching up...then came pictures, of course, and chasing Channing's 16th birthday mylar balloon in the hallway, playing chase while "Fafe" slept, sitting in the floor building a farm with waffle blocks, and watching Clifford on tv...a great afternoon if you ask me.

Lord, bless this precious family, their travels back and forth from the southside of town, their growing to know each other and finding their "new" normal. Bless their obedience in following your ways by living out your Scripture and teaching Your Word. I am blessed to have them in my life and forever cherish the time I have with them

For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.

They won't work and have nothing come of it, they won't have children snatched out from under them. For they themselves are plantings blessed by God, with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed. Before they call out, I'll answer. Before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard.

Isaiah 65:17

....AND LIFE CHANGED!

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

Rolling down hallway...It's stuck...doorways/ceiling tiles speeding by...It's stuck, it's stuck...a struggling boy or girl? Hearts pounding...putting on scrubs. HHHHMMMMMM, Neil Diamond's voice wafting...gurney rolling...double doors, stopping...large, round lights..."Shucks, where did Neil go?"

Pain subsiding...by my head...calming...blue mask, wiping fearful, eagerness tears...our "miracle baby"..."Out of Africa" soundtrack playing...

God preveniently going before..."New Daddy" snapping pictures...wiping my face...a velvety cheek against my lips....wisking away to tests...New Daddy wiping "thankful I'm-a-Mommy" tears...his blue mask becoming damp from "Im-a-Daddy" tears.

Long ago...yet close
MY miracle baby...STILL my baby...now taller than me

That night we met...

God already knew...

"determined the exact time"

knows every head hair...every heart's desire

HIS CREATION--

He watches--when we can't

Again? Yes, even if they did turn off Neil! : )

This Side of Heaven

3 John 1:2

"I pray good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health - that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul!"

Goodbye is such a hard word to say--I always want to change it to "see ya' later" so it doesn't seem so final. Life really changes constantly as our years go along. We always say "let's get together" but our lives grow in different directions and getting together proves harder than originally thought.

Recently I've been saying "goodbye" too much, I think. Goodbye to friends and family I didn't want to lose. God, you know I struggle with my "whys" and the "it's not fair" stuff. Often tears have trickled down my cheeks when I run across something or someone that brings their spirit back to me...a memory of their laugh...something funny they would do. I lean on and thank God for blessed memories and pictures...pictures that give me SO MUCH comfort through my heart-felt longings. These things are a balm...clinging to me. My giggles and tears are a strange combination, don't you think? But that's what I do as I look back over the pictures and let the memories run through my mind. Granny's words come back to me...she often talked about "golden memories" growing more precious as time goes by like the wind. I know their love never leaves my heart, and the promise of heaven relieves my earthly anxiety.

Some goodbyes were not "heavenly" but were losses due to distance or career changes. Precious friends, co-workers, brothers and sister in Christ that hugged me lots, shared their troubles with me, listened to my troubles, asked for advice every now and then, and mostly just MADE ME LAUGH with their love of life. My days seem much emptier without their smiles, without their youthful attitudes, without their bouncy, blonde curls, without quiet discussions about special times at church, rebounding ideas off each other about Christ and His lessons.

I'm being selfish here...these changes were for wonderful reasons: promotions, new adventures, marriages, new ministries, and the list goes on. I pray the Holy Spirit will guide me in praying for them, asking God to bless them in their new places and growing their fellowship with neighbors and new buddies. My season now is to be: letting go and concentrating on God's plan for them instead of mine.

So, note to self: do a better job of calling, writing an email, wishing sunshine to those I miss that are "this side of Heaven"...for we never know when one of us might be gone.

You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog,

catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing.

James 4:14

Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life?

2 Peter 3:11