A Moment in Time

New Web Site and Busy Days!

2010-06-05T21:44:00.001-04:00

Busy, Busy Days!! That's what this past week or so has been like! There is so much to be done in opening a new business! My husband has been a great help with some things even though he already has a full-time occupation/ministry that he needs to keep up with. My daughter has a full-time job that she needs to work to support herself and her son until we open our Adult Day Care. So I've been working day and night, and I'm feeling pretty tired right now.

The picture is the road we take back and forth to Dunlap. It's beautiful scenery when you get to a certain point and can see the view of the mountains! We didn't go up there today but decided to go furniture shopping instead. We needed a couple tables and we went with our daughter to a couple of 2nd hand furniture stores and found a very nice table and a bureau for our reception area, at a very good price! While we were there, we had the opportunity to talk with a lady who was acquainted with the ministry my husband works with. We also talked about the stress involved in caring for family members as they age and are diagnosed with dementia. She said she doesn't think she would have made it when she was caring for her Mother, without the help of being able to use an adult day care occasionally. This was another confirmation of how rewarding this will be.

Our new website address is: www.caringheartsdunlap.com

I've also got a blog here at the address: www.caringheartsdunlap.blogger.com

I've posted some pictures on both of them so you can see the progress we're making on our building!

This blog is about the "little moments" that we can so easily miss if we aren't paying attention. One of those moments came today while I was talking with the lady who had cared for her Mother before she died with Alzheimer's disease. There are so many stories like that out there. I am looking forward to being a help to these "caring hearts" by helping to relieve some of the burden and stress they are under, and to ministering to those who have given their entire lives to others and are now in need of some compassion and tenderness in their old age themselves.

Keep checking back and I'll try to keep this updated, although I'm not sure how much I'll be here. The website and blogspot and Twitter and facebook are taking up most of my time. I think I'm overly "social networked" out!! :-)

The beautiful mountains across from The Cooky Jar Restaurant in Dunlap, TN

New Business and New Web Site!

2010-05-30T23:53:00.001-04:00

We are opening a new business!

Caring Hearts of Dunlap, adult day care and services!

We are so excited!

Check out our new web pages at:

http://www.caringheartsdunlap.com/

Also, we have a blogspot for the daycare:

http://www.caringheartsdunlap.blogspot.com/

We start renovations on the building on Tuesday!

We're looking for 2 part-time CNAs and a part-time Food Manager.

If you know of anyone in Dunlap, TN that would be interested, please email me at:

linda@caringheartsdunlap.com

Friends are friends forever!

2010-05-18T18:13:00.001-04:00

We have spent the last week up in Chicago. My husband had meetings and since he had to go, we drove and I spent some time with my family and my Mom while he was in meetings. While we were away, our dogs were boarded at the doggie spa. Not really a spa, but they really are very nice there and the dogs seem to love going! Before we even pull up into the parking lot, they get all excited and can't wait to get inside! Since we got Noel, the Miniature Schnauzer, she and Sarge are fast friends! They play together all the time and even share a bed at night in the living room while we watch TV. Now, when we have to go away for a while, we have the boarding place put them together. When we picked them up after our trip, of course, we were gone a week, so they were very happy to see us! Noel's left leg was shaved for the IV she had while she was there, because we had her spayed while she was there. This is the picture that I took of them in the back seat after we picked them up. They were both so excited to be going home that it took them twenty minutes to settle down! This is their "happy to be going home" faces!

Family Reunions

2010-03-26T15:46:00.000-04:00

I remember growing up in rural Illinois. Each summer would have an exciting event that we all looked forward to: our Family Reunion!! Someone would reserve the place in the Forest Preserve and tables would be set up and the whole family would gather, with so much food it made you dizzy looking at it all! I can still see my Grandmother setting up the table with a table cloth and there would be coolers filled with soda pop and drinks and ice! The barbecue grills would be going and food cooking on them. Games were planned and we all competed especially in the family softball tournament! One of the neatest things was that us "kids" got to see all of our cousins that we hadn't seen in so long! Aunts and Uncles in lawn chairs, music playing from radios and laughter rising in the air! What fun we had!
Now most of those family members from back then have passed on and with them, somehow the tradition of the Family Reunion passed on also. Many reasons were given: family moved on to other states, key persons that had always planned it were passed on; no one could get off work or travel that far, etc. It's a shame because that was really the only time that all of us got to really spend some fun time together and catch up on what had been transpiring with each of us.

Now my Nephew and his wife have decided that enough time has gone by without all of us seeing each other and they have planned our first Family Reunion in probably 20 or more years. Many of our family are traveling today and a few have arrived early to spend some time with their children doing some sight-seeing before tomorrow. Most of the ones attending are the younger generation: cousins! Some of us older family will be there also, but it's so nice to see the younger families desiring to pick up this old tradition again!

Tomorrow will be a blessed day! Praying for everyone to have a good time and safe travels and that this tradition will grow even bigger with each passing year!

A salute to old traditions!

We Will Remember in November

2010-03-22T13:14:00.001-04:00

Praying that God will have mercy on our nation, forgive our sins, and bless us once again!

Nostalgic

2010-03-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Last week, my husband and I went away to a cabin in Townsend, TN to celebrate our 42nd anniversary!! We were isolated from the world in a magical world of woods and silence! When we awoke on that first morning after arriving the night before, we were surprised to see a Winter Wonderland all around us! I opened the door to take some pictures and was awed by the silence and the sound (yes, it does make a sound) of falling snow on the trees and shrubs. It was beautiful!!

Trying to decide what we really wanted to "DO" on our anniversary, we realized something: when you get to our ages and have been married for as long as we have been, it's hard to find something different or exciting to do! So we decided to just go into Pigeon Forge and see where we wanted to eat our anniversary dinner at and we'd decide what to do once we got there. Well, neither of us could find anything that looked like "fun" until we saw a Books-a-Million store!! Our eyes lit up and we realized that nothing could be better for us or more fun than going to the book store!! We have always loved books! We pulled into the lot and went through the doors and although I told myself I was only going to look and really didn't expect to find anything that I wanted to read, (as I have several books at home still that are unread!), within the first five minutes I found not one but FOUR books I just had to have!! We spent about an hour or so in there browsing and when we finished, we decided to go to Calhoun's to have our anniversary dinner! The food was excellent and we noticed that right next door was my favorite candy store! I discovered this candy store in Gatlinburg several years ago and now they have one in Pigeon Forge! It's named "Kilwin's" and they have the absolute BEST pecan-caramel apples in the world! I bought two and we headed back home. We were supposed to get more snow so we wanted to get home and across the mountain road we took before it got dark.

What a wonderful day we had!

Today, I have been reading one of the books I purchased and it's called "Making Rounds With Oscar" by David Dosa, M.D. It's an excellent book, although I must say that it has made me feel a little sad reading it. It has brought up many memories of when my Dad was dying from Alzheimer's Disease. The book is about a doctor that makes rounds in a nursing facility and the patients he serves and a cat named Oscar that senses when a patient is about to die. It's really very interesting, but if you have had a loved one die with Alzheimer's, it may make you feel sad as you revisit those days in your mind.

I finished another book that I bought that day titled "One Good Dog" by Susan Wilson. I read it in a couple days it was so good!! I highly recommend it although as a fair warning, it does have a few swear words in it. Wonderful story otherwise!

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep... "

Cold and Heat

2010-01-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

The last few days here in the southeast, have been brutally cold! Temperatures at night going down in the single digits in some places with a wind chill making it almost unbearable!

Remember what I wrote about getting a new puppy for my Birthday, "Christmas Noel"? Well, puppies need to be taken outside a LOT to learn to be housebroken. One must act quickly too, as soon as you see the "signs" or their urge! This means quickly grabbing coat and scarf and gloves and my "Clicker" and "Doggie Treats" all in one swoop in order to get her outside quickly enough! Then she, being the three month old puppy that she is, once outside, decides it's play time instead of potty time! She wants to eat every rock and leaf and twig she can find instead of doing her business.

I've been told by a medical professional and friend that I show classic signs of ADD. Well, this pup makes me look good! She gets distracted by literally everything she sees and every sound she hears and has to repeatedly be reminded that we're out there freezing in the cold, so she can do her business! Many times, after I just can't stand the cold anymore, I give up and bring her back inside to try again later. It then takes me several minutes to thaw out, only to have to quickly repeat this routine again a few minutes later until she "finally" decides to do her business. Remember what I said about "I must be crazy!"?

This afternoon the sun was shining so pretty and it had warmed up just a little bit so I thought I'd take both dogs out to the back yard to get some play time and exercise in. It was fun watching them romp around the yard chasing each other and playing "keep away" which is Sarge's favorite game, bar none! As I watched them play, the wind and air still felt very cold after just a short time, but as I stood in the yard, I could feel the penetrating rays of the sun seeping into my face as I turned it upwards to the sky and just soaked it in.

Is there anything that feels better than the sun soaking into your skin

and penetrating deep down inside,

on a cold and chilly day? I think not!

Call Me Crazy!

2010-01-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

Right before Christmas, my daughter called and asked us to help her find a puppy for our Grandson. He is an only child and she thought that having a puppy would give him some companionship. So the search was on! Our middle daughter found a Miniature Schnauzer breeder online and called us. We made an appointment to go and look at the puppies. The one thing I did that was not too smart, was I went with her, as did our middle daughter! You know how it is when you see a little puppy! Oh they're so adorable and cuddly and cute and you pick them up and hold them and that's IT! It was love at first sight for all three of us! We walked out of there, each with a puppy in our arms! Two little girls and my youngest daughter with the only boy left of the litter.

I had to be crazy!! We already have a 55 lb., 3-year old Boxer! Did I REALLY want to start house-breaking and training all over again?? I wasn't thinking clearly about that though when I was holding this cute little puppy in my arms! My husband kept saying "Are you SURE you want to do this? why don't we just wait a little longer until Sarge (our Boxer) is older? Then we can think about getting a puppy!" no..... I HAD to have this puppy! She was just SO CUTE and SO CUDDLY! She LOVED me!! What could I do?

We brought them all home, and I decided in the car on the way home what her name should be.... there was no other choice! It was a few days before Christmas; her new name would be "Christmas Noel" and we'd call her "Noel" for short. I was very pleased with this ingenious stroke of creativity in choosing a new name.

Well, we've had Noel now for almost three weeks. When we brought her home we discovered why she was so cuddly and so calm: she and her siblings we very, very sick. She had a very bad upper respiratory infection and very bad congestion in her lungs. Her brother, had pneumonia! They both had to stay overnight at the animal hospital to be treated. Since they were so young, the Vet was concerned that the aggressive treatment might be even harder on the little boy, since he had it the worst. Thankfully, we have a very good Vet and they both pulled through after another ten days of antibiotics and tender loving care.

Now, we have this little "demon dog" on our hands that has so much energy and orneriness that she's a handful, even for our Boxer! I decided to pay the fee and take her to puppy training classes at PetSmart. She can now "Sit", "Down" and "Leave It" as well as "Come" when called. We're still working on the housebreaking thing, although she's starting to get the idea. She still has mistakes in the house. It's more "owner training" and "owner quick reactions" than it is pet training though! And every time she is outside, she wants to eat every rock, stick, leaf and twig she finds! She ends up getting lots of treats for "Leave it!!"

I just have to ask myself some days though,

WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING??? I'M GETTING TOO OLD FOR THIS!"

Until she sits pretty and looks up at me with those adoring eyes!

I'm a Goner then! Call me a Soft Touch! Yep, that's what I am!

Maybe a little CRAZY too!

But then, who would blame me?

Isn't she just adorable?

Meet Christmas Noel:

Our First Snow of 2010

2010-01-08T11:02:00.000-05:00

We had our first snow of the year yesterday and today the temperature is so low that everything is frozen! My Family and Friends up north laugh at us down here because they see this and hear that all the schools are closed and everyone is making a big deal out of it, when they have 6 inches and it's still coming down! My Nephew said they don't close the schools up north until it's 20 below with 8 or more inches of snow! Funny how different areas of the U.S. are! I told them that "Abscence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder!" :) We never GET snow but once or twice a year and then just a light dusting! So when we hear "SNOW" --- WE get excited! Excited and worried! We're not set up down here for heavy snow removal or management like they are in other areas; plus, we had HILLS and MOUNTAIN roads. People hear snow and they all panic beforehand (just in case!) and clean out the grocery store shelves! My husband stopped by Wal-mart yesterday on his way home because we heard it was going to snow and then turn to ice. We were out of a few "essentials" (like bathroom tissue!! and bread of course!). He said that it took him forever to even find a parking space, let alone get out of the check-out lines! Funny! So here we are, with all the schools closed this morning and parents that either had to take time off work or find something to do with the kids because most of the businesses will be open.

I just want to leave you with one thought; a quote from the character Jerry Espinson on "Boston Legal":

"Friendships are like backyard gardens: we plan to attend them, but we always manage to put it off until next week."

May we all make a concerted effort to tend to our friendships and family relationships this year!

God bless you and Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions_Again!

2009-12-28T13:17:00.001-05:00

Things to keep in mind as the New Year approaches us!

Four things that can never be recovered:

The stone after it's thrown
the word after it's spoken
the occasion after it's missed
and the time after it's gone.

The "Secret Blessings of God"

2009-12-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

This morning, I received an Email from my Sister in Indiana, and I'd like to share with you what she said:

"we are always thankful for our health but more than that, the secret blessings God gives always come in our greatest times of trial. So when we need, you know as well as I, that our greatest gifts come from God."

This got me thinking!

"The Secret Blessings God Gives"! Have you ever been aware of the secret blessings from God in your time of need?

For instance: My Nephew and his wife have two small children. He has worked in a trucking company as the Administrative Office Manager, keeping track of all the traffic coming in and out of the company; he has worked on the Loading Docks and on heavy equipment as well as in the office as Dispatcher. He's done this for the past 10 years and now, right before Christmas, he was called into the office by the higher-ups and told he was being let-go for financial reasons. The company is hurting right now and they have to trim the payroll. So they trimmed his payroll!

In a situation like this, with two small children at home, one would have a tendency to get down and depressed and wonder "WHY GOD?"

Not my Nephew and his wife! They are Christians and trust God! They know that He has never let them down in the past and won't let them down now. They just went to church as usual on Sunday and in their Sunday School Class, shared a prayer request, asking for prayer for him to be able to find another job quickly. Without them knowing anything about it, this group of Christians did more than pray!

They put their faith into action as James talks about in the Bible:

James 2:17-20 "Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, if a man say, "Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

So we see that just 'having faith' is not enough! It's what we do with that faith that matters! We can't sit in our church week after week, like a sponge, just soaking it all up and not giving anything back in return. Do you know what happens to a sponge if it just keeps soaking up water? Before long, it is water-logged and just oozes out. We as Christians were meant to soak up God's blessings and then 'squeeze them out' over others in return. Not trying to keep it all to ourselves.

This small family, found themselves the recipients of "the secret blessings of God" in their time of need! This Sunday School class got together, unbeknownst to my Nephew and his family, and collected boxes and boxes of food to carry them through this time! They not only gave food, but a GIFT CARD so that the would be able to take care of their children's Christmas gifts! Their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit caused them to think what would be the greatest hurt for a parent at this time of year without money. Children don't understand the worries that their parents have; they just know that Christmas is coming and they've always gotten gifts in the past. This would hurt a parent more than anything; to not be able to give gifts to their children. God made us that way because HE is a GIVING GOD and loves bestowing "gifts" on His children! This group of Christians were sensitive to that and wanted to alleviate this concern for one of their group. God will bless them abundantly because you 'can't out-give God'! He sees each kind act that we do and because He loves us, He will not let that go unrewarded. These giving people will experience a joy that others will not, this Christmas. Giving truly is better than receiving!

One would think that coming on 'hard times' in this world, would be a bad thing! But instead, it opens up an opportunity for our wonderful LORD to show us how HE can take care of us and bestow those wonderful "secret blessings" in our time of need! This builds our faith! Each time we place our trust in God in times of great need, our faith is strengthened to continue walking with Him and doing even greater things in the future.

It's wonderful to walk with the Lord day by day and see Him work in our lives!

Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

And again in James 4:8 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."

When we walk in obedience day by day with the LORD, and seek His face, we can be in no greater place and in no better hands! We will be daily recipients of the "secret blessings of God", whether they be actual physical blessings or spiritual. Either way, there's no better place to be!

Psalm 5:12 "For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield."

Psalm 37:39 "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble."

Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble."

I wish for you that you will walk with the Lord this Christmas and into the New Year; holding His hand and following in His steps!

For myself, I plan to read, study and meditate on His Word more; trust Him more; and try to be a blessing to others, sharing His secret blessings on my life and letting them spill over onto others!

From our Home to Yours,

Merry Christmas!

That Old Christmas Let-Down Feeling

2009-12-08T12:58:00.001-05:00

Do you find yourself feeling "let down"

even before Christmas is here?

I mean, you walk through the stores and see all the pretty decorations, the trees, the lights, the bows, and maybe even hear Christmas songs in the stores that still are playing them, or on the radio.

"Here Comes Santa Claus"; "Jingle Bells"; "Frosty the Snowman"; "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"......... but it doesn't "feel" like Christmas.

Where is the wonder and joy and anticipation that you felt as a child?

It doesn't matter how much "Jolly" and "bright lights" you see around you, the "jolly" just isn't there for you, and you feel pressured because there isn't enough time and you still have '_x__ # of gifts to buy" yet!

There isn't much money and the kids are asking for mega-buck-costing toys on their lists.

Maybe you were just recently laid off from your job or your pay has been cut to enable you to keep your job! I have a Nephew with a wife and two small children that was just "let go" from his job last week, as part of the cut backs, right before Christmas. It would be hard to feel very "Christmas-y" in that situation, one would think.

So, what can a person do, if they find themselves on the "BLUE" end of the Christmas spirit instead of on the "Ho Ho Ho" end?

Maybe your focus is askew.

If we focus on "things" and "money", then life can be pretty tough this time of year. If we focus on ourselves and what we can get or what we want, we get the same result.

If we focus on the

REASON FOR THIS SEASON

There is JOY!

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. God sent His Son to a dying world, in the form of a tiny baby. He didn't choose to herald His coming with media ads or jingling bells. He announced His coming long ago by the prophet Micah, (chapter 5:2)

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

Jesus came to the world quietly; born to a Virgin and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn when they arrived. His birth was imminent and Joseph had to find a place for Mary to rest and give birth. No fanfare.. nothing glamorous or glitzy, just a quiet entering-in, to the world. Just the way Jesus wants to enter your life and bring you the peace that "passes all understanding" (Phil. 4:7)

Jesus says to us: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

(Matt. 11:28)

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

This world will never give you peace. Only God can do that. We can't have peace if we are at enmity with God. Come to Jesus and let Him give you His peace. Celebrate His birth and focus on Him and your relationship to God during this Christmas season, and you won't feel "let down" but lifted up! The Christmas Season will bring joy and meaning!

See this link on how to become a Christian and know FOR SURE

that you will spend eternity in Heaven with God.

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_HowtobecomeaChristian.asp

It's a time of Celebration! Celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

My favorite Christmas song is Mary Did You Know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1oHJR2g7Tw

And here is the story of Jesus' Birth as told by the Apostle Luke, in Luke 2:1-20:

Christ is Born

1And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

3So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

6So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Angels Announce Jesus to the Shepherds

8Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

The Shepherds Visit Jesus

15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

There Is a Remedy

2009-12-06T19:01:00.007-05:00

This morning in our church worship service, our choir sang a beautiful song called

"There is a Remedy".

In these days leading up to "Christmas", the time we as Christians set aside to celebrate the birth of our Savior, several thoughts will come to mind as the days go on and we shop in the stores, seeing the decorations and gifts and bright bows; hearing the Christmas music in those that still are playing it. We'll see shoppers, some with smiling faces as they choose that special gift for a loved one; some with frowns and lines in their faces because this is a stressful time that brings little if any real 'joy' to their lives.

Some people are very lonely at this time of year, even when surrounded by friends and parties and festive decorations. There is an emptiness deep inside that can't be filled with anything, no matter how hard one might try. There is a reason for that emptiness. I believe this is the time of year when our hearts are drawn to seek a Savior. The wise men searched for long periods of time through sacred writings, trying to find where this Savior would be born, as foretold in the holy Scriptures. They traveled long and hard seeking the ONE that could provide a remedy to a sin-sick world.

Jesus came into a world that was not looking for him and had no room for Him. From the moment He was born and laid in the manger, the shadow of a cross lingered over His cradle. Jesus came to die; for you and for me and all that will seek Him, just as those wisemen from many years ago.

"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not." John 1: 9-11

But the GOOD NEWS of Christmas

and each and every day to us is this:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:12-14

Here are the lovely words to the song our choir sang this morning:

There is a Remedy

For the world that's lost in darkness

For the saint who's gone astray
For the sinner, blind but searching
For the child in need of faith

For the homeless and forsaken
For the hungry and the cold
For the prisoner and the captive
For the young and for the old

(Chorus)
There is a remedy
For every sin-sick soul

There is a cure for all

All the pain and hurt and wrong

There is a solution
For all the problems deep inside
There is a remedy
And His name is Jesus Christ

For the bitter, for the lonely

For the weary and afraid

For the burdened and frustrated
The discouraged and dismayed

For the mocked and persecuted

For the battered, for the wronged
For the scarred and for the wounded
For the weak and for the strong

(Repeat Chorus)

(Bridge)

For every tribe and every nation
For every color, every rac
For every tongue and every language
For every time and every place
There's an answer to the questions
There is love for all the hate
There's a healer for the dying
He's the Light, the Truth, the Way

(Repeat Chorus)

I only wish you could hear this sung by our Pastor's wife and our choir!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is beyond beautiful.

I Am Habit - New Post

2009-11-23T19:47:00.002-05:00

I love this poem and wrote it down in a book a very long time ago. It's a good reminder for each of us as Christians, and even for those who aren't. It's the daily little things we allow to come into our lives that slowly and meticulously mold us into what we will become. If we walk daily with the Lord and follow in His steps, always seeking His guidance in everything, we won't have to worry about slowly going off course. Isaiah 30:21 says: "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." All we have to do is ASK for guidance when we need to make a decision about anything. I call them "whisper prayers"... just quickly whisper a prayer up to God and He, who loves you more than anyone else, will quickly answer. He won't leave you floundering or wondering "should I do this or not? is this okay for a Christian to do?" Just ASK HIM.

One of the reasons God had to discipline Israel is found in Isaiah 29:13: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:".....

We cannot, as Christians, say we are Christians and then live like the rest of the unsaved world. We cannot allow the "world" to shape and form our convictions. It's a contradiction and a shame. It drags God's Name through the mud and causes the Name of Christ to be ridiculed by the watching world.

The world says "everything is relevant and that there is no wrong or right; it's up to each individual to decide for himself". How then can we as individuals really know what is okay or harmless, or what is really not a good thing for Christians to participate in? Our convictions and thoughts must be molded by the Word of God and only then will we know the Heart of God on any chosen thing. God has made His thoughts on any subject, clear to us in His Word.

I believe Christians today have a hard time discerning because they aren't spending enough time in God's Word or seeking His face each day. Studies today show that the current generation is almost Biblically ignorant. How then can we know the way? Every man will do what is right "in his own eyes" without guidance from the Holy Spirit. This is what the world is teaching. " It may be right for you but it can be wrong for someone else... but that doesn't mean it's wrong for you." Satan is a liar and out to cause division and confusion amongst God's people. Without spending time in God's Word, we will go astray and be confused.

Here is the poem by Robert E. Sly, that I have kept and have never forgotten because of its message:

It is mighty hard to shake me;
In my brawny arms I take thee;
I can either make or break thee;
I am habit!

Through each day I slowly mold thee;
Soon my tight'ning chains enfold thee;
Then it is with ease I hold thee;
I am Habit!

I can be both good and vile,
I can e'en be worth your while,
Or the cause of your bitter cry;
I am Habit!

Oft I've proved myself a pleasure;
Proved myself a priceless treasure,
Or a menace past all measure;
Thus is Habit!

Harmless though I sometimes seem, yet
My strange force is like a magnet;
Like a great and greedy dragnet;
I am Habit!

Though you sometimes fear or doubt me
No one yet has lived without me;
I am present all about thee;
Thus is Habit!

CHOOSE ME WELL when you are starting
Seldom is an easy parting;
I'm a devil or a darling!
I am Habit!

Robert E. Sly

Words of wisdom for all of us!

I Am Habit

2009-11-21T12:42:00.001-05:00

Click on the link below to read my post on Facebook:

Fac ebook | Linda Smith Hobart: I Am Habit

Just like the knarled and twisted bark of this ancient tree, our lives can be scarred and torn by the wrong decisions we allow in our daily lives.

Logged On and Tuned Out

2009-11-19T13:43:00.001-05:00

Last night, as my husband and I were driving home from speaking at a church about 45 minutes from our house, we were listening to a Christian radio station. The speaker being interviewed was Vicki Courtney. She was speaking about how the generation of kids today are so tech savvy that it's hard for parents to keep up. Most parents are "clueless" as to their children's online activities. Consider all the temptations out there online for young kids! You only have to be 13 or 14 to have a MySpace or Facebook account and any other number of social networking accounts. Kids as young as 8 and 9 years old are lying about their ages and signing up for social network accounts. Predators are well aware of this also and know where to look! Most children, when they sign up for these accounts, aren't blocking or protecting their pages. They can protect them so that only their friends can see the content on their pages, but how many do that? Very few. And when they get invitations to be a friend on their page, they indiscriminately "ok" them, whether they really know them or not. The sad thing is that many parents know their kids have these accounts; some even know they lied about their ages to get them! I've heard some say that they think it's good for their kids and it's helping them with some of their problems. How is allowing your child to lie about his age and illegally sign up for a social network, which is against the policies of that network, 'helping' your child? Come on parents! Stand up and be parents! I know it's very difficult today to keep up with all of the things your kids are into. Some parents, roughly about 50% of them, are clueless and don't even know where to look or how to look. They don't even know the names of these social networking sites that their children are participating in. If most parents saw some of the pictures their under-age children are posting and the pictures that their friends are posting they would be shocked beyond belief!

It's a tough world we're living in. The temptations that kids face today are overwhelming. It takes extreme diligence for parents to keep up today! If you're not tech savvy... you need to GET tech savvy. Ask someone to teach you; take a course; pay someone to teach you the ropes! You cannot afford to negate your responsibility today as a parent. The outcome has the potential to be tragic.

May I suggest a book for you? Go to this website and buy this book!

http://www.vickicourtney.com/books_resources.htm

Look for: "Logged On and Tuned Out" by Vicki Courtney

The tragedy today is that too many parents are giving up. They're tired. They're overwhelmed. They're into too many things themselves to keep up with all that their kids are into. Let's face it: parenting is extremely difficult today! But God has gifted us with our children. He has given us the responsibility to watch over them and guide them along the way and then to present them to Him, trained and fit for the Master's Use.

Don't give up your responsibility. It's TOUGH, yes! But it's worth it in the long run!

The Weekend is Coming and So Much to Do!

2009-11-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

To all my friends in Blogland: I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I will be taking advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and getting some much needed yard work done. I will also be working on a sewing project since I just got my new sewing machine! I haven't sewn for probably 20 years and wanted to get back to it! I'm so excited about starting to sew again! I bought a pattern for a simple night-gown to start on and a pattern for some reversible table place-mats and a table runner. I purchased some Christmas patterned material for the place mats. I wanted to buy some Thanksgiving-Fall material but figured since it will soon be December, I better start with the Christmas pattern and save the Fall pattern for next year.

I am also reading a new book I bought, called "In the President's Service-Behind the Scene With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect" by Ronald Kessler. It's a fascinating book and hard to put down! It's also hard to read about how despicable some of the men that have held the office of "President" and the "most powerful man in the free world" have been. I learned that the threats on the president's life have gone up more than 400% since President Obama took office! It's a scary world we're living in!

Because we'll be so busy over the next few days though, I probably won't be blogging until next week sometime. Oh yes, I should work on my novel some more too! I've neglected that for several days now!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Linda

Veteran's Day and a Tribute to my Favorite Veteran

2009-11-11T16:10:00.002-05:00

This is a portrait drawn of my Dad when he was in the Navy. My Dad joined the Navy when he was barely 16 and had to have his parent's signature. He served on a U.S. Destroyer Escort and was in Nagasaki after the bombing. All of his adult life he was loyal to his country and to the Navy. He loved the Navy and talked about it often. He was frequently seen wearing his Veteran's hat. He was proud to have served his country.

My Dad's portrait, done by his friend in the Navy

My Dad passed on November 14, 2001, after the attack on the Twin Towers and right before Thanksgiving. It was the worst day in our family's lives, losing him. We miss him terribly.

His father, my grandfather, also served in the military, I believe he served in the Marines. I have a nephew, and an ex-son-in-law that are military now; both in the Air Force. I have a son-in-law and a Nephew that are ex-military now but served their time in the Army and the Marines. My husband and his father both served in the Army.

May God bless and protect all of our young men and women in the military!
Thank you to all of those serving now and having served in the past to keep us free!

As my friend said on her post:

"Freedom isn't Free"

Ramblings About Growing up in the 50's

2009-11-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

I am putting some pictures in this post of my family; my sisters and parents when we were young and living in "the sticks" as we referred to it!

Having grown up in the 50's, I believe I grew up with an idealistic view of things. We lived in a rural area; unincorporated. We played in the fields and ran up and down the street unafraid back and forth to our neighbor's homes. We made our own butterfly nets and caught butterflies for our collections. We laid on blankets in the grass in the summer and we actually 'played outside'! We took care of each other and neighbors looked out for the other children on the block as well as their own; even taking on the role of teacher and surrogate parents if need be at times. We had a wonderful time as children and things were simpler then. We were also taught the Bible and taught such things as values and morality and respect for adults. Our parents took us to church and Sunday School and sat with us, instructing us on respect and how to behave in church and having respect for the Word of God and the man in the pulpit teaching it.

Many children today don't know a whole lot about make-believe and playing outside. Instead, they'd rather stay inside in front of the TV set playing video games or glued to their DSL's. When they don't get what they want, they demand it and usually Mom and Dad, tired from pursuing their own interests all day or the almighty dollar, give in to junior's whims just to keep peace and not have to deal with the situation as a parent should. I'm afraid most parents have taken the 'easy way out' with their role as parent. Let's face it; letting an electronic device entertain and hypnotize your child is much easier than actually having to BE the parent. Parenting is TOUGH and most parents are so busy today with so many things that they just don't have the time or the energy or the inclination to take on the battle of saying "NO" to junior. So they give in and negate their role of parent. Then that child grows up and has no respect for their parent nor patience for them, just as the young lady I observed in the restaurant with her parents today. Their parents had no time or patience for them when they were growing up and now the parent that is aging and actually would like to spend some time with their child, finds that their child has no time nor patience for them any more.

This is also the generation that is deciding on our healthcare and "go home and make peace with death" situation that we see our current administration adopting today. No respect or value for people over a certain age. They're useless and are not profitable to society because they have no wage-earning potential. It doesn't matter that they earned many wages all their lives and funded Social Security which is not going to be there for them when they need it now and their children, who can't be bothered taking care of them, will shove them off into some nursing home, so they won't have to be bothered with them. I heard a phrase on a comedy show one time that spoke of this, and said the nursing home's motto was: "We CARE-so you won't HAVE to!" How apropos is that?

This came to mind today after we left the hospital. My husband had to go in for his check-up endoscopy. After being given the all-clear from the doctor, we stopped at a restaurant to get some breakfast and coffee!! He couldn't have his coffee before the procedure! He was still feeling groggy but well enough to stop for breakfast. While we sat at our table and talked, I couldn't help but notice an elderly couple sitting at a table behind us (the booth behind my husband).

They sat there with their daughter, who I'd say was in her mid-thirties maybe.

She seemed to be your typical self-reliant young woman of today, who has it all under control. The thing that bothered me, as it always does when I see this, is that she had very little patience for her parents and their ages. She seemed impatient with them whenever they would say something. (They were probably buying her breakfast too!). She seemed to 'talk down' to them as if their age made them less intelligent. I told my husband that the thing that seems to be like a disease among this age group is "ingratitude" or a lack of thankfulness. Whenever I see a young person treating an older adult this way, especially their parents, I feel like going up to that person and asking them, "Just who do you think you are? You are who and what you are today because of your parents!! Show a little gratitude and yes, patience, will you? Just because they're getting older and move a little slower or don't remember everything or maybe even repeat something more than once, doesn't mean they're imbeciles!!" It just infuriates me to see ingratitude or to see the elderly treated with such disrespect when they've lived their lives earning it!

Why aren't parents teaching their children respect or manners today? And I'm not blaming ALL young parents in that age group because I know some very good young parents that will not tolerate disrespect from their children and don't give in to every demand they make. Good for them!! Their children will rise up and call them "blessed" as the Bible tells us!

Another thing that I've noticed about growing up in the 50's is the respect we held for our nation's highest office, the Presidency. We grew up to honor that role, even if the person holding it wasn't our choice at the polls. Today I hear so much disrespect for the President (no matter who it is). Even if we don't agree with the man's politics, he does hold the highest office and is the Ruler of the Free World! That position deserves our respect! If you disagree with him, write him a letter and with courtesy, tell him how you disagree and why. But be respectful!! Respect the office!

I recently bought the book by Ronald Kessler "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect". I am up to chapter three now and I have to tell you, it's a fascinating book, but it's also a real eye-opener fo rme! I knew growing up in the Nixon years and Johnson and Kennedy years that our presidents at times had indiscretions and were not the highly moral people they should be or that we 'kids' thought they were, at least I did. I remember President Eisenhower. How I loved that man as a child! Reading this book though, tells the truths, as hard as they are to take, about the men that have held this highly respected office of the President. It's sad and disheartening to me to think that such men could have put on such a cover-up personality and have won the respect and votes of our nation's people and then lived the way they did while in office. I am thoroughly disgusted with some of the things I have read about many of these men. That said, however, my respect for the men and women that hold the job of having to 'take a bullet for the President' if necessary has gone way up, considering who they might have to take the bullet for! How disgusted they must feel at times and yet are sworn to secrecy and the beck and call to do whatever he tells them to do and to keep quiet about it, even if it's something the public would be appalled by if they knew! The stories of Johnson were particularly appalling to me!

I've gotten off on a tangent now, but what I mostly wanted to say was that having grown up in the 50's was a much kinder and gentler time to grow up in. Being a child then and being a child now are worlds apart. I don't wish to go back in time, but I sure do wish that parents would start teaching their children to be thankful and courteous again. Gee.... I just wish parents would start being 'parents' again and teaching their children!!

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Words of wisdom from King Solomom

I'm so thankful I had parents and grandparents that loved us enough to actually BE parents! To teach us values and courtesy and respect for others around us, especially our elders!

I'm thankful I grew up in an era where respect and courtesy was expected of young people!

I'm thankful I grew up in the 50's and was taught how to be creative instead of putting my mind into neutral and allowing an electronic game mesmerize me and dull my creativity and ability to think.

I'm thankful I grew up in the 50's and learned a love for books and reading and nature!

May God help our current and future generations!

Malachi 4:5,6

"Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD;

and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,

lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Point Park, Lookout Mountain, TN

2009-11-10T16:23:00.009-05:00

The picture at the top of this page was taken at Point Park.

This past Sunday afternoon, we decided to go up to Lookout Mountain to see the beautiful colors at Point Park.

Point Park was completed in 1905 to commemorate
the "Battle Above the Clouds"
as part of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park.

Lookout Mountain is also where the Incline Railway is, although we decided to drive up rather than take the rail car.

It was a beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70's and the sun's warm rays streaming through the trees. We couldn't have asked for a better day to visit.

These cannons are the original cannons used during the Civil War and preserved here on Lookout Mountain.

Since I am short on time today, I will just post a few of the beautiful pictures I took and write more and post more on a later date.

More to come later!
Be sure to check out the slide show of Point Park
at the bottom of this page.

How Can I Be Saved?

2009-10-26T13:24:00.000-04:00

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_HowtobecomeaChristian.asp

The link posted above explains with crystal clarity:

HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN

If you are not sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that you are saved and will one day spend eternity in Heaven, please go to the link above. It's the best explanation I've seen and anyone can understand it.

Don't speculate and count on the fact that you will have plenty of time to make that decision. None of us know how many days we have on this earth, and then it will be too late to decide.

Oktoberfest in Chattanooga!

2009-10-25T20:16:00.002-04:00

Wow! What a wonderful Sunday we've had! Started the day off with church and the Holy Spirit was working so mightily that the Pastor didn't even get to deliver his sermon! People just start coming down to the altar and getting saved! One person got baptized and another joined the church! When you spend the week praying and are sensitive enough to move over so as not to interfere with the working of the Holy Spirit, as our Pastor is, God can work in mighty ways! We saw that happen this morning!

After a wonderful time in worshipping the Lord, my husband and I went to Sticky Fingers for their Sunday buffet deal! Yum!

After that, it was so beautiful outside, we decided to go home and shed the dress clothes and go downtown to the Oktoberfest celebration and just walk around and I was hoping to get some good orchard apples! I've been wanting some for a while now! The apples you get in store are nothing like what comes off the trees in the fall! I also am posting some of the pictures of the booths and the artisan wares that I snapped photos of today.

Here are some pictures of the delicious apples I got today!

The above picture is of glass and brass wind-chimes.

The artist that made the above wooden bowls was very interesting. He said he just started working with wood about two years ago! His work was beautiful as you can see.

It looked like glass it was polished so smooth!

There were also some vintage VW Bugs on display. There were two "Hippy Mobiles" I called them.

One was a camper and the other a Hippy Surfer-Mobile. :)

Below are the pictures of the VW Beetles!

Hippy Camper!

Surf's Up Dude!

Happy Fall!!

Dream Realities

2009-10-23T13:28:00.000-04:00

Did you ever wake up and realize you had been dreaming? It's funny how sometimes the real world invades your sleep and molds itself into a dream.

This morning, I was dreaming that I was out somewhere (you know how surreal dreams can be), and I had to walk home for some reason. I was carrying a plastic grocery sack with a quart of milk in it (that's really bizarre for me!) and I had to walk down one street and it was getting dark. Then I had to walk down this other long street and across a bridge and it began to rain and get so foggy that I couldn't see where I was going. I was upset that here I was in the dark and rain and still had a long walk home and my husband hadn't even come out to look for me!

Then I woke up to the sound of a train whistle blowing far away and the sound of rain. Wait, there was something else..... the sound of our Boxer lying at the foot of the bed loudly knawing on his rawhide bone! I guess he figured since I was sleeping-in and he wanted to be near me, he'd get his bone and amuse himself while he waited.

When I fully awakened, I found that I was "annoyed" at my dear husband! This has happened before. The poor man has taken the blame for things he did in my "dreams"! ha ha! I wasn't really annoyed, just mildly! When I told him my dream and how I was upset with him in the dream for not coming to look for me and rescue me from having to walk so far alone, in the dark, and in the misting rain and fog, he said "Jeeze... I can get into trouble even in your dreams!" LOL

How funny is that???? We both had a good laugh about that one!

In Search of Pumpkins

2009-10-20T22:20:00.001-04:00

This afternoon, my husband and I left the house in search of finding "The Pumpkin Patch". We stopped at several different places to ask if anyone knew where we might find this magical place. I had heard some friends say they were going to "The Pumpkin Patch". I tried in vain to find out where it was. No one seemed to know. We drove and drove, out towards the country, where we thought we might find it. We kept our eyes open for a "sign" along the road that might tell us we were on the right path. No such luck!

We passed by a place called "Linda's Produce" and there were pumpkins everywhere, as well as wonderfully colorful and delicious looking produce! We stopped!

I couldn't help myself! Everything looked so beautiful, I had to take pictures!

Here are some of the pictures that I snapped while we were there. Of course, I came home with several pumpkins and then we stopped at my favorite store: Hobby Lobby and I bought some Mums and the two adorable little scarecrow people that now guard my door and offer a warm welcome to all that stop by!

Aren't these little guys CUTE???

And here are the things that I purchased for my front steps and porch:

Great Dane Show Draws thousands to Chattanooga, TN

2009-10-19T20:49:00.001-04:00

These bronze statues of Great Danes were at the entrance on both sides of the building we had to enter to get into where the trials were going on. The guy on the right was just an irresistible fella we passed on the way in and he was so docile and friendly, I had to take his picture!

This afternoon, we took Sarge, our Boxer out for a walk downtown. We wanted to take him out for some exercise and wanted to get a Starbucks also. We got our coffee and headed downtown and decided to go walking around the gardens at the Choo-Choo.

To our surprise, there is a huge Great Dane National Championship Dog Show going on right in our own city, and we didn't even know it! Shows you how "informed" WE are!! :)

Anyway, it's going on through Saturday this week at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.

While we were there, Sarge got to see some bigger dogs than he is! He loved his sight-seeing walk today!

What I couldn't get over is how beautiful and graceful these dogs are! They are also very docile! Each one we came upon (almost each one) let us come right up to them and pet them. They're very sweet animals. The only bad thing is that they have a very short life-span. Their owners told us they usually only live 8 to 10 years. A 10-year old dog is a really old dog in a Great Dane. I don't think I'd ever want one because I'd fall in love with them and then it would break my heart when they died so soon. They are gorgeous animals though.

You can click on the link below to learn more about the Great Dane Competition in Chattanooga:

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/chattanooga-985703-great-competition.html

Here are a few of the pictures that I snapped when we went back later just to walk around a bit.

I will post more pictures in a day or two.

We plan to go back again later in the week to see some of the dog show.

I also took more pictures around the Choo-Choo gardens.

We Live in the Land of Plenty

2009-10-19T13:10:00.000-04:00

Psalms 81:10b says .... "open thy mouth wide and I will fill it."

We live in the land of plenty.

But, how much do we hunger for God? How much do we look to Him alone for our daily sustenance?

Or do we depend on ourselves; our bank accounts; our savings; our intellect, our personality and our ability to secure a good job or to earn a living? Some people make a living depending on 'others' and getting 'hand-outs'.

".... open they mouth wide and I will fill it." says the Lord.

So many times, I must admit, that looking to the Lord to fill my needs is a last resort instead of the first thing that I do.

I have heard such humbling stories of people in other, less well-to-do countries, that have such a strong and vibrant faith and walk with the Lord. It's a moment-by-moment thing with them.

Recently someone spoke at one of our conferences and told of a pastor in Russia that said to him, "Oh brother..... please tell the Christians in America that we in Russia are praying for them." When asked why in the world they would pray for us?"

The response was:

"Because it must be very difficult to be a Christian in America

and to walk with the Lord daily."

The speaker, flabbergasted, asked why he would say such a thing?"

The response?

"Oh because you have SO MUCH in America to distract you.

It must be very difficult to keep your eyes on Jesus and walk with him daily.

Here, Jesus is ALL we have!"

How humbling is that?

Deuteronomy 6:6-15 (New Century Version)

⁶ Always remember these commands I give you today.⁷ Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.⁸ Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you,⁹ and write them on your doors and gates.

¹⁰ The Lord your God will bring you into the land he promised to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build,¹¹ houses full of good things you did not buy, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want.¹² But be careful! Do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.

I have to agree with that Russian pastor!

Yes, it is very difficult to be a Christian in America today and it's getting more difficult by the week, as more and more of our freedoms as Christians are being taken from us. Why are we losing our Christian liberties? Because we have become so comfortable in our status quo and seeking the almighty buck and the many comforts of this life and enjoying the fruits of our labors that we

"FORGET"

just WHO it is that brought us here and gave us our health and breath and life and intellect and abilities to do what we do and gain the lifestyles that we enjoy.

May God save us from "forgetfulness".

"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,

and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Deut. 6:5

The Beauty of Death

2009-10-18T19:48:00.000-04:00

Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord."

Just look around you in the fall. What is it about autumn that everyone loves so much? It's the beauty in the colors, the smells, the cooler weather. The beauty that we see all around us is caused by "death". The leaves are dying and falling off of the trees and even in doing so, they are beautiful.

This is what "death" is like for the Christian, the person that has been "born again", through placing their faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said that those who believe in Him will not see death! Death is only the separation of our spirit from this body of flesh. (John 8:51,52) Just as the leaves die and fall from the tree in a splash of glory, so shall it be when we leave this "body of death" and open our eyes in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

There is "Beauty in death".

Don't You Just Love Autumn?

2009-10-17T10:55:00.008-04:00

Don't you just love fall? When the air is cooler and the leaves are turning into beautiful reds, oranges, yellows and browns? The air smells of decaying leaves... why is it that this should smell so GOOD?? Fall Mums and pumpkins and gourds and hay bales. There's no other season that brings such happy feelings and yet regrets to me. When fall arrives, I suddenly realize that winter isn't far behind! But then I think of November and Thanksgiving and then Christmas just four weeks later!

Today my dear husband got up and decided he was going to do some work in our yard, now that the weather is cooler. There is much to be done! My back prevents me from doing much yard work anymore, so I decided to do some work on my novel today instead. (I still have far to go on it before it will be finished.)

There is one thing I don't like about fall though and that is that now, we will soon be facing the daylight savings time change and our daylight hours will be shorter. I love the longer days of summer and wish we could have more daylight all year long. But then I guess we wouldn't feel that need to "snuggle-in" as we do when it begins getting dark earlier.

The above picture was taken several years ago when my Mom carved a pumpkin. I still remember when we were all at home as kids and my Mother entered a pumpkin-carving contest. She made the most beautiful pumpkin into a Cinderella Coach with horsemen and a Barbie-turned-Cinderella. She won first prize!! Then one of the kids at the judging booth lifted it up and dropped it and crashed it into a hundred pieces. I sure am glad she got some pictures of that before it happened!

Well.... Fall. My favorite season! "Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes" -- and a good book. Life is good!

My Mom's 80th Birthday Celebration

2009-10-15T15:04:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of weeks ago, we went to Illinois, my husband and myself and our three daughters and three of our grandchildren. We went to celebrate the 80th birthday of our Mother and Grandmother. Below is a picture of this remarkable woman! There has never been a day in her life that she has not sacrificed herself and her happiness to be sure that her family was loved and cared for. She is greatly loved by each of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Because of the life she has lived, each of her children were saved (accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior) at an early age. We are all well-balanced and happy individuals. She loved her husband until the day he died, caring for him as a Mother would a child in his last days here on this earth. No one could hope for a better legacy than what we have been given each day of her life as she taught us how to live and how to love each other and others.

We love you Mom! You're a REMARKABLE WOMAN!

<< Mom with her cake.

<<<Mom loves to have fun!

Mom with her best friend of many, many years.

We Arrived in Chicago

2009-09-26T22:36:00.000-04:00

We got up at 4:30 a.m. this morning so we could finish packing and leave the house by 6:00 a.m. Our daughters both met us and we rode to Nashville together. Since we left early, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before going on to the airport. We arrived at the airport and got our bags checked and went on to our gate. Our flight took off on time and things were fine until it started storming! It stormed most of the flight and the flight attendants had to sit out most of the flight. Praise the Lord we arrived safely though, without incident.

Once in Chicago, we discovered that the car we rented was too small to put all 8 of us in along with our luggage, so we had to upgrade to a mini-van. The mini-van is very comfortable and roomy though. Once our luggage was loaded, we headed for White Castle for lunch! My husband swears that Krystal will never be White Castle,which is his preference. On to the Museum of Science and Industry with the kiddies who were dying to get to the museum and see all that is there. Half-way through, I had to sit it out, as those concrete floors do a number on my lower back. I found a seat and waited on the kids to see and touch everything they could before the museum closed at 4:00.

We went on to Lansing where we booked hotel rooms online. Once we got there, we discovered that the rooms were HORRIBLE!! Never go to the Howard Johnson in Lansing, IL! We were met by another couple that had booked online and had been there for 4 hours trying to get their booking straightened out and had looked at 6 different rooms and all of them were horrible! One even had a hole in the window the size of a man's fist, another the commode wasn't working and another the lights weren't working and another smelled like marijuana! and on and on the list went. The guy at the front desk could care less. Finally, after 6 different phone calls, we got the charges removed from our credit card and found another hotel, from where I am writing this blog tonight.

We finally got settled in our rooms and ordered pizzas from Aurelios! That's our favorite in the Chicago area! They even delivered to the hotel!

Half of our group is now sleeping peacefully in their beds and I'm wide awake! I know I have to get to sleep soon though because we have to get up early tomorrow to go help set up for my mom's birthday party.

Will let you know more in a few days once we arrive in Florida and get situated.

Until then... hasta la vista!

In Search of Some Time to Think

2009-09-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, my husband and I will be flying to Chicago to see my Mother for her 80th birthday. After that, we'll return on Monday to repack and head for Florida for a week of vacation time. I'm very much looking forward to this time away from our normal lives, to relax and regroup and rethink and just meditate on all that has transpired over this past year thus far.

When Fall comes, I find that I get very introspective and a little melancholic too. It's rather like a time of preparation for the "hibernation" that comes with winter and cold weather and remaining inside; for when we have less light. I'm not fond of winter and less light! I think that even though we are human and do not hibernate as some of the animal kingdom does, all in all, we still have a sort of hibernation that comes upon us. I feel it each Fall. I start to get a feeling of drawing into myself, contemplating things more; thinking deeper; wanting to meditate on life and circumstances.... going "deeper".

This is what I'm looking forward to more than anything with this vacation to Florida. It's not going to be a tourist vacation. We're planning on going to the condo and just resting, reading, watching old movies and I really plan to do a lot of work on my novel while there. When I can get away from the normal hustle and bustle of "life" as we live it, and go where it will be more quiet and secluded, so I can "think" without distractions and interruptions. Many times we have had these intentions only to have them side-tracked. We end up doing the tourist thing anyway. That is why we decided to go where we are going this next week. It's nore secluded. You have to travel for 15 minutes to get to a Wal-mart! We'll buy our groceries and supplies and then "hibernate" in the condo or walking on the beach in the afternoon sun. Oh how I long for the sun and the ocean!

Because we'll be hibernating for most of the trip, I may or may not get online much. We're taking one of those cards from Verizon with us so that we can have Internet access, but I may not get online but once every few days. We'll see what happens. :) If something really spectacular happens and we can get online access, I may upload some photos and a post from time to time.

Wishing you all a wonderful and peaceful week!

Linda

Nothing can separate us from God's Love Romans 8:18-39

Marriage Advice

2009-09-23T17:02:00.005-04:00

This is a picture of my parents, when my Dad was still with us. He's in Heaven now and my Mom is about to celebrate her 80th birthday. My parents were married for 62 years.

Today, marriages just aren't making it. Why is that? I personally believe that one of the best reasons is that people are not really "in love" when they get married. They're "in lust". Marriage, no matter how you look at it, is hard, once the honeymoon wears off. Then add to that: children, monthly bills, maybe loss of a job, illness, all the stresses that come with two people living together for a number of years. Most couples today just don't have what it takes to 'stick it out'.

Why do we hear so many people say that they "just don't love" their mate anymore? Or that they "fell out of love" with their spouse. I believe that love is a conscious decision that one makes, not something that they 'fall into' or 'fall out of''. Many couples today just don't take the time to even see if they are compatible before they 'fall into' bed with each other. "Love" is a commitment and a sacrifice; wanting someone else's good above your own. It's unselfish; totally.

My parents loved each other unselfishly; each sacrificing the things they loved for the other and for their children. You all know what I'm talking about; giving up "my time" and "my friends" because I'd rather be with you and do what you want to do. Wanting that other person's happiness more than their own. Raising a family and then sacrificing the things "you" want, in order to give them to your children.

Sacrifice. There is so little of that today. Instead we hear men and women saying they 'just want out'. Why is that? A majority of the time it's because they've allowed someone (maybe at the office or over the Internet) to get a little "in-road" into their affections and interests. They made room for that other person in their life, maybe during a moment of boredom in their marriage. Let me tell you, long-term marriages are subject to a little familiarity and boredom from time to time. Let's face it, there are times in all of our marriages that we "just don't feel it" anymore.

When you truly love your mate, as Christ loves us, you move ahead and keep going and pray and ask God to restore that love and affection. We "take it and don't insist on our own way or our own rights". That's what love is. (Of course, I'm not speaking of a physically abusive situation.)

A dead person has no "rights". Read Romans Chapter 6.

I thank God for my parents and the love they demonstrated for all six of their children. Did they ever quarrel or disagree? Of course they did! Did they stay together through it all? Yes, they did. And I thank God for that commitment that was shown to each of us.

There is nothing that is hurting our nation more than the break-up of our homes and families. There is nothing that hurts our children more than to see their home broken up; to have to divide their time and affection between two parents. In order to justify their actions, parents deceive themselves into thinking that they can 'make it up' to their kids by giving them more "things". More things is not what they want! More time with a Mother and Father that love them UNSELFISHLY is what they want and need. To have their home whole and secure again, is what they need. To see two parents living out what it means to really love and sacrifice and put someone else's good above their own, is what they need and want. Putting 'their' welfare above their own wants and desires. Another deception that parents use to justify their actions for breaking up their home is that "the kids will be better off when we aren't fighting anymore". There would BE no fighting if Mom and Dad would set aside their own pride and get on their knees and ask God to help them and to save their marriage.

I know there are no pat answers for every situation and that there really are some good reasons for divorce today; but the majority of those that divorce are doing it for the wrong reasons and sacrificing their children on the altar of their own self-centered desires. It's time to take a good look at where our nation is going and ask if it's worth it.

Here is a good link to some really good advice on marriage:

http://www.marriagebuilders.com/graphic/mbi8114_fear.html

And here is an excellent link to some really good helps for the home:

http://www.awana.org

May God save our nation and our homes!

Obsessed with Bones

2009-09-22T20:21:00.001-04:00

Obsessed with Bones

Shared via AddThis

Coffee in the Morning

2009-09-21T10:05:00.002-04:00

Did you ever wake up in the morning to find that when your husband set-up the coffee pot the night before, he forgot to empty the carafe of the coffee that was already in it? UGH! Can you say "coffee all over the counter-top and under the cabinet below"? What would I do without him?

Our conference went great here in Chattanooga. Over 400 leaders in attendance and everyone had a wonderful day of training and learning and sharing. We had a wonderful keynote speaker that everyone loved!

For me, the day was exhausting though. After setting everything up on Friday night and then not getting more than 2 1/2 hours sleep on Friday night, I was totally exhausted on Saturday and Sunday. We went to church Sunday morning (we had our Homecoming Celebration) and I came home and fell across the bed and didn't get up til dh awakened me at 3:30 p.m. He was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep again that night. Wow it was hard to get up though! Today is much better after a good night's rest last night. I think I might even try to work on my book a little more later. Now that the conference is behind us, I can do that.

I'm looking forward to this Saturday, when we will be leaving to go to Illinois to see my Mom for her 80th birthday on Monday! We can only stay for the weekend, but we'll at least get to see her and wish her a happy birthday in person!

Well, that's all for today! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Sleep Aludes Me

2009-09-19T01:33:00.001-04:00

I went to bed earlier than usual tonight, hoping to get a good night's rest so I would be fresh in the morning for our conference. Unfortunately, we had to take the crew out to dinner late tonight after everyone got their workshop rooms all set up. It was late and we went to a "Southern Cooking" place. Can you say "FRIED FOOD"? Not the best thing for someone that is 'not a spring chick anymore'! lol I laid there and laid there and just couldn't get to sleep! My stomach was rebelling and punishing me for not being kind to it. So I came to "Blogland" and decided to look around; visiting a few of my favorites and then thought I should at least let everyone know I was here. You're all probably sound asleep right now, enjoying your soft bed. I have to be up at 5:30 a.m. in the morning to get ready to go so we can be at the church bright and early and have everything ready for the crowd as they begin to come in for registration at 7:15 a.m. We'll get the coffee started and have the donuts and snacks ready and be waiting on them at the registration and sales tables. I'll have bags under my eyes! :) Oh well... I need to learn a lesson in "self-control" and NOT eat that late at night, even if I've not eaten much all day! We have a good friend and it doesn't matter if he hasn't eaten all day, if he can't eat until late, then he just doesn't eat. Simple as that. I need to learn that kind of self-control and discipline! I'm praying I will!

Big Day Tomorrow

2009-09-18T15:11:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is our big Awana Leadership Training Conference here in Chattanooga!

Tonight we are setting everything up to be prepared for all of the Awana leaders that will come to attend workshops all day so that they can return to their churches as better trained Awana leaders.

Training is important, no matter what you choose to do in life!

If something is worth doing-it's worth doing right!

Writing is FUN!

2009-09-17T19:01:00.001-04:00

Yes, writing is FUN!! I have finished three children's books now and have published them on Blurb.com at this address:

http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/851423#author-bookshelf

I am also working on a NOVEL at the moment.! The thing that I have discovered about writing, is that it is almost or even more exciting than reading a book! I have found that when I sit down to write, I only have an "idea" of what the story is going to be about. Once I start writing, it takes on a life of its own! I have 38 pages into my new novel right now and each day is an adventure because I don't know where the story will take me! I can't wait to see how it gets to where I want it go!!

More to come on that, another time!

Right now, please visit my bookstore on Blurb and make an early purchase for your Christmas Shopping! These books will bring much delight to the children in your life, along with teaching them character and obedience at the same time. They will love Petie and Mr. Buzz!

Wading through the murky waters of seeking an Agent

2009-09-09T11:13:00.001-04:00

I never knew it could be so hard to actually get a book published!!

The other day, I finally broke down and went to the bookstore and bought three books that were recommended to me: "Writer's and Illustrator's Guide to Children's Book Publishers and Agents" by Ellen R. Shapiro and "How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published" by Barbara Seuling and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Children's Books". (I should qualify there!) I have my work cut out for me!

I think I am going to set the actual writing aside for a bit now and just try to get through most of these books. I've completed two of the "Petie" books now; one is on the website and has actually sold 4 or 5 copies so far! I'm excited about that! The other one is in the finishing stages and about to be uploaded, but I'm trying to decide if I want to do that or wait until I find an Agent first. Then I have a third book that I wrote many years ago and my Mother helped collaborate on the art work; that one has to be typed into the software and uploaded also. Until then though, I need to get through these books I've purchased, make submissions of query letters to Agents and see what happens. Making all of the submissions and keeping track of them is the hard part! Writing is the fun part!

The exciting news for this week though is that I should have my first hard-back book in my hands by this Friday! I'll be so excited to actually hold something I've written, in book form, in my hands! We're supposed to be leaving for Mississippi on Friday so I'm hoping that the Fed Ex guy comes early before we have to leave so I can take it with me!

We're going to have a busy month the rest of this month now. Next weekend is our own conference that we administer and then the end of the month we'll be traveling to Illinois to see my Mom. She is going to be 80 years old on September 28th! I'll say more about that later. When we return from Illinois, we are taking a break and going to Florida for a few days to just relax. THAT I'm really looking forward to as it will give me some time to just READ and get through these books I've purchased.

More on this adventure later! I hope all of you have a wonderful week and weekend!

(The picture of the sunflower at the top of this post was taken by my Sister Dawn!

It's growing in her back yard and is twice as tall as she is!!)

My Book is Selling!

2009-09-04T13:19:00.002-04:00

Can you say "Excited"?? I'm so excited that I have had a book sell already and I just put my book on the website a couple days ago! I'm submitting it to other publishers now and am praying that it will be picked up by the best one! I have ideas for several more episodes in the life of our little "Petie". Getting all of the artwork done though is very time-consuming and I'd really like to have a better artist do the illustrations. I'll see about that when I hear from a publisher.

In the meantime, I'm working on the formatting for the 2nd book and have scanned the illustrations into my computer for uploading. Today I made my first formal submission to a publisher! wow!

I'm running short on time today for getting my allergy shots and then going to my Grandson's birthday party!

I'll keep you posted on the latest on little "Petie"!

New Book!

2009-09-01T23:36:00.004-04:00

What have I been up to lately besides painting portraits?

Well....... I have started writing children's books! I have just uploaded my first children's book for sale! I'm working on the second one now and it should be finished soon. I'm so excited! I've always wanted to write and finally just dug in and did it!

You can preview my new book here:

http://www.blurb.com/user/LindaH1248?profile_preview=true

I hope you'll look at it and buy it for your children or grandchildren. There aren't many books on the market for children today that teach obedience, character and manners. This is my aim in writing these books.

Who knows? I may decide I like writing so much I'll even venture out into adult fiction!

Painting! Painting! Painting!

2009-08-13T18:15:00.007-04:00

I'm afraid I haven't taken much time to blog lately because we went to Atlanta for three days and then I was so tired from the trip that I didn't do anything for two days! I've found that I enjoy painting more than anything else I've tried for self-amusement. Mostly, I work in oils, but while I was in Atlanta and part of the time in the hotel room, I decided to try to do something with pastels. I had taken some books with me and decided to try one of the paintings in the book but to change it some so that it's an original. After I finished that, we went to supper with our friends and the restaurant manager came to talk with us after we finished. It turns out that he is a very interesting person!! He told us how he used to "ride the rails" when he was younger and then later on decided to go to college and he studied Art there. He finally settled on graphic art and his love is calligraphy now. He took out a piece of paper and made each of us a calligraphy writing and wrote our names for us along with his name. I asked him if he'd look at the pastel portrait I did of an Indian Maiden and give me his honest opinion since he too is an artist. He said that he loved it!

Here is the pastel of the Indian Maiden that I showed to him:

He was so kind and pleasant, that I asked if I could take his picture and try to paint him! He agreed and also let us take pictures with him. I went back to our room and decided to do a pastel portrait of him.

This is the result:

And finally, this afternoon, I decided to get back to my oils and paint my husband and I from a prayer card picture we had done a year ago.

Here is the result of that painting:

I LOVE TO PAINT!!

2009-06-09T22:06:00.008-04:00

I spent the afternoon painting again today. I did the same thing on Sunday afternoon. Oh how I love to paint. I'm by far not a professional artist and can't hold a candle to many others out there, but it's something I love to do to pass time and it takes my mind off of everything else! I find it to be very relaxing! I've prayed about many things in the past and being able to paint is one of the things I've asked the Lord to help me to do, because I love to do it so much. I want to be good at it but really can't afford to go and take lessons! So I bought a few books and am teaching myself. Here are the newest paintings that I did Sunday afternoon and today with my new art set! These are not originals, but were copied from an art book I bought called "Flowers Wet-On-Wet". They're done in oils. Now all I have to do is buy the frames!

I spent the earlier part of the day going through my pictures from my trip to Florida with 2 of my daughters and 3 of my grandchildren. I printed out the ones I wanted and now will put them into a photo album.

I'm not sure what I'll paint next. I think I might just practice more on flowers before attempting more originals. I want to paint our Boxer soon though. Here is a picture that I did back in 1999 of our companion and friend "Sam". He was a Sheltie and the best dog we've ever had. He died from cancer at the age of 12 1/2. We miss him still.

It's Been a While!

2009-06-06T15:25:00.004-04:00

I just returned from a wonderful week of fun in the sun in Florida with two of my daughters and three of my grandchildren! We had a wonderful time swimming each day and looking for seashells on the beach!

I'm afraid I haven't been posting too regularly lately! It's summer, what can I say? :) I've been reading as much as I can, which I love to do in the summer time! Just yesterday, I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a new Artist Set for an unbelievable price!! It has all the mediums in it you could want!! Oils, Pastels, Watercolors, Pencils and Charcoal! The wooden box it all comes in, opens up to be used as an easel! I haven't painted or drawn much in the past 8 years. I stopped when I began working full-time! I got the urge to get back to it the other day as I was finishing the unpacking of the remaining boxes left since our move back into our house! I unpacked some of my paintings and rehung them in my room and that started the old urge to paint again! As some of you know, we had moved when my husband accepted the position of a Camp Director back in November of last year. Well..... needless to say that did not work out and we ended up going back to our previous employer, who gladly accepted him back! Praise be to God for that! We moved back into our home downtown, which didn't sell, by the way! One reason to be thankful for the lousy economy as someone said!

I'm going to try to start drawing and painting again! I'm so excited and can't wait to get back to it!

Here is a picture of my new Art set!!

Pandemics

2009-04-29T21:45:00.004-04:00

A Pandemic?

It seems that when we turn on the radio, all we're hearing about now is the "Swine Flu Pandemic". A pandemic exists that has been around since almost the beginning of time: it's called "Sin".

Romans 3:10 "as it is written,
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."

Just as the medical world is seeking to intervene and put an end to this before it gets out of hand and kills thousands of people, there is a God who saw the desperate condition of mankind and sent a "remedy": His Son, to die for the sins of the world, and ALL who believe and accept Him as their personal Savior, will live. Just like a flu pandemic, no one will be safe unless they receive the vaccine. So it is with 'Sin', all of our own efforts will prove useless before a Holy God. The only "remedy" is receiving the sacrifice already provided, the sinless sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from our sin.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (NASB)

The Joys of Spring

2009-04-27T21:38:00.008-04:00

One of the things I love best about spring, is not only gardening, but watching the birds! After being in Chicago for three weeks, I came home to find this lovely little Mourning Dove had built her nest on top of the outdoor ceiling fan on my upper deck. She was undaunted by my presence and tenacious about staying with her nest! I read about Mourning Doves online and found that a Mourning Dove usually has two eggs in her nest and the nest is tended in the mornings by the male and then in the evenings by the female. It usually takes about 14 days for the eggs to hatch. I can't wait to see the babies!

On our lower porch ceiling, two sets of Purple Finches have been busy at work making their nests in our ceiling lights! Although I haven't seen them the past couple days, so I'm not sure if they've given up the idea of having their nests here because there is too much traffic!

In the meantime, I've been hard at work planting my summer garden and tending to that. Three years ago, my daughter gave me some of her Iris bulbs when she thinned them out and this is how they look in full bloom!

I love Spring!!

Life's Little Changes and Rolling With the Punches

2009-04-20T09:56:00.005-04:00

Dear Friends,

Where do I begin? It seems what we thought was a "dream" turned out to be a "nightmare"! We were totally mislead about the job on the mountain and once we got up there, we were staying in a little, OLD, furnished house that was only meant to be rented out to people attending events for a few days at a time. It was very nice, but not meant to be lived in for long periods. We were lead to believe that our house would be started right away and we'd be living in it within a matter of a few months at the most. That never happened and 5 months later, there was still nothing being done on the house. When we first went up to talk about the position, we asked if there were any financial problems at all and were adamantly told that there were not. Once up there and once we began working, we found out that there were financial problems and money was VERY tight and scarce; to the point that they didn't know if they could make payroll from one week to the next. Then the entire job seemed to change and was not what we were told it would be. The stress levels were so thick amongst all the staff that whenever the owner came around, everyone stiffened up and acted like they were afraid to breathe. The owner would laug about this when it was brought up. A few of the staff people quit working for her because of how they were treated and she said she didn't care. After trying to make this work for 5 months, we dedided that this was not what we were called to do and enquired into our previous job. We were enthusiastically welcomed back with open arms! We're now back in our house that we had put up for sale and took off the market so we could move back in! I couldn't be happier!! I've planted flowers and a vegetable garden and once again love sitting on my upper deck watching the sun set over the mountains! Life is good and so is our God!

Trials of Life

2009-02-19T11:32:00.002-05:00

It's been a long while since I've had the time to post anything on my blog! We have indeed moved up the mountain now, lock, stock and barrel! Since moving up here, I've discovered that my allergies have gotten worse and now have to take allergy shots each week! Because of all the molds here, I got a very bad sinus infection and the allergy doctor put me on a steroid and a few other medications! These caused my blood pressure to soar which made me have to go to the ER a couple times! They increased my BP meds which caused other problems along with the problems the steroids were causing! It's been a mess and for the past month, I've had a lot of issues that were not pleasant and at times very scary! Thank God, I believe they now have the BP meds adjusted and I am back to working part-time in the office again for now, which is fine with me. I started out working full-time and didn't much care for that.

Anyway, hopefully now I'll be able to post here a little more often than I have been. It won't be daily, but hopefully at least once or twice a week! I've missed reading some of my favorites!

Wishing you all a wonderfully blessed day in the Lord!

Linda

Thank You Lord!! The Path that Leads to the House that God Will Build!

2008-09-20T20:10:00.011-04:00

This is the path that leads to the land where our new LOG HOME

is going to be built!!

I have been praying specifically for a

"wooded, serene place to live

and a new home"

and God has answered those prayers!!

God is SO GOOD!

He has made it possible for us to build a log home (3 bedroom, 2 bath) on this property!! I am in awe at how wonderful the Lord is and by the way He answers prayers!!

He delights in giving good things to His children!!

Psalms 37:4, 5

"Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

**************

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee,

and shew thee great and mighty things,

which thou knowest not. "

Fragrance

2008-09-18T21:07:00.010-04:00

My husband and I are contemplating building a log home in the near future. I have a folder with different styles and information about the red cypress that the logs are hewn from. One thing I read made me think about some other things. It says this: "People with respiratory problems have sought out Tidewater Red Cypress as a relief from modern day processed woods, containing toxins, glues, and numerous other chemicals. Our cypress is free from any man-made chemical treatments. Cypress imparts neither taste nor odor to people or products coming into contact with it. (Taken from the BK Cypress information folder).

These logs are just gorgeous and the homes built from them are just gorgeous! But wouldn't you expect to smell that wonderful "wood" smell when walking into such a gorgeous all wood home?

I thought it strange that there is no smell at all from these.

I'm afraid that many times, we Christians are like these beautiful red cypress logs! Nice to look at, but we really don't leave much of an influence behind ...... nothing that would alert anyone to the fact that we had a "fragrant message of God's grace, love and mercy" to impart to the hearers.

This reminded me of something I read in a "Voice of the Martyrs" book. It said this:
(and this isn't an exact quote since I can't remember it exactly)

"A Christian should be like the redwood cedar. When it is hewn down by the axe, it leaves its fragrance on the metal of the axe that cut it down and yet does no harm in return."

There is also an old poem that I have always loved which says this:

A Persian fable says: One day.....

A wanderer found a lump of clay;

So redolent of sweet perfume,

It's odor scented all the room.

"Who art thou?" was his quick demand.

"Art thou some gem from Samarcand,

Or spikenard in this rude disguise,

Or other costly merchandise?"

"Nay! I am but a lump of clay!"

"Then whence the wondrous sweetness- say?"

"Friend, if the secret I disclose

I have been dwelling with the rose."

(Author Unknown)

I pray that as I go through each day, that this "lump of clay" in which I dwell, will spill forth the wonderful fragrance and sweetness of Jesus to all that I meet. Of course, this will directly depend upon the amount of time I spend in His presence, won't it?

Trusting God Step by Step

2008-09-17T13:53:00.006-04:00

We are going through a time of what might be referred to as "limbo" right now. We are about to make a major change in our lives that will literally turn everything upside down compared to what it has been for many years now. We are about to embark on a major change in our current situation as well as our future.

Now is the time when one must literally cling to God and just trust Him and allow Him to hold onto us and to help us to make each and every decision within His perfect will for us, so that we don't walk down the wrong path. I am relying on my favorite Bible verse now:

Isaiah 30:21

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,

This is the way,

walk in it,

when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left."

Biased Media

2008-09-16T10:57:00.005-04:00

Media Furious at Palin's Popularity
The greatest hindrance to enlightened democracy in America is the ignorance and prejudice promulgated by our media outlets. When every media story is crafted, manipulated or simply invented with an intent to forwarding a particular party or agenda, the free press serves no greater objective than to enslave the free will and reasonable discretion of the voting populace.
Political Machine: By Justin PauletteSep 14th 2008 10:34AM

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/09/14/media-furious-at-palins-popularity/

Duplicity

2008-08-28T01:57:00.007-04:00

Do you ever wonder what makes people say one thing and then do another? Is it desire for Power? Greed? Recognition? Or just to keep your job??

Tonight I watched the DNC and saw people that basically can't stand each other and just a week or two ago were saying "This man is not ready to lead the nation!!" stand up there tonight and say "This man is ready to lead the nation!"

Well, either he learned a whole lot in that very short period of time, or the speakers, as smooth and flowery as their speech-giving ability might be, are full of malarky! Or just plain liars! I wonder!

I wonder what kind of a person is so willing to go against everything they believe in just to have their moment in the spotlight. Hmmm. And then stand up there and tell us to believe them and get behind them and do as they tell us to do, "For the good of our nation".

Let me get this straight: We're supposed to believe what you say and do what you suggest is for our best..... Uh...... which time? A few weeks ago? Or tonight?

My Grandma always said, "Once a liar, always a liar" and if you "Lie down with pigs, you'll come up smelling like pigs."

I'm beginning to wonder if anyone really has "the best interest of our nation" in mind......

Or is it just their own agendas and greedy desires the reason they want us to believe in them now?

James 5:12

"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes", and your "No" , "No", lest you fall into judgment."

That seems pretty clear to me.

Say what you mean and mean what you say and then stick to it!

Spontaneity

2008-08-27T23:38:00.006-04:00

My husband and I really need to take a few days and just get away!

Did you ever get that feeling that you just really wished you could go away somewhere in seclusion, hide away from phones and work and just take your Bible and some good books and tuck yourself away in a nice, serene surrounding and just have quiet... seek God's face and insight into His Word and read? I have so many good books I've been given recently that I really want desperately to get alone and read! I've talked to Hubby and we've agreed to at least take 2 days and go somewhere and tuck ourselves away for this very purpose! Yay! We probably won't be able to go tomorrow, but since it's a long weekend, we're planning on going on Friday and staying at least until Sunday somewhere. I want to go to the Smokies and stay in a chalet but at this late date, I'm not sure that will be possible as there are probably 9 million other people with the same idea! We should have planned better! But you know, when you're working and working and then all of a sudden it just BUILDS and you know you need to go or lose your sanity!! You have to do it! Spontaneously!

I go through this from time to time; this feeling of just "having to" get away for a day or two! Away from the routine and busyness and phones! I think the main problem is a longing for God; a starvation if you will. Needing to have that time with God alone and not getting it enough because of the very busyness of certain times of the year. You get up in the morning and there is so much to do that you rush to get showered and dressed and then right to the computer to start in! Ooops.... the day is over and you realize you didn't spend time with the Lord! you can go on like that for so long before you start to get deficient like a body trying to continue on without food or vitamins or fuel to operate on. Sigh.

I need some time in the woods... to hear Nature.... see the sun streaming through the trees and hear the sighing of the wind.... smell the dampness of a forest floor and hear a rippling brook singing as the water flows over the smooth rocks... see a doe come silently out of the trees and stop and look around, frozen, smelling the air to see if it's safe....... yes, I need this!

Time alone with God in His creation and with His Word.

Tell the American Christians.....

2008-08-26T23:02:00.013-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. There have been a few reasons actually: we just finished up one of our leadership training conferences in Alabama. We had almost 700 people in attendance! We were expecting about 600. Mostly, it was a lot of work getting ready for it, which took up almost all of my time for the past week. It was such a blessing though, to see all of those leaders come out to hone their skills and be the best that they can be to serve God in the ministry that He has called them to.

The other reason, and probably the most important one, is that our keynote speaker said something in his message that I haven't been able to get out of my head! It just keeps bouncing around in there, echoing over and over again. He told the story of a pastor in eastern Europe in a country that still has religious oppression, where Christians still aren't allowed to worship freely or openly read a Bible or pray. He said that this pastor told him to "Please tell the American Christians that I pray for them every day!" When asked why he would do that, his reply was this: "Oh Brother David! Because it must be VERY DIFFICULT to be a Christian in America!"

Can you imagine? That hit me like a rock right between the eyes! I found myself tearing up and almost losing it. I couldn't believe someone that has to live each day in fear for their life and well-being of their family, risking all they have to simply worship God and own a Bible would say such a thing about us "rich Americans" that have SO MUCH and are so complacent about our worship and God's Word, would say such a thing! The more I thought about it though, the more I realize how right he was!

Yes, we have so much in comparison to other countries! How many churches are in each city across this country? How many Christian book stores are there? How many Bibles do each of us have in our homes and yet rarely pick up to read or bother to carry to churches with us? And what about when we go to church on Sunday? To many, it is a "social gathering" instead of a place to really pour out our hearts to God in worship and thanksgiving for all He has done for each one of us.

Yes, we have SO MUCH here! So much that it blinds us to spiritual need in our own lives and keeps us so busy and focused on everything BUT God that we are weak and ineffective in our Christianity. I recently read on the back of a book I was looking at as I browsed through a Christian book store today, a statement that said something like this: a Muslim asked the question, "what makes your belief of any value? If it is all you say it is, why is it so ineffective in the lives of Christians?" That's not the exact quote because I'm so bad at remembering these things correctly if I don't write them down! But you get the idea. If our faith is all we say it is, why doesn't it make more of a difference in the world around us and in our own lives? Good question.

At this same conference we had a lady there representing a ministry that I won't name here. She had many books with her and as I looked over her display table and we talked, we began to talk about the "underground church"; and the "persecuted church" in other countries that do not have religious freedom. Some countries tell the outside world that they do allow freedom to worship, but they don't. For instance, just recently a Muslim man cut out his own daughter's tongue and then burned her alive for converting to Christianity! Yes, this is really happening around the world in this day and age we live in! it's not something that's a story from a long time ago!

Here's the link and you can read the story yourself:

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2008/08/christians-in-muslim-countries-saudi-girl-burned-alive-for-being-christian/

Then there is a story that I read online about a ministry that was bringing some Bibles in to China during the Olympics, because China said that they allow religious freedom now. Guess what? The Bibles were confiscated at the security check point and taken away! When asked about this and their statement to allow religious freedom, they were told they could each bring ONE personal Bible in with them and that was all. The rest would have to be left there. The Bibles were being brought to pastors that did not own a Bible! I think their definition of "religious freedom" and ours would be very different!

These past few days, God has been dealing with me about all of these things in a very intense way. I've been searching online and reading about the persecuted Christians in other countries and it breaks my heart that we take our Christian faith so lightly, when all over this world, people are risking EVERYTHING they have, their families, their homes, simply because someone told them that Jesus loved them so much He died for them and they simply want to worship and thank Him and tell others what God has done for them so they too can know the joy and peace that this knowledge brings!

Since hearing that statement that was made by our speaker, when he told us what that pastor had asked him to relay to us "American Christians", I've been spending much time just wishing I could get away for about a week and just read and pray and study! I feel I need a radical overhaul of my outlook and actions. I've already asked forgiveness for my complacency and "easy Christianity". Yes, we have so much in our beloved country that it has become a hindrance to true, radical Christianity. The kind they had in Acts right after Jesus had risen from the grave and went on to Heaven to prepare a place for us. We have so many things to take up our time and our interests and to give ourselves to, that we have no time or place for the real purpose for which God has allowed us to take up space on this earth for! What is the chief purpose of being here?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 sums it all up for us:

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

What we each do with our own 24 hour day is up to us individually. Some risk everything; some go through each day like we're here just to gather "toys",enjoy ourselves and have a good time.

The choice is ours.

Someone said that "Hebrews 11 is still being written!" and if you do a little surfing on the Internet it won't take you long to see how true this is. All over this world, more and more each day, believers are still paying the ultimate price for placing their faith in Jesus Christ; being thrown into dungeons and prisons that are really death traps; watching their families suffer and be persecuted and tormented, watching their homes be burned, and yes, being tortured because they won't "deny the One who paid the ultimate price to save them"!

I don't know about you, but I don't understand how we can hide our eyes and close our ears to their plight and still go about our silly little days frivolously involving all of our mind, strength and time in such trivial endeavors as we do. There's nothing wrong with relaxation and enjoying our time and this beautiful and free country that God has allowed us each to be born into! Where the shame comes in, is that we take so lightly what God has done for us and we live each day without a truly thankful spirit. We hide the light He has shown in our hearts and the truth He has revealed to us, under the proverbial bushel. We're in a battle for the MIND in this country. We don't have to fear (at least not yet) being tortured and thrown into prison and having our homes and families taken from us for worshiping God but we should fear what the "enemy" is doing to capture and imprison our minds and the minds of our children!

May God help us and forgive our complacent attitudes.

Words of Wisdom, From a 92 Year Old Preacher

2008-08-15T11:06:00.009-04:00

I received an email this morning from a friend that talked about a program she had watched on TV on Sunday morning. In this televised church, they had asked a 92 year old retired preacher to preach. He said that he was asked to talk about what was the greatest lesson he'd learned through his life as a preacher. He summed it up with this:

"Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so! "

I guess that about sums it up for all of us, doesn't it? Whether or not a person "believes" the Bible or believes in Jesus, doesn't really change this statement or it's affects on our lives. Don't you just love it how the aged seem to be able to just sum it all up on a nutshell, so to speak and get right to the important stuff, leaving out all the extraneous material; the things that aren't really important anyway?

There are so many other countries that hold the aging population in high regard and take care of them and show honor to them for their wisdom. This country looks upon it's aging population as a nuisance and a problem that we need to do something about. We put them in homes and hide them away so we don't have to think about them anymore. Let someone else take care of them, we're too busy! Yet look at all the wisdom that we're overlooking.

My Grandmother used to always give credit to the fact that Jesus loved her and kept her. I can still see her standing up in church at testimony time and saying "He saves! He keeps! and He satisfies!" Words of wisdom in a nutshell!

We are saved by placing our faith in His death and shed blood on the cross for our sakes. We are kept daily by His keeping power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we are daily satisfied by His presence and love each day as we walk through this planet.

Romans 5:6 and 8 tells us:

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

and

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

What more could we ask for? It doesn't matter what trials may come our way. We know we won't ever have to face them alone but that the ONE who loves us more than any other person on this earth possibly could, is right there guiding us and loving us and holding onto us, even when WE let go of HIS hand. That's such a comfort to me, since I know how many countless times, I've let go of HIS hand!

One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 30:21

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

What comfort to know that Jesus loves us and will guide our steps through this life!

He really does SAVE, KEEP and SATISFY!

Thank you Grandma for teaching me that principle over and over again!

DUCK!! Just Lazin' Back a While!

2008-08-14T22:50:00.004-04:00

Just taking some time to relax and enjoy my husband and my home and TIME!

I'm going to stop and smell the roses for a while.

I've been making jewelry all day today and even though my husband and I have been in the same house together, we haven't even communicated! He's been busy working all day on conference stuff and me on jewelry! Tomorrow we've got to work some more and then he said he'll take me out to dinner tomorrow night! I'm hoping on Saturday we can get away for just a little while and go enjoy some nature!

I may not post again until next week.... we'll see!

I hope you all have a BLESSED weekend!

Insomnia

2008-08-13T14:26:00.007-04:00

Tic-Toc, Tic-Toc, Tick-Toc

Have you ever had one of those nights, where you just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling and then toss and turn and toss and turn, trying to fall asleep? You lie there trying to talk yourself into relaxing and falling asleep, but to no avail. In fact, it seems the harder you try, the more awake you are! Your mind just won't shut itself off and rest and a thousand things keep parading across the big-screen TV of your mind!

The Dictionary defines "insomnia" as:

inability to obtain sufficient sleep, esp. when chronic;

difficulty in falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness

Well, last night was one of those nights for me!

I guess I'm becoming "Nocturnal" as my Granddaughter described her sister's habits of staying up all night on the computer!

Since I stopped working full-time, I've begun to once again enjoy the late night hours, as these have always been the best times for creativity and deep-thinking for me. However, this habit of going to bed late started out to be a bedtime of about 12:30 a.m. and now has slowly crept to the wee morning hours of 2:30 or 3:00 a.m.!

The Spanish language has a beautiful sounding word for this time of the night: La Madrugada.

Doesn't that sound beautiful? It simply means "the wee hours of the morning before dawn". I've always loved this time, when everyone else is asleep and the house is quiet and outside, the streets are deserted and quiet and all you can hear are the sounds of "night". Sometimes, I go and stand on my balcony and look up at the stars and just "listen". This is all fine and good if you're still getting some sleep!

Last night, as I lay awake in bed trying to get myself to fall asleep, my mind kept going over and over a thousand different things. Everything under the sun! At one point, I even had to get up and go and jot down my thoughts for a poem so that I wouldn't forget it by morning! I've also found that in the past this has been the best time for poetry to come to me and I definitely better get up and write it down or it'll be gone by morning; lost in the labyrinth of my dreams and sleep.

After I got out of bed to jot down my thoughts, I stealthily eased myself back under the covers so as not to disturb my peacefully sleeping husband (how I envy the way he can sleep!). Once again, I began to work at trying to get to sleep! Just as I was drifting off to "Lah-Lah Land" (it's now about 4:25 a.m.), our dog comes up the stairs and starts nudging the bed and whimpering because I was pretending to be asleep and ignoring him, hoping he'd give up and go back downstairs to his bed! No such luck! Instead, he shakes his head and rattles his Rabies tags on his collar, which makes an ungodly loud sound that would wake the dead! (Does my husband wake up at this point, as I was sure he would? NO!) So, I get up and take the dog back downstairs and let him out, which is what he wanted for some reason! (I guess he drank too much before bed too!) I waited until he came back to the door (about 3 minutes later!) and then tell him to "STAY!" and went back upstairs. (He looked at me like he was crushed that I didn't want to play at this point, since we were both up!) It's now about 4:30 a.m. Once again, I try to ease myself back under the covers and make another attempt at sleep. It finally worked this time and I think I must have drifted off about 4:45 a.m.

I think there may be a few reasons for this bout with "insomnia" last night.

* I drank way too much coffee while watching the Olympics until it was over!

* I had a chocolate ice-cream sandwich (my weakness along with Fudgesicles!), which gave me acid-reflux all night!

* My mind was over-stimulated watching the Olympics and feeling for the U.S. Girl's Gymnastics Team.

(Didn't your heart just go out to those girls?)

* I lay there thinking about the next jewelry design I would make and bounced out of bed to go lay out the beads so that I wouldn't forget what colors and beads I wanted to use!

* I started thinking about my family, as I do many times at night while lying in bed, and then prayed for all of them, as I usually do when this happens.

There were many things that went through my mind but the overwhelming thought was "I've GOT to get some SLEEP!!" which acts as a stimulant instead of a sleep-inducer, since when that thought begins, my mind sets to work on that project instead of relaxing!

I finally did drift off to a beautiful, sweet sleep though and then awakened this morning when my daughter called to ask something, which I've already forgotten because I was still groggy when I talked with her.

What bothers me the most about this inability to get to sleep before "la madrugada" though is that I always feel so badly when I sleep late and feel as if I've wasted the best part of the day! I'd really like to be an early morning person! I guess I can't have both though.

I think these habits first began when I was still in High School and would have to stay up so late working on projects and homework because I had spent the best part of the evening talking on the phone to my boyfriend (to whom I am now married) and my girlfriends! On weekends, I'd also stay up very late spending the night with my Grandmother that lived next door to us and we'd watch "wrestling" matches and "Gorgeous George", her favorite! She was an AVID wrestling fan! lol It seems to strange to me now, considering what has become of wrestling since the 1950's!

When I got married, my husband worked the midnight shifts so much that I would stay awake because I couldn't sleep with him away all night and I'd sew clothes for our girls.

I guess I don't have much hope of changing my habits after all these years and becoming a "morning person", even though I'd like to.

One thing is sure though: I'd really like to get to sleep before 4:00 a.m.!!

No more coffee for me late at night!

I Am A Kept Woman

2008-08-12T00:48:00.003-04:00

This was sent to me in an Email and I just have to pass it on to you all.

I AM A KEPT WOMAN

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,

but GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go no longer,

but the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)

At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,
but the LORD kept my mouth shut. (Psa. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough,

but GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.

When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you hear me!

I'm blessed to be "kept."

****************************************************************

All day today, I have been walking down "Memory Lane", watching old, old family videos that my Sister kindly recorded onto DVDs for me while I was up there visiting. I watched as our family's lives unfolded before me on the TV screen. My siblings when they were very young and carefree and my parents and grandparents when they were young and struggling to care for and raise their family. Most of them are gone now and thankfully, I know they are in Heaven with Jesus awaiting for us all to be reunited again someday. But I miss them terribly and all the wonderful times we had growing up with them. My Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle lived next door to us kids as we were growing up and we saw them every day and they were an integral part of our lives. I saw my children again when they were babies and a pang went through me as I realized how much I miss those days when they were all home with us and we could talk with them every day and watch them and laugh with them and read them stories before bedtime. How quickly those days have passed!! If I could go back, I would hug them more, laugh with them more and pay more attention to each precious word and thing they said and did! I know everyone says that, but why don't we realize this when we're young and raising our families? Why do we let the daily struggles interrupt us the way they do and steal the sheer JOY of raising our children??

How short this life really is when you think about it and realize how quickly our lives pass through this time and space and our babies slip through our hands and become adults with children of their own and struggle daily with life's problems and concerns just as we did and how quickly that innocent JOY seeps out of their lives! That purity of childhood!

Oh what I wouldn't give to have those days back again if even for a short period.

On the old movies, I watched as my brother and sisters played in the grass and acted silly and wondered: What happens to us in life to take away all of that joy and carefree spirit that we had as children? How soon we allow the daily problems and sorrows to come into us and fill us up and take away that "innocent" and carefree unadulterated JOY that we had as we ran through the grass and laughed and teased each other!

I see my siblings now and compare to back then on those old films and was filled with sorrow for all the joy that has fled from their lives now. Oh they'd say they're happy if someone asked them, and I suppose they are to some extent, but if you really look into their eyes and really listen to the tone of their voices and see their faces in moments when they don't perceive that anyone is watching... it's there: the loss of innocence and joy. Somehow adulthood has taken over and that carefree spirit of childhood has disappeared. Why can't we ever get that back?

If it weren't for the Lord and His keeping power, I feel that today I would be overcome by sadness and loss; loss of all the wonderful, carefree times that we had and shared in that small house that we grew up in. Loss of all the loved ones that are no longer with us. Loss.... the empty space left behind by their absence. They are missed; and so is the joy of childhood and innocence that is so free of the worries and concerns and struggles of this life.

Thank God, He sent Jesus to pay the price of all of our losses and we can have the confidence of knowing that He will return someday, and I hope it's soon, to take us from the struggles and cares of this life and He will restore that innocent JOY in His presence!

Revelation 22:12

"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."

New Addition!

2008-08-11T00:49:00.003-04:00

Please scroll to the bottom of my page to see a Slide-Show of the jewelry I've made this weekend! All of my designs are my own and will be for sale. If anyone is interested in purchasing my jewelry, please email me at lrhobart@bellsouth.net. Thank you!

I've also added a slide-show of some of the photos I took of the Walnut St. Pedestrian Bridge in downtown Chattanooga.

I Can't Help Myself!

2008-08-10T00:19:00.006-04:00

I just had to do it! I went back to Hobby Lobby this afternoon and bought that Rooster I was telling you about. I not only bought this Rooster, but saw another one that I just had to have also! Then as I walked around the store, I noticed a Rooster Clock on the 50% off sale and a key hanger! Of course, those were added to my basket also! I'm hopeless!

I then made my way back to the Bead section again too because I forgot to get some crimp beads yesterday and then decided to go ahead and get the beads that I had put back yesterday!

I spent several hours once I got back home, making some new jewelry pieces. I really am going to look into opening a store!

Hello. My Name is Linda and I'm a HOPELESS ADDICT!

I think I need to spend the day in prayer tomorrow.

I hope you'll all have a wonderful Sunday. Go to church and worship the One who made you!

God bless each of you!

This is how my new items look on my counter and in my kitchen!

Temporary Insanity!

2008-08-09T11:39:00.011-04:00

Yes, it overcomes me everytime I walk through the doors of Hobby Lobby! I have every intention in the world to just go in and buy things on my "list". The minute I walk through the doors though, it seems that something takes over my brain and all thoughts go out and I feel like I'm in a trance in "Wonderland"!
My senses are assaulted by all the color and the flowers and the beautiful things all around me!

Mesmerized, I walk from isle to isle as if in a trance, unaware of the time or even who might be with me!

At time, I have totally lost track of my husband and my Mother and Sister in these stores, but I think the same thing is happening to them also, because they don't seem to be aware that I'm no longer with them either!! What is it? Something they emit through the air systems or the music has sublimal messaging? Or is it the lighting? Like some science-fiction movie, you're mind is taken over by some alien being? Whatever it is, it works!

One thing I became aware of as I walked through the store though, is another reminder that summer is about to end!! All the colors and silk floral displays are in autumn colors already and they are having sales on the Christmas decorations and supplies! Ugh!! Of course, I understand in a hobby store, they have to begin these sales early enough to give people the required time to make their gifts and centerpieces, etc. But come on! It's the beginning of August! Gone already were the beautiful colors of summer!

So, oblivious to those that might be watching me on surveillance cameras, I began walking around and happily snapping pictures of all the beautiful displays of the things that really caught my eye (and catch my eye each and everytime I go into this store, I might add! Although I think they hire professionals to deliberately arrange these things for that purpose!).

There were a few customers that gave me a strange look but from looking at them looking at me, I deducted that they just thought I was some big-shot corporate person taking pictures of the store's displays for whatever reason, maybe advertising. Yeah, that's what I was doing! Actually, it was so I could put them up here on my blog for all of you to see!

I just loved this little tray of roosters!! I'd love to have it on my kitchen counter if I had room!

When I'm in this store, I want to buy everything I see!! I can just imagine how my house would look!! Cluttered and like a Hobby Lobby Store actually! I love all of this glassware and want all of it!! This time, fortunately, I was on a quest for beads for my jewelry-making addiction though, so I satisfied myself with just taking pictures of all of this beautiful glassware!! I don't seem to have the knack for decorating like some people do, and I guess that's because I love everything and want some of everything! I love a simplistic look and can't seem to achieve that because I want to display everything I like! Some call it "eclectic" I guess, but when I try it, it just looks cluttered! SO I guess I'll have to be satisfied with just walking around the Hobby Lobby store and looking at their things there.

I really liked this display and the color of this glass. It's an amber color and has a cracked-glass appearance. It was just beautiful! I don't know what I'd do with it if I had it, but I'd really like to have it!

I also thought these roosters were fascinating!

They're made from blown glass. For some reason I have a fascination with roosters and chickens and don't know why!

The reason I called this posting "Temporary Insanity" other than the obvious reasons is because I was so caught up in taking these pictures and looking around (well, a better term might be drooling over all the beautiful glassware I'd like to have!), that I finally went back to the aisles that held all the things I originally went there for: BEADS!

As I merrily and excitedly filled my cart with all the beautiful future jewelry pieces I'd make from them I headed to the check-0ut counter finally. As I was putting the packages up on the counter, to the dismay of both the cashier and the customers that were forming a line behind me, I sheepishly looked at them and said "You may want to go to a different counter, I have TONS of beads!" to which they gladly left and went to the other cashier's counter. I'm sure my cashier wished she could do the same as she looked down at mountains of tiny packages that she began to separate by price. Ugh!

As she rang them up, I was starting to get a little concerned about how much I'd spent because even though there was a 50% off sale, I did have quite a mountain of beads there! I asked her for a sub-total and it was $190!!!! I almost fainted! I asked her about it and she said :

"You do realize that not EVERYTHING is 50% off, don't you?" I assured her that I did not know that and that the ad said jewelry making supplies. She replied "Well, you really have to read the fine print. I'm sorry about that."

I frantically began to sort through my pile to try to decide just what I could live without, as I still had quite a few packages that she hadn't even included in the subtotaled amount! I began to separate the packages and told her I'd have to leave the rest that was on the counter for another day and to please just go ahead and total up what I had there already rung up.

So, I walked out of the store with three small plastic bags and a cash register receipt for $190!!

That's why I titled my little adventure as "Temporary Insanity". Who does such things?????

I may need to go and seek therapy, because I'm still thinking about going back today for that little counter rooster I saw!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Addictions

2008-08-08T10:41:00.012-04:00

One of my addictions is making jewelry! I was up until 1:30 a.m. this morning working on several different sets! This is just one of them. I'm going to be selling these pieces so if anyone is interested at any time you can email me at lrhobart@bellsouth.net for more information.

I can blame my sister for this revival of my addiction and spending mounds of money at my favorite store besides Wal-Mart: Hobby Lobby! The last time I had a jewelry-making "attack", I would go into Hobby Lobby and come out about $150 poorer! Each time!! Sometimes more than that!

It's an addiction!

Hello, my name is Linda and I'm an addict! :(

One of my other addictions was making SOAP!! I made BINS of soaps! I can't do anything on a small level! Once I set-up a task, it's all or nothing! I have to have ALL the needed (and some not so needed) utensils and additives and molds, etc., etc. I have bins and bins of things I've collected from my little adventures into addictions! Stamping, soap-making, jewelry-making, drawing and painting, mountains of yarns for knitting and crocheting, libraries of BOOKS both for reading pleasure and craft-making! I'm sure some of you can relate! My Sister in Illinois had to make a whole room almost for her stamping hobby! So at least I'm not alone!

Oh yes, and did I forget to mention my addiction to PENS?? I have enough pens to open my own writing instrument store! Every time I see a new one I have to have it!! My purse is so heavy from carrying pens that it's giving me a neck-ache! Someone asks if anyone has a pen and I proudly say, "Oh I think I might have one."

This tendency to addiction was alright when I was working full-time but now that I'm not working full-time anymore, I'll either have to sell some of my creations or tone it down.

Well, where would we be without our own personal addictions? I'm sure we all have them in one way or another! At least I can take pleasure in the fact that something pretty comes out of mine!! ha ha!Personally, I go through phases: at one time it was chatting on AOL; another time it might be cross-stitching; or crocheting; or painting; or playing my guitar; or reading book after book. I even went through an addiction to SPANISH if you can believe that!! I was taking Spanish classes and reading Spanish and listening to Spanish music and amusing my family trying to roll my rrrr's........rrrrrrrrrrrrr! They would laugh at the strange sounds and funny faces I'd make trying and trying to get my r's to roll and make that trilling sound that is needed for the double "r" in Spanish! I just couldn't do it no matter how I tried, until finally one day, it happened!! Someone explained it to me how to hold my tongue and out it came and I was SO thrilled, I did it over and over and over, afraid I might lose the technique!! lol Much to the amusement of my family!

Many years ago, when we first got our computers (back in the stone ages!), I was addicted to (get this!) WordPerfect if you can believe that!! I couldn't wait to get on my computer each day and start playing with that program! Making newsletters and writing, etc. Then along with the computer came CompuServe and Email and forums (the precursor of chat rooms!) and then AOL which had me staying up until all hours of night chatting with my online friends in chat rooms and on Instant Message! Then I went to work full-time and that took up a lot of time and not leaving much for crafts or other addictions. But even then, I found things to be addicted to! At night... after dinner.... I'd always stay up too late at night doing one thing or another and then be tired when I had to get up for work the next day! Oh yes, don't let me forget E-mail!! Yes, I'm addicted to that too! I can't go a day without checking my E-mail ...... and now it's Blogging!!

I think some of us just have addictive personalities! We're bound to find something to be addicted to! If we lose interest in one thing, yes, we'll search until we find something else!

I'd be interested to know what everyone else's addictions are!

You never know: I just might find a new thing to add to MY list of addictions! :)

Life's Little Stop-Overs

2008-08-07T12:37:00.014-04:00

Have you ever had a day when the time just seemed to slip by you and suddenly it was late in the day and you asked yourself, "How did it get so late already?" It seems that at times these things just slip up on us unexpectedly and it's like we've been in a fog or something not to have noticed that we've wasted an entire day doing things that are not constructive by today's standards in any way!

Today, for me, has been one of those days! I didn't intend to sit here reading "blogs" until afternoon! Somehow I found myself caught-up in reading about the happenings of everyone else's life and thoughts as recorded in their blogs, which in turn, makes me go deep inside myself and my own thoughts.

Yesterday was a busy day for me. It was spent at my daughter's house and swimming in her pool, watching clouds go by overhead as the sun peeked in and out at us; just enjoying the lazy summer day and sadly comtemplating how soon it would come to an end and the children would be back in school again. I don't know about you, but as much as I like "fall", I hate thinking about summer coming to an end. It saddens me. I guess it seems that way because summer is the only time that we really have to enjoy "life's little stop-overs": long summer days, spent at the pool or in the park with a good book; watching the grandkids enjoy their time away from the rigidity of the classroom; watching the stars in the sky until late at night and listening to the night sounds! Oh how I love summer!

I love the warmth of the sun on my skin and knowing it won't be dark until late at night! Long, leisurely days to contemplate "LIFE". I know most people don't have that luxury and summer isn't much different for them than any other time of the year because of their work schedules. That's how it was for me while I was working full-time.

I'm so thankful that at this time in my life, I have time to enjoy "life's little stop-overs". After working full-time for the past eight years, and then taking early retirement, I now thankfully have time to enjoy life and not worry about the little "stops" that come along. If I "waste" a day sitting in front of my computer reading blogs or opening a good book and spending hours reading, nothing bad is going to happen to me! I'll simply make up for it on another day.

How I love just spending time alone and reading a good book just for pleasure or listening to music or taking a walk or spending the day swimming in the pool and not accomplishing a single "constructive thing"! It isn't going to bring any harm to anyone. In fact, these are the times I've found to actually be the most productive in my life, believe it or not! These are the times I've learned the most about myself! Time spent reflecting on my life and family and just "listening" to my inner-self! So many times we spend so much time in such noisy environments that we couldn't hear a jack-hammer if it was pounding on our head! For some, noise and activity are escapes, keeping them from having to really think about their lives or their situations. Personally, I savor these times! I love having quiet moments alone with my own thoughts. I rarely turn a TV or radio on when I'm home alone. I like to just "think". Occasionally, I might listen to some soft music as background. I've found that often helps me think, as long as it isn't distracting and makes me start thinking about the singer's words instead of just being a conductor for my thoughts.

It's the same with listening to the voice of God speaking to us! We have to come apart and quiet ourselves so we can really "hear" what's going on inside! Someone once said that if we don't take time to come apart and rest, the rest of us will just come apart! How true!! I've found that if I don't get these "little stop-overs" to just be "still" and meditate, I feel like a dying soul in a desert, crying out for a drink of water!

We all need to learn to enjoy "Life's Little Stop-Overs"!

Spend some time soon alone with just yourself and your thoughts! I think it will do you a world of good and you'll be surprised at what just a little bit of time apart can do for your whole outlook on life!

Learn to enjoy "Life's Little Stop-Overs"!

The sweet song of a bird,

Wind-whispers in the trees;

These things are only heard

In quiet days of ease.

Linda Hobart 8-07-08

On the Road Again

2008-08-05T15:25:00.035-04:00

We stopped at Cracker Barrel on our way out of town to get something to eat and then it was a long ride to just south of Chicago, IL. When we got up to Indiana we stopped for gas and I just had to take a picture of this beautiful corn field in the sun!! I love seeing the farmer's fields along the way through Indiana and Illinois!

In front of the corn there were bunches of "Queen Ann's Lace" flowers growing! This brought back many happy memories for me of running through the fields as a child and picking huge bouquets of these beautiful and delicate flowers and also of catching butterflies!

Once we filled up with gas at $3.89 a gallon! we were on our way and made a stop for lunch at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant! We just LOVE Ruby Tuesday! Here is what we had for lunch!

Then it was back on the road again and on our way to my Mom's house to spend the night and rest from the trip. She has the cutest little pup and his name is "Skipper". He's just adorable and so smart!! We had fun playing "keep away" with him and his toys.

The next day,I was off to visit with my Sister and my husband was off to Streamwood, IL for the training he had to be a part of. My Sister has three children and a pool and we had tons of fun in her pool and barbecuing each night. She showed me the garden her husband is growing and he has quite the "Green Thumb"! Here are some pictures of their garden! That's a giant sunflower my Sister planted! They have several along the side fence and last year they were HUGE!

Their Tomato Plants

Gourds

Green Beans: they're purple when picked and turn green when cooked!!

We had the zucchini and green beans for supper and they were just delicious! There's nothing like freshly picked vegetables from your garden! Especially if they're shared with family!

Another thing that Illinois has besides their beautiful farm fields is freight trains. I remember sitting many times waiting on the trains to pass by. While we were sitting, I took a couple of pictures out of the car window! Here's the engine:

On another day, my Mom took me to see the house that my Dad and Grandfather built and that we all grew up in. When my Dad passed away in 2001, my Mom had to let the property go and move into a small apartment. The house needed a lot of repairs and the property was just too large for her to keep up on her own any longer. It was a very hard thing for her to do though. It's especially hard now when we look at it and see what the new owners have allowed to become of it. All our memories of growing up are there and the new owners are just letting it go and not taking care of it. They have parked semi-trailer trucks there and let the weeds just grow up everywhere. When my Dad and Mom lived there and my Grandparents lived next door, the property was well cared for, with flowers everywhere! My Mom planted all the trees there and we had Lilac bushes and Lily of the Valley flowersand there were apple trees and grape vines and rose buses and blackberries and raspberries! The grass was always cut and us kids spent many a happy day just roaming the property and riding bikes and playing in the yard. It's heart-breaking to see it in this condition now!

The day before we left, my Mom took me to visit with her Brother, my Uncle Don. He lives about 20 minutes from her and I haven't seen him in many years now. He's losing his eye sight and is "legally blind" although he has a tiny bit of peripheral vision left. I was so happy to see him! He was my favorite Uncle growing up! He served in the Navy when he was a young man and us kids just loved it when he came to visit! He would always play with us and make us laugh and I thought he was the handsomest man ever! We had a very good visit and he gave my mom an album of pictures from their childhood, since he can no longer see them. There were pictures of their Mother, my Grandmother, when she was very young and my Grandfather and all of my Aunts and Uncles on my Mom's side. My Mom was thrilled to have this and even more thrilled that he wanted her to have it. When we got back to my Mom's house, she said she was going to give me the locket that he gave her when she was 15 years old, making this locket to be 63 years old now! My Uncle had just gotten out of the Navy and he brought this home to her! Needless to say, it will always be one of my most treasured gifts from my Mom!! Here's a picture of the locket:

My Uncle Don's picture is on the left side and this was probably taken when he was not much older than a teenager himself! I'm going to try to take the locket to a jeweler and see if it can be restored to the way it used to be. My Mom said it was a tri-color gold-plated locket when it was new. Time has worn it down to where the gold is worn off now and it looks like it's a silver locket now. It needs a new clasp for the chain also.

One afternoon, my Sister and I went shopping and here are a few of the pictures that I took while we were in the store:

One of the other things we did while at my Sister's house was to make handmade jewelry. My Sister and My Neice and I love making jewelry and we spent several hours at her kitchen table doing that. Later on, in another post, I'll post some more of the pictures of our creations!

Here are just a couple for now:

When we left on Monday morning we drove until we reached Indianapolis and stopped to see my other Sister Peggy and her husband that live there. We had lunch with them at Applebees and then we were on our way again. We drove for several hours before stopping to stretch our legs. We went to a Mall and this is the beautiful carousel they had inside:

We made one other stop along the way because we stopped for coffee and across the street there was a concrete statuary business and I wanted to stop and see what they had there. We pass it every time we go to Illinois and have never stopped before but I've always wanted to. This time we had the time to make a stop and I took a few very interesting pictures. I'd love to have this little guy! Unfortunately, we didn't have enough room in the car. Next time maybe we'll have our truck and can buy one or two pieces for our yard!

We arrived back home at about 1:00 a.m. this morning and slept for a few hours before going over to the place where we boarded our "Baby" Sarge. Needless to say he was very happy to be back home again. Here he is, all freshly bathed and with his new toy and bone!

Travel

2008-07-29T15:52:00.010-04:00

My husband and I will be traveling tomorrow to go to Chicago. He has training he has to be a part of and I'll be staying with my Mom and visiting with family. I hate leaving our poor Baby behind, but he'll be taken care of while we're away. Even so, we'll miss him a lot. He's such a "baby". He tries to talk to me each night. He gets in front of me and wants me to pet him and if I don't pet him immediately, he does the "woo woo" song, that's typical of Boxers. It honestly seems like he's trying to say words! We can 't help but laugh and of course then he gets what he wants, to be petted and allowed to climb half-way up into our laps.

Well, it'll be good to be able to see my family again and visit with my Baby sister and my Brother. My Brother just returned from England so I'm anxious to hear all about his trip and see his pictures! I'll be swimming with my Sister in her pool and we'll watch some favorite movies together and maybe work on making some jewelry while I'm there. We both like making custom jewelry! Of course we'll go shopping also!! :) A favorite passtime of ours!

I may not add much to my Blog until I get back home next week. I intend to try to help my Mom get a Blog started of her own. I'm trying to encourage her to start putting down some of her memories about when she was younger and when she got married and they moved to Illinois and my Dad and Grandfather built our houses there.

Somthing to think about until I return!

Life

Life is a gift to be used every day,
Not to be smothered and hidden away;
It isn't a thing to be stored in the chest
Where you gather your keepsakes and treasure your best;
It isn't a joy to be sipped now and then
And promptly put back in a dark place again.
Life is a gift that the humblest may boast of
And one that the humblest may well make the most of.
Get out and live it each hour of the day,
Wear it and use it as much as you may;
Don't keep it in niches and corners and grooves,
You'll find that in service its beauty improves.
~~~Edgar A. Guest
God bless you and enjoy the week!

Sunday Mornings and You, Lord

2008-07-27T12:04:00.016-04:00

Sunday Mornings! Don't you just love them? A time to refresh ourselves and a time to charge our spiritual batteries by spending some special time with the Lord.

Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."

I have two little books by Ruth Harms Calkin that I purchased many years ago while living in Indiana. I'm not sure if they're still available or not but I just love her simple and pure way of speaking to God as you would a friend, face to face over coffee. No pretenses, just purely open and honest conversation. The way it should be between God and us. Here's one I particularly like because it should be our daily desire as we go about our business either at home, the workplace or out in the world as we run errands.

May this be the prayer of each of us:

You who are

The Bright and Morning Star

Come in radiant splendor

And flood each shadowed crevice

Of my sullen heart

Until the world know

I've touched a Star.

Spending Time with the Grandchildren

2008-07-26T14:23:00.017-04:00

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Ps. 127:3

The Summer Children by Edgar A. Guest

I like 'em in the winter when their cheeks are slightly pale,

I like 'em in the spring time when the March winds blow a gale;

But when summer suns have tanned 'em and they're racing to and fro,

I somehow think the children make the finest sort of show.

How many people think of children in this way? With child-abuse and neglect at epic proportions today, my guess would be not enough.

Every time I'm with my grandchildren they are such a delight! I love listening to the funny things they say at times and watching them express their feelings and thoughts. They're so emotional and dramatic in how they communicate things! And the energy they have! How many of us adults wouldn't give just about anything to have that kind of stamina, strength and tireless determination to learn to do something new again? Just watching them can make you tired!

My grandchildren are growing up so fast now that it's amazing to watch and kind of scary too! My 10 year old grandson is offering to "teach me" to make backgrounds and add things to a MySpace page! They have iTouch iPods and they're so technologically savvy it's frightening and yet thrilling! I know if I need help with anything I can just ask the grandkids because they are learning to do it all! :)

The other day I spent the afternoon at the pool with my granddaughter Aimee and she was trying to learn to dive. She practiced over and over again until she was finally getting it down. She was literally water-logged before we had to leave! I love listening to her laugh when she gets tickled about something! She's going through those crazy pre-teen periods where "the crazies" just grab hold of her and won't let go at times! She can either make you laugh until you almost cry or make you want to go and lock yourself in a closet until it passes. She's discovered the joy of reading now too and she's going through books like my middle daughter used to do and still does. We made a trip to the book store the other day and she found a few books by her favorite authors (Lauren Myracle and Nancy Krulik: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Lauren+Myracle and http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nancy+Krulik) and she read them all in 2 days! Now she's without books again! So we made a trip yesterday to the downtown library and she found a few more that she wanted to read. It's a joy seeing my grandchildren learn to love reading! Reading is one of my passions also! I still love the children's books most! Sometimes I take more delight in reading them than the adult books. Children's Books are so delightful! The best part about being a Grandparent is that you get to read the "good" childhood books all over again!

Aimee has to start back to school now on August 4th! I couldn't believe they were going back so soon! That reminds me that these lazy, hazy days of summer are about to come to an end and I hate to see that more than anything! That also means that I'll have less time to spend with the grandchildren now as they'll have to be in bed earlier and they'll have homework that needs to be completed. It'll just be weekends now and not much more swimming left. That saddens me.

Yesterday, we got to spend some time with our grandson Daegan and his Cousin Collin and Grandpa asked them if they wanted to watch a movie he picked up at the library just to watch with them. (Grandpa really wanted to just sit in his easy chair and chill-out!) Of course, the boys being "BOYS" through and through, didn't much like the thought of sitting in a chair on a summer evening and watching a movie! ha ha! So Grandma, much to the delight of the boys and despair of Grandpa (because it meant he couldn't sit and relax all evening), asked the boys if they'd like to go find a parking lot or go downtown by the bridge and take their skateboards. Grandpa groaned at this thought. :) Of course this brought cheers and "I love you Grandma" from the boys. As Daegan says "Skateboarding is my life!!" So into the car we went with our travel mugs of coffee and Grandma's cameras and off to the parking lots we went to watch the boys do their fantastic tricks on the skateboards that made Grandma almost afraid to watch at times and made Grandpa ask the boys to "Please don't make me have to go to the Emergency Room tonight!"
We had a great time and Grandma got some terrific videos of which I've promised the boys I'd put on DVD for them so they can watch themselves and see what mistakes they made so they can improve their maneuvers.

After being downtown until the boys were both ready to drop over from exertion, we came home to make some sandwiches and have something to drink and get showers and wait for Mom to come and pick them up after she got back from her dinner date.

All in all, Grandma and Grandpa had a wonderful time watching our Grandkids and marveling at how fast they're growing and how much they're learning! The time goes by so fast and soon they'll be grown and have families of their own and very busy lives and these times of just being "kids" and having fun will be long gone and just a memory. But thank God for memories and time with our Grandkids that we'll be able to sit back and look back on for many years to come.

And God help the Mister.....

2008-07-25T12:12:00.011-04:00

Sisters!!

There's an old song that goes: God help the Mister that comes between me and my Sister!

Have you ever thought how blessed we are to have Sisters (and Brothers)? I have many times. Coming from a large family (there were 6 of us altogether: 5 sisters and 1 brother). My Dad worked in a steel mill all his life to support us, and my Mom stayed home to take care of all of us, but back in the 50's things were a lot different (and harder) than they are today and wages weren't as high for sure. Having 6 children in the family and 6 mouths to feed, meant that we didn't have a lot of extra "things", but we sure had a lot of "FUN"! We slept together in one bed for a long time (3 or 4 of us) and we learned to make our own "fun" when we played outside. I can remember lying in bed at night when we were "supposed to be" going to sleep and whispering and telling stories and giggling until Mom finally had to threaten us with bodily injury if we didn't go to sleep! :) Of course there were the usual "spiffs" and arguments too. I remember one time in particular that one of my younger sisters came running home and told my mom breathlessly "I'm sorry to tell you this Mom, but Ellen is dead!!" Scared my Mom half to death until she found out they were having a fight and one was just telling what she thought would get the other into trouble I guess!! :) I'm sure my Mom could tell a lot of other stories too and I wish she'd write a blog with her memories! When we'd play outside, we could never say we didn't have anyone to play with! We used our imaginations and played outside all day long in the summertime. Our parents never had to worry about us either because we always used the "buddy system"! We were never alone! What a blessing!

I've often wondered why it is that I really can't stand to be alone now that I'm an adult and after thinking about it a lot, I realized that's because I never learned "how" to be alone when I was growing up. We had so much fun and shared so many good times together and now we all share wonderful memories and love for each other. I am so blessed to have such a close and loving family. It's amazing when I think about it in comparison to so many other families that you hear about that can't stand each other or are feuding or haven't talked in years. To this day we all remain a very strong and close-knit family. We share in each other's joys and hurts and sorrows. I think that is due to the fact that we had wonderful and strong parents and grandparents that taught us the value of caring for each other and loyalty. My Dad is gone now as are my grandparents but maybe one day soon I'll do a tribute entry to him and my grandparents: they're the foundations to our lives and who we really are.

My Mom is still living and is such a strong woman. In her 70's and she can still run circles around most of us!!

One thing is sure: God help the Mister that would try to come between me and my Sisters! I love them all!

Random Thoughts on Being a City Girl - Country Girl

2008-07-24T10:54:00.021-04:00

I grew up in a rural area in an unincorporated part of northern Illinois. I loved running and playing outside all the time as a kid! We were outside from morning until night, literally! My Mom had to call us in because it was getting dark out. We'd lie in the grass during the day and watch the clouds go by and see how many different shapes we could imagine in them! When we had to come inside, at night, we'd lay out on the front porch and look up at the stars! We'd ride our bicycles all over the neighborhood and climb trees. Sometimes we'd walk down to the "creek" and dig for clams and pick huge bouquets of violets. Collecting butterflies was another fun thing we did, chasing them through the fields with a stocking net.

We loved looking for bird nests in the fields also and I can remember a type of grass that grew there that looked like it had sections to it. When you pulled on the sections, it would pop apart like the old-time "pop beads". Does anyone remember those? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the summertime also, we'd have big family get-togethers and barbecues. My Grandmother would start preparing the food and everyone would help and we had a big barbecue pit that my dad built. There were picnic tables and we'd all sit in the shade and talk. Sometimes my Dad and some of his friends would get together and play music and sing. My Dad was great on the harmonica! I can still see them sitting on a picnic table and him playing the harmonica while someone else played a guitar. One of my other favorite memories were times in the summer when we'd open the house windows at night (we didn't have air conditioning!) and the soft summer breeze would blow in through a window and you could hear the sounds of the night. I especially loved listening to the crickets. I can remember another time when it had rained really hard and the ground was so muddy! My Mom made us wear our boots and we were walking over to my friend's house, and we got our feet stuck in the mud!! I mean really STUCK!! Trying to pull our feet out left our boots behind in that mud!! I can still remember my socks and feet being full of wet mud!

During the winter time, the wind would blow the snow across the yards and it would swirl and drift into huge mounds of snow and at night the moon would come out and it would sparkle like diamonds in the moonlight! It would get so cold that you could hear it crunch under your feet each step you took. My Mom had irises and daffodils growing all along the side of the house and they were so beautiful! I can remember running and do handstands up against the side of the house amidst the irises and looking down at them and smelling their beautiful fragrance. When it rained in the summertime, we didn't have any sidewalks and I can remember wishing we lived in a place that had sidewalks and vowing "someday" I'd live where there were sidewalks. I can still remember my Grandma walking across from her house to ours and it was so muddy that she put down boards and walked across the boards to get there without getting into the mud. Memories ..... and there are so many others.

Now we live in the city and although I love our house and sometimes the convenience of being so close to all the stores and shopping, etc., I dearly miss those summer nights and the winter snow sparkling in the moonlight. I miss the sounds of the crickets at night and the smell of freshly-cut grass. Now we hear the sounds of sirens and semi-trucks passing in front of our house every few minutes throughout the day and night. It's not unusual to be downtown and see a homeless person sitting on the side of the street or asking for some change. We have to have fences and locked gates now to keep things from being stolen from our yard and porch. We have a very small yard now and the houses are all sitting on top of each other it seems, and yet no one is ever at home, unlike when we were kids in the neighborhood and everyone's mom was at home during the day and everyone looked out for each other. Now it seems people have bigger houses but they're never in them to enjoy them. Progress. How much have we given up to have progress and bigger paychecks and more possessions? The really important things? Just my opinion but sometimes it seems so.

Learning From the Past

2008-07-23T17:32:00.006-04:00

I Walked a Mile With Pleasure

by Robert Browning Hamilton

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way;

But left me none the wiser,

For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne'er a word said she;

But, oh, the things I learned from her

When Sorrow walked with me!

Thinking back over my life and all the many things that have happened and that I've experienced, I truly have to say that I've grown more and learned more through the trying and hard times than I have in all the really fun and exciting times in my life. It's during the hard and sad times that I have had to draw closer to the Lord and to go inward more and really examine myself and my motives. These times are never "fun" by no means. In fact, if we were asked, I'm sure there isn't a person alive if given the choice, would choose sad or hard times for their lives. We avoid them like the plague! Who wouldn't choose fun and happy experiences over sad and hard ones? Yet why is it that we grow to be better persons and learn so much more through those hard times? On the other hand, we all treasure and hold onto the happy and fun things that we've experienced and treasure them as good memories, to revisit over and over again throughout our lives. Like a hidden treasure or precious gem, we cradle them and protect them and unwrap them whenever we want to or need to. But if we're really honest with ourselves, it's those really bad times that we look back on as learning experiences and times of real personal growth. Someone once said that it's the really bad storms that make a tree put down it's deepest roots that give it strength to withstand future storms. It's also been said that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". All wise words and very true.

Lord, help me to learn from the sad and hard times so that I'll grow to be a stronger person.