Okay, Here's the Whole Truth

That blog didn't create much interest. Reckon if the real story was as insinuated, I wouldn't be sharing it!

The truth is: I was returning to my home town on a bus (you remember those...Greyhound, Trailways, etc.) on an overnight trip. Somewhere along the way this cute sweet Air Force guy got on and took the seat beside me. So we visited and then we fell asleep. I woke up and found out he was asleep with his head on my shoulder. I was very careful not to move because, after all, he was a hero. When we reached my hometown, he woke up. And that was pretty much it!

An Overnight Whatever

Loopdeloops recently shared a diary entry with us. I got out my diary from 1955 and 1956. . By the way, I am rather fascinated by the Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth. This is the truth. Tomorrow or someday, I will tell you the whole truth.

July 23, 1956 ....met cutest sweetest Air Force guy. We hit if off together fine. Don't know his name. Can't forget him.

July 24, 1956: Talked with Air Force boy til dawn, then slept. He put his head on my shoulder. Offered to buy my breakfast.

Any comments? What do you think this is about? Please, jump to a conclusion!

Small Town, Big People

Years ago, my sister and I both worked in a nearby smaller town. One day after work we ran into each other in the variety store. While we were visiting, the owner of the nearby shoe store came in looking for my sister, as he had given her the wrong box for her shoes. After he left I commented about the special people in small towns and how that wouldn't have happened in a city. She told me about the time her husband had called the local dentist to say that he would be too late getting there to pick up his partial plate. The dentist told him to not worry, that he could just pick it up at the flower shop next door.

My Four Things I Do

Flower of the Family wants me to tell 4 things about myself that no one knows, not even family. But if I do, then family will know!



1. I have restless toes, not legs, toes.



2. In my head I go back to previous conversations and rewind them.



3. I talk myself through my chores sometimes, step by step.



4. Sometimes I create scenarios, such as, what if that bicyclist falls over into the traffic lane. What would I do if I were the one to rescue him. I think it through step by step. You see, that way if that happens, I'll be prepared. This isn't a worry or fear thing, though. Kinda like writing a story in my mind. :) I'm always successful.



I'm even weirder than I thought!

TRUE SPIRIT OF GIVING

Darlene Franklin posted about wonderful people helping in the time of need. It reminded me of an incident several years ago in our church. A single mother with one daughter at home was having a hard time. She never complained that I can remember. Our church announced that we were collecting for a grocery shower for one of our families. She went home and practically cleaned out her cupboards and brought a big box of stuff. Was she ever surprised when she found out the grocery shower was for HER! That to me symbolizes the true spirit of giving and sharing. That is her gift and she honored God by sharing what little she had with someone else (she thought).

Old Man Tuck

Many years ago there was an elderly man living in a nursing home. The story was that he had been transferred from one of the prisons because he had become wheelchair bound and required a lot of assistance. I guess they figured he wouldn't run away. He had killed a man during a fight over a poker game. Sounds like the wild wild West, doesn't it? He was a nice old guy and soon started coming to our church services there. There was another Baptist church also doing services there, on a different Sunday, of course. We very patiently talked to him, answered his questions, and prayed for him. One day, after several months, one of the workers from the OTHER church came up to me one day and told me that Tuck had gotten saved during their church service earlier that week! I was thrilled! But I was also a little jealous. I wanted him to get saved during OUR church service! Isn't that pitiful? One of his arguments was that he had done something so terrible that even God couldn't forgive him. Goes to show how much better it is for God to be in control, instead of us. PTL

Reality Check

Loopdeloops has been talking about being thankful.

This morning on the news, a heart broken grandmother was talking about her grandchild's disappearance some time ago. If you recall, the mother has been arrested for her murder. No body yet, but someone thinks there was decomposing smell from the trunk. So I'm listening to this woman and thinking, "Oh, dear God! She believes her granddaughter has been seen on a security tape in a mall. She believes the child is still alive. And her daughter is in jail." I felt so ashamed of myself.

Guess what I had been fussing about at the time? Which method of cooking to use for my sweet potatoes! Make them plain or make them sweet? Use pineapple, use oranges? Thanks for the kick in the head, Lord.....

Once Saved, Always Saved

John 3:15-18; John 10:28-30 plus numerous other scriptures

There wouldn't be anyone in Heaven if it were up to us to earn and/or keep our salvation. If we lost our salvation every time we fell short of God's ideals (sinned), none of us would be saved for more than a few minutes at a time. If so, what was the purpose in His death? If we could lose our salvation, we would be lost forever because Christ died only once.

This information was gleamed at AllAboutGOD.com. Check it out.

Ever Wonder?

How do flies know when I pick up a fly swatter, but don't care if I pick up a cup?
Why do birds sometimes RUN across the road to get out of your way?
How does the phone know when you have just sat down on the potty?
How do cats and dogs know which lap belongs to the person who couldn't care less about them?How does a pear know when it's time to drop off the tree?
Why do bees have to look you in the eye?

Being Thankful for Little Things

A young woman I know was leaving one city to go to another where she had a close friend. Her no-good "boyfriend" dropped her off at the bus stop, threw her two bags out of the car, and took off, calling her a crude name. She had her ticket but was surprised to learn that the second bag would cost an extra $10.00. She had no money at all with her. She debated about leaving one bag behind but all of her worldly goods were in those two bags. She began to cry, she was so upset. The bus driver came over to her and asked her why she was crying. She explained the situation to him. This lovely man reached in his pocket and gave her a $20.00 bill. She tried to refuse, but he insisted. She took the money and paid for the extra baggage. She returned to the man and handed him the $10.00 bill. He refused to take it, saying that she might need some extra money. She asked how she could pay him back and he said, "Tell you what! If you ever see me again, you can pay me back. Otherwise, you can help someone else." This young woman needed that tremendously as her life has been a wreck for some time. It gave her hope again.

Isn't that an amazing story about unselfishness and kindness on the part of a stranger.

Which leads to this: I'd like to thank:

Those who hold a door for me, especially when it's a child.
Those who signal me to go in front of them.
Those who wave a thanks when I let them go first.
Those who wave at me when I drive by.

Not enough space to mention more "little things" that mean a lot. Care to join me?

Isn't He Cute?

The wild version of this "gorgeous" bird needs a mix of trees and grasses. The trees provide the birds with some of their food, cover in which to escape predators during the day, and roost sites at night. They need the grassland for most of their food, both plant and animal. A hen usually lays 10 to 13 eggs . Sometimes two females will lay up to 26 in the same nest, which is a shallow scrape in the soil, thinly lined with plant material. Incubation is about 28 days. Straight after hatching, the chicks learn how to catch insects, which form almost their entire diet. A week old chick may snap up as many as 4,000 grasshoppers and other insects each day. As they get older they switch to more plant matter. Wild turkeys probably numbered tens of millions before European settlers and their guns reached America. Good eating! So are the domestic ones.


This picture was a gift from my daughter, Kay. Happy Thanksgiving!

Colorful Names

We all know people with surnames of colors, such as Green, Brown, Black, White and Gray/Grey. Well, according to Whitepages.com, there are over 300 of the following names: Red, Purple, Blue, Aqua, Pink, Tan, Orange, and Violet. There are 298 Maroons; 272 Yellows; 6 Mauves; 28 Indigos. That's only the beginning! Do you know how many color names fall into just these categories? I think I have a new fascination!

What Does Change Mean, Anyway?

Change: alteration, mutation, variation, modification, transition, turn, shift, diversion, break, New Deal, New Frontier, generation, deterioration, transformation, transfiguration, makeover, evolution, etc. Check out a thesaurus. There are dozens of meanings of the word and/or concept of CHANGE. Which one is Mr. Obama talking about? Change doesn't automatically mean good. I thought I'd freak out every time someone said the word CHANGE. Enough already!

It's Over

It's over. The election is over and maybe we got the president we deserve.

Oh Yeah! Another Horse Story

Irish Eyes' comment reminded me of another incident. The black mare, the one I rode to the mailbox, had a colt. My just older sister was riding it and I was on the mother. The colt jumped over an irrigation ditch. I don't recall whether sister fell off or jumped off. Anyway, we took the bridle off the young one. I'm pretty sure it was my idea to put the bridle somewhere safe and we'd pick it up later. So...... I picked one sagebrush out of the 100's in the pasture and placed the bridle under it. Well, I couldn't find it and had to go tell Daddy. He wasn't very happy with me but we walked around until he found it. He never had to spank me, he just had to scold me or get stern with me and it broke my heart. I say it was my sister's fault for getting off the colt! What do you think? Huh? Huh?

The Other Horse

The most important horse in my life remains nameless. A friend and I were riding him double and bareback. We are on an elevated road when a dog appeared out of nowhere, barking at us. The horse bucked down the incline, which was probably 9 feet from top to bottom. Well, I did stay on one jump longer than my friend. She went off first and then I fell. I landed on my left hip/buttock. When the dust cleared, Charlotte was coming towards me. I couldn't get up so she went for help. The horse and dog apparently went somewhere together, I don't recall. In a few minutes Charlotte came back with a neighbor in a car. They drove me home and my folks took me to the emergency room at a hospital about 20 plus miles away. They x-rayed and told me that the pain was from muscle spasms in my hip and buttock and that it would work loose (the muscle spasm, not the hip/buttock :). So,being 17, I figured square dancing would do the job! A couple of days later we got a phone call from the doctor who said I needed to come back to the hospital right away as the x-ray (which they had to send to another city to be read) showed a fractured back. Oh goody! I spent a few days there, flat on my back, having to be fed by a nurse. The funny thing was... they let me get up to go to the bathroom!



I rode lying in the back seat of a car to the larger city to a "real" hospital. I was given some morphine and taken somewhere to have a cast applied. I was allergic to the morphine and broke out in huge red hives and was so weak I couldn't hold my head up. I was supposed to stand and hold onto an overhead trapeze so they could wrap the casting material around me. I ended up being stretched between two tables while they wrapped the casting stuff around me. Consequently, the belly part bulged so I had a rounded belly. I spent a couple of months in that (I think) and then a month or so in a brace. The strange thing was, I never had much pain. The worst part was that there were no loose clothes available then except for housecoats and maternity clothes. It was rather embarrassing but that's what I wore.



I will always believe that my friend was hurt more than I was, but she didn't have the option of getting medical care. And you know what mothers always say? Don't wear ragged underwear because you might be in an accident? Well, my bra was pinned together, much to my mother's chagrin.

The H-Word

A few horse stories.

We had a black mare when I was a kid. I got to ride her to the mailbox, which was about a mile away. The first time I wasn't very prepared. I had my hands full of mail and she decided she needed to gallop back home. Well.... Mom made a sack (maybe it was a flour sack) with ties on it so I could put the mail inside and tie it to the saddle horn. That worked. Did you know that most horses walk slowly away from home and then want to run back home? At least one I know of anyway.

We had a gray horse named Smokey. He was such a good horse and gentle. We pastured him out at a friend's farm. This family consisted of three older boys. Well, when my sister and I went out some time later to ride, he had become a bucking bronco. Mom and Dad figured the boys had been spurring him and making him buck. We had to sell him because he was ruined for riding.

We had another black horse who galloped like a rocking chair. Riding him bareback was so easy. He was a big horse but I loved him. I don't remember why we sold him.

My brother-in-law bought a skinny old buckskin mare at the sale yard. She was gentle but was stiff necked about being reined. I rode her out in the pasture and taught her to neck rein. One day, my BIL, still thinking she was stiff necked, got on her to move some cows. When the rein touched her neck, she turned so quickly that he was riding on her side. It was one of my most proud accomplishments. Sandy got bogged down one day in a muddy irrigation ditch up to above her knees. We pulled her out but she would not go into water again. On the way to bring in the milch cows one day, it was necessary to go down a rather steep slope, through a little creek, and up the other side. She wouldn't even go down the slope after her incident, so I tied her to some brush. I went after the cows on foot and, while I was going over to the other side, I heard a commotion. Sandy had fallen down the slope partway. I pulled on the reins until she got herself back up. I got on her and she gave me no argument! She headed right down the trail and through the water and up the other side. I think she thought she was being punished for her actions. Did this horse's brain connect her refusal to go down that trail with the roll down the hill? And then knew somehow that she needed to obey in order to avoid being punished again?

The C-Word

I haven't blogged much lately because I am now kinda fearful. I never thought much about that C-word, you know, the one that protects the contents of a book, paper, story, song, etc, from wrongful use. I won't type it because it might trigger a tag and someone will get on my blog and find my quotes from other sources. I didn't know the Bible has a C-word. How does one publisher know you quoted from his and not some other publisher's version? When I use definitions of words am I stealing someone's work? Beats me.........................

And Then....

We enjoyed our visit with our daughter and her family. Just a word of caution, though. Don't ever get a cockatoo, unless you really enjoy noise! Their new house is beautiful. The kids are doing well, one is really talented in writing essays and stories, the other loves designing clothes and drawing. The boy is in love and that's about all I can say about that!

By the way, our second choice of motel wasn't too great after all. There were young people standing around in the parking lot, drinking beer, smoking, and talking and laughing loudly. It made us uneasy so the next day, we found a motel where we had stayed 15 or so years ago. We had a nice big room and it was quiet. We felt safer there and it felt more homey. And it was considerably cheaper.

We came home through the most southern part of Kansas. It was beautiful. Along the central part of Kansas there are flint hills, a tall grass prairie of rolling hills. To the south, there are red rocks and red dirt. The tall prairie grass turns reddish in the fall and is absolutely beautiful, waving gently in the breeze. We stopped to potty, stopped to get gas, stopped to eat...well, actually we did at least two of those every time we stopped. One time we even stopped because of anticipated gas, but that's another story.

We were glad to get home, but enjoyed our visit. We didn't go to Bass Pro, though...the first time that we didn't. Guess we've graduated!

OOPS! Recap of Trip Across Kansas

Somehow I accidentally deleted my blog about getting to Kansas and some subsequent happenings. I don't know how to find it, that is, if it is find-able.

Oh well! When we stopped at Pratt, we probably found the last motel room in town as there was a rodeo going on and there were lots of people in town. I found out I couldn't call from the room without a phone card so the manager brought her cell phone down to me. I managed to mess up and call someone named Steven. I gave her my daughter's phone number and she tried to call it. I didn't realized later, much later, that I was giving her the wrong area code. So she called my sister but the battery was low so she went back to the office to charge it and to call my sis. Then here she comes again to tell me that the phone in the room is off the hook and my sister couldn't get through. So, I called my sister (on the cell phone). I figured at least someone knew we had made it that far and were okay. For all this trouble, Rose took only one yellow squash and one tomato as her pay. We had taken some garden veggies to my Flower of the Family.Rose was very nice but I was somewhat embarrassed for being so much bother.


In the blog I deleted, mentioned two potential divorces and the phone card. I'll explain. I totally regretted not getting a phone card before leaving home or at least before getting a motel. After the first stay in Pratt where the wonderful desk lady went to so much trouble for us, you would have thought I’d have learned the lesson. NO. We went to our daughter’s house upon arriving in town, looked in the phone book and located a couple of motels. I decided a brand name motel would be better than an unknown one would so we went there. That’s the second one where the lady let me use her cell phone because I didn’t have a phone card, nor is there ever a pay phone nearby. I called and talked to my dear Son IL and I explained where we were as we planned on going out to dinner. He said, "Call us when you’re ready." And hung up. I wasn’t through with the conversation because I was going to tell him to head on over and we’d be ready. So, instead of asking that desk clerk f0r the use of her personal cell phone again, we opted to go down the strip and find a pay phone. We came to a QT, which I think means Quick Trip, where there was a pay phone and phone cards available. I used my change to call again and told my daughter where we were and that they could just meet us there as we were going to gas up anyway. I went inside and bought a phone card. We waited and waited and waited. I decided to call again and see if everything was okay, when they drove into the parking lot. My daughter cautioned us that things were cranky in their car. Well, I guess someone (my daughter) forgot to mention the cross street and P. thought it was the QT that was far away. We weren’t there so they went to the motel. I’m not sure but perhaps the lady directed them to the nearby QT. Anyway, they headed down there with P. wondering why in the world we went there and what logical reason was there for that (he’s one of those logical thinkers). Meanwhile my husband and I were both quite tired and cranky also, thus the two divorce thingy. However, we were hungry and eager to spend some time with the kids and the grandkids. Things were a little tense but after we followed them to Ryan’s (a wonderful steak and buffet), everyone was chilled out a little. Things went fine and we enjoyed our selves.
Now, guess who came back home with a brand new phone card?

Gonna Scoot Across Kansas

No one seemed very interested in my strange dictionary.

If you read my daughter's blog (Flower of the Family), you know we going to drive down to see them. We actually enjoy crossing the entire width (West to East) of Kansas. There are lots of interesting things to see if you look around a little. Most people I know complain about having to drive across Kansas. There are lots of historic places there. I guess people just want to see mountains! Will check in when I get back. :)

The Devil's Dictionary

First published between 1881 and 1911, the Devil's Dictionary is the work of Ambrose Bierce, who was born in Meigs County, Ohio, in 1842, and who vanished without trace in Mexico in 1913. Some examples:

Absurdity: A statement of belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
Barometer: An ingenious instrument which indicated what kind of weather we are having.
Clairvoyant: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron...namely that he is a blockhead.
Diplomacy: The patriotic art of lying for one's country.
Egotist: A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.
Fiddle: An instrument to tickle human ears by friction of a horse's tail on the entrails of a cat.
Lawyer: One skilled in circumvention of the law.
Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man, who has no gills.
Positive: Mistaken at the top of one's voice.
Truthful: Dumb and illiterate.

Is anyone willing to attempt modern definitions for these everyday words?

1. diplomaacy
2. education
3. free press
4. highbrow
5. jazz
6. lowbrow

More About Wii Wee

I don't know much about the Wii products, except for what I mentioned. You can go to
www.ezinearticles.com, click on gaming, then consoles-games and then article #88. Or to an article at www.elpasotimes.com/ci_9449216?source=rss or just search for Wii in nursing homes. That ezine articles has lots of information about the Wii systems, etc. They are more than just video games apparently. I'm not electronic-friendly so don't expect me to know much more than this :)

Wii Wee

Robin commented about her MIL wanting to get her kids a Wii. Some of the nursing homes have been using them to get residents to exercise. They use the ones that simulate baseball, bowling or tennis or whatever, so the residents can sit in a chair and move their limbs while reacting to the motions. It gives them exercise and lots of fun and laughter.

Go Outside and Get The Stink Blowed Off of Ya!

I found a book at the library that is entitled: Last Child in the Woods...saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. By Richard Louv.



In case you haven't already guessed, he thinks our children these days do not play outside enough. Well, I think that also. You seldom drive down a residential street and actually see children playing outside, but perhaps they're behind that privacy fence at the back of the house.



He has a list of 100 actions we can take to change this. Here are a few.



1. In South Carolina, a father bought a load of dirt for his daughters, plus plastic buckets and shovels. It cost the same as a video game.



2. Tell your children stories about your special childhood places, then help them find their own. Under a weeping willow, the ditch behind the house, a meadow.



5. Find a scrap board and place it on bare dirt. Come back in a day or two, lift the board, and see how many species have found shelter there. Identify with a field guide. Return once a month and discover who's new.



6. Camping in the backyard. Buy them a tent or help them make a canvas tepee and leave it up all summer.



He lists numerous websites and books pertaining to this topic. It's worth checking out if you have couch potato children. For more information, visit www.lastchildinthewoods.com or www.cnaturenet.org

My Short Vacation

Well, I spent Sunday afternoon through Wednesday morning with my daughter (Loop de Loop) and her two kids and her dog. Her hubby was busy with his work. I went with her to a writers' group and met some of the ladies whose blogs are linked to hers. It was really interesting and everyone was so nice. It's no wonder she loves to go and loves those friends.

I don't know why I was so tired when I got home. I just slept three nights are one of her sofas, a little different than my own bed. :) It was a mini-vacation! Enjoyed it.

The Flower of The Family Update

Julie has moved and has no access to the internet at the present. She plans to either go to the library, McDonald's, or Panera and check things out. The move went well. She started her new job yesterday, and son Jon found a job already. They're doing fine. So don't give up on her. She'll make up for lost time, I guarantee ya!

A Quote From Mother Teresa

"Someone asked me, 'Are you married?' And I said, 'Yes, and I find it sometimes very difficult to smile at Jesus because He can be so demanding sometimes.' This is really true. And there is where the love comes...when it is demanding, and yet we can give it to Him with joy."

Well, why not?

Forty miles from here, there is a town of around 100,000 people. In the past few weeks there have been numerous stabbings, including several fatal ones. It seems than many are gang related. Now, I say, let's get some of those liberal professional demonstrators and give them some signs that say: Knives kill people. Ban knives. Ban all types of knives, large, small, hunting, steak, etc. Lives will be saved. People don't kill people, knives kill people.

Have ID checks at any store that sells any type of knife. Do a background check.

A SAD LOSS FOR OUR CHURCH

We got word a couple of days ago that one of our 25-year old mothers in our church was found dead in her bed. She and her husband have a 4-year old daughter and an almost 2-year son.



Here's the story, with names changed. Our pastor's daughter Mary and her family lived in the same apt. building at one time with this family. Mary's daughter, Anna, was about three then. Anna liked to ring their own doorbell and go hide. It was a game she and her Mom played. Well, one day Anna came in crying, saying that the neighbor was going to kill her because she had rung that bell by mistake, Mary took Anna with her and went to meet the neighbor. It was Christy, who had a baby girl. They visited and became friends. Mary invited them to church. Christy came and shortly after got saved. Her husband Roger came and he got saved. They joined the church and were very faithful. Christy's parents joined the church also. Roger had been in the military and was working at a federal prison. He wanted to re-enlist in the military and he did so. It's been about two years I think. They were living in Kansas. Roger had just come home from Afghanistan for a week to see his family, Christy's family had just arrived there to see Roger, Christy, and their two grandchildren. Christy was found dead in her bed. Isn't it interesting to see that God used a little girl's "mistake" to bring that family to Him? We don't know yet what caused her death, but God chose to have almost her entire family there. I believe they got to see each other for a special time and for special reason. I am eager to find out what the pastor says after he gets back from doing the funeral and visiting with the family.

Today, we got word that an older guy passed away. He came to visit the church one day and got saved at that service. Not too long ago either. Praise the Lord that he found what he was seeking when he visited our church.

The Village Blacksmith by Longfellow

The Village Blacksmith
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And bear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshingfloor.

He goes on Sunday to the church
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his haul, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,--Rejoicing--sorrowing--
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Repost: Sensory Stimulation

Years ago when I worked at a nursing home as an activity director, I decided to use a picture to provoke a conversation for a group activity. It was the picture of the blacksmith shoeing a horse underneath a tree. One of the ladies had extreme memory loss (we didn't know about Alzheimer's disease then). She could answer questions sometimes but she couldn't remember what she did 10 minutes before. You know the story. Anyway, several of the residents commented on the memories the picture provoked. One lady told about how her father was a blacksmith but he didn't go out of business when cars became so popular. He just learned to work on them and did very well. Mrs. B., the lady with the memory loss, who hardly knew her name anymore, began to speak in her weak, not used very much voice, and recited the entire poem "The Village Blacksmith", word for word. Needless to say we all had tears streaming down our faces. After that recitation, she became quiet and re-entered her little world. It is one of the grandest memories I have.

A Firstly

My first attempt at placing a picture. I have one orange cat and used to have one that looked just like the brown tabby in the background. His name was Flatears but my grandkids called him Buddy. He had no ear tips (probably frozen when he was a baby), was very old, rather homely, but such a sweetie.

Get me my socks!

I hope I have this story straight. A woman in our church received a call from a friend, asking that her three-year old boy be put on our prayer chain. She apparently had found him twisted somehow in his swing set, not breathing and blue. That was all we knew until we were told that he was okay. K. D. then related the rest of the story to my sister. The mother did CPR and called 911. Later, at the hospital, He was in the bed with nothing on but a diaper. Apparently, he woke up, looked around, and said, "Get me my socks! I'm naked!". The family was told that he might be six years old before they could really detect any brain damage. What do you think? If a three-year old can assess a situation, and do what is reasonable to him (?), can't we assume he's okay? Can you imagine that family's response when their little boy said that.

Has Everyone Said These?

1. Someday when you're older, you'll understand.
2. Watch the tone of your voice when you talk to me.
3. Shut the door, were you born in a barn?
4. Stop your crying or I'll give you something to really cry about!
5. Do you think I'm made out of money?
6. Do you think money grows on trees?
7. If I've told once, I've told you a thousand times, don't exaggerate!
8. Are you deaf?
9. Would you jump off a bridge if everyone else was doing it?
10.Just wait until you're a parent someday!

If Wishes Were Horses, Beggers Would Ride

I wish I had invented Velcro.

Things I Saw at the State Fair

1. The Sea Lions, cute cute cute
2. The Tigers, beautiful, fearsome, fascinating
3. The Baboons, sassy, not self-conscious (if you know what I mean)
4. Beautiful Brown Swiss calf, hungry, tried to suck my fingers
5. Forest department's huge mules
6. Sand sculpture of Mt. Rushmore and a few other symbols of our country
7. Lots of junky souvenirs
8. Corn on the cob for $3.50
9. Funnel cakes for $7.00
10. Lots and lots of rabbits
11. Some really really strange art work
12. A very realistic looking doll handcrafted by someone. It was so real looking it was spooky.
Kinda gave me the creeps.

Okay, Here are the Rest

Hope chest - bottom drawer
Suspenders - braces
hotdog bun - bridge roll
Recess - break (school)
Thread - cotton
Dry-goods store - draper
rubber cement - cow gum
Electric cord - flex
Water heater - geyser (gas)
Green thumb - green fingers

Did I forget any?

A Few Answers

OKAY. Here are a few of the answers:

hamburger bun - bap
roller coaster - big dipper
trailer truck - articulated lorry
cookie - sweet biscuit
cracker - unsweetened biscuit
face flannel - wash cloth
hairgrip - bobbypin
oven cloth - pot holder
number plate - license plate
fish slice - spatula/turner

Come on, give it a try

I'll give you the answer someday soon.

A QUIZ

We like to pretend we speak English in the United States. Maybe, but we don't necessarily speak British! Answer the following questions. What is British for:
1. hamburger bun
2. roller coaster
3. trailer truck
4. cookie
5. cracker
6. hope chest
7. suspenders
8. hotdog roll
9. recess
10. thread

What is American for these words:
1. face flannel
2. draper
3. cow gum
4. fish slice
5. flex
6. geyser
7. hair grip/kirby grip
8. green fingers
9. number plate
10. oven cloth

A New Look for My Blog (but not for me)

Like my new blog look? Thanks to my daughter Kay. Why should I learn to do this stuff when I have two knowledgeable daughters?

A Sweet Time

On Mondays (three times a week) I take the Sunday sermon tape to one of the nursing homes. This week I was having difficulty finding available and willing customers. Some of the regulars were still in bed, two were in the beauty shop, some just didn't want to come. I ended up with four ladies, all of whom are regulars. The sermon was about faith, Heb. 11:1-4, about Cain and Abel. It was an excellent sermon. Afterwards, I asked the ladies if there were any prayer requests. Instead, they talked about the sermon ( thought some of them were asleep). Somehow I had unintentionally positioned their wheelchairs into a semi-circle. I sat down with them. Then it was the perfect thing to do.; we held hands. One lady's hands are twisted with rheumatoid arthritis, but she grabbed on. A couple of them prayed and I prayed. It was so sweet and it gave me shivers (I just shivered, just now). When we have finished, we realized why the others didn't come. God wanted that to happen and it probably wouldn't have if the others had been there. Plus, it was probably the first time a staff member had not come through the room, interrupting the mood. Again, Lord, do it again!

Total Reassurance

Many years ago we had a pastor who apparently liked to cause people to doubt their salvation. I figured he wanted credit for it somehow. In fact, at his previous church, a lot of members got saved under his preaching! I think he liked to do that, cause doubts and then "reap the harvest". Well, I spent some time doubting my salvation. He said "if you don't remember the day, the date, the time, what you said, and the place, you're not saved." So, I am not even sure how old I was, what the date was, what the day was, but I know the place. I know that I felt a "bale of hay" lift off my shoulders. But, wait a minute, he said you can't go by feelings or sensations! I settled it one day at the altar, and realized that I already had Jesus "in my heart".

I recently found a little purse-sized Bible in with some old stuff. The cover is almost off and it is falling apart. Inside the back cover is the autograph of that pastor, and underneath it is written:
"8-16-82
Dear devil,
I know I am saved and you will not make me doubt again!!"

That interesting blog again

I hope you haven't forgotten to check on that blog I mentioned, the one about the African Children's Choir (teresemonnette.blogspot.com). Her mother commented on my blog and thanked me for mentioning it. If you haven't looked at it, you must. Check out Dave's dgainest.blogspot.com. He's part of the group and you can leave comments on his, but not on hers.

Cutest Animals

Check this out Cutest Animals You don't have to read the comments (some are rank).

The Eyes of the "Unloveables" - Re-post

Today was our church service at a local mental health care center. While Carl was speaking, I was looking at each person sitting there. All were listening carefully and respectfully. Because I also go there weekly to do a "Bible study", I know them all pretty well.I saw in their eyes a soul and spirit that God had placed there. A spirit which has been beaten up by mental illness and the stigma that goes with it. In spite of that, most of them are friendly and as happy as they probably can be anywhere. I know that a lot of them had been basically turned away by their families because of years of mental illness, behavior problems, drugs, or alcohol. Many do have family members who are in contact. Many have schizophrenia or bipolar diagnoses and have probably been sick most of their lives. There are a few elderly but most are probably under 60, many in their 30s or 40s. I was thinking... "who loves these people?" I do. They trust me and treat me very well. Some of the staff love them. Some have worked there for many years and consider the residents their own special family. Others can't take it for very long but it's just as well that they move on. It is a difficult place to work. Every staff member has to know all the behavior modifications for each resident, if there is a problem. Who else loves them? God, for sure. For some reason he allowed them to be affected by mental illness. Why, I don't know. But whenever someone treats them kindly, he is treating God's creation kindly, and He gets the glory.

An Angel Unaware?

Nancy's comment on my Family Reunion story triggered this memory.

Several years ago, my daughters and I stopped to eat at a Taco Bell. As we were eating, I noticed an obviously homeless young man standing outside the entrance. He was not asking for money or food. He stood there for a while and then left. We grabbed our stuff, ordered two burritoes and a drink to go, and hurried to the car to follow him. He had disappeared but I realized that there was really only one reasonable direction for him to go. I drove around and there he was! We rolled up near him and my daughter called him over. He came and we asked him if he'd like some burritoes. He looked at us, with the most beautiful blue eyes, and said "Thank you", took the food and walked towards the back of a building. One of the girls exclaimed, "Mom! He has angel eyes!" He did indeed!

I think about him often.

JEWISH SONS

I found this on Inspirational Archives

Jewish Sons
A Jewish father was concerned about his son who was about a year away from his Bar Mitzvah but was sorely lacking in his knowledge of the Jewish faith. To remedy this he sent his son to Israel to experience his heritage. A year later the young man returned home.
"Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers," the son said. "It was wonderful and enlightening, however, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity."
"Oy vey," replied the father, "what have I done." So in the tradition of the patriarchs, he went to his best friend and sought his advice and solace.
"It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian."
So in the tradition of the patriarchs, they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian. What is happening to our sons?" Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi.
They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty. As they prayed the clouds above opened and a Mighty Voice stated,
"Amazing that you should come to Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel....."
- Contributed by LMMyers

Family Reunion

It was so hot here yesterday, even in a park under huge trees, with a river running just feet away. A cousin and his wife came from Oregon. They hadn't come before, that I know of. There weren't very many there, only about 26, probably mostly due to gasoline costs and other commitments. Relatives on my father's side started the reunions, but now there are about as many relatives on my mother's side. We had a good time and of course had lots of food. We have had some much more interesting reunions. One year, an old fellow was in the park with his bicycle, which had a box tied onto the back wheel, and in that box he had his old cat. I went over and invited him to eat with us, which he did. His story was that he has a home (I forget where) but he liked to travel around that way. He had come down the canyon road and someone in a pickup had given him a ride to our town. I knew by looking at his cat that she probably had leukemia and was about to die. He was quite an interesting person. Very learned in his speech and manner.

One other time there was a homeless man wandering around and we invited him to eat with us. He did, and was very courteous. He told us he moved to this town to live with his daughter, but that they had "fought" and he moved out. When he started to leave, I asked him if he'd like to take something for later. He rudely said, "No!". Then he caught himself and replied in a more friendly manner, "No, thank you." I knew that I had violated some code that implied that he was homeless.

Another year, an old dog lay under the tree close to us and slept. When we were getting ready to leave, he walked back across the park to his home!

P.S. Sorry you couldn't make it, Queen. The others didn't either. K. H. had to work. Don't know about B. S. (oops) :)

Eternal Life

The next time someone shows you Matt. 7:23 and claims that you can lose your salvation, just turn to John 10:25-30. Ask him in which scripture is Jesus lying? The one where he says "I know my sheep", or where he says, "...I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity"? So, as I see it, He couldn't "know" you at one time and then say, "I never knew you". So tell me, which time was He lying?

In John 10 he is responding to a question from some Jews. In Matthew 7 he is speaking to mulitudes, people from all around, not just his disciples.

I Got an Award!

Thanks to Deb at Deb's Country Kisses for the wonderful award. I appreciate her kindness. I am sorry, but I don't know how to do links yet, and I know only a few bloggers. Am I in trouble if I don't pass this along? :( I will study on this problem, I say, and maybe I can do the link thing soon.

Flower of the Family has internet problems

Just want to note that Julie is having internet problems. She wanted me to mention it so her "fans" don't give up on her!

Sniglets or Whatever...

Have been under the weather for a few days so I am cheating. Go to that guy's website (in last post) www.bertc.com and click on humor and then sniglets. Be aware that some of his stuff is a bit crude. He has some really interesting recipes (yuck).

BAD ANALOGIES, NO NO

Found this at the website below:
Bert Christensen's Truth & Humour Collection at bertc.com/bad_analogies

Bad Analogies and Metaphors

Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two other sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a Guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one those boxes with a pinhole in it.
She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.
The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't
McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph
They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.
John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
"Oh, Jason, take me!"; she panted, her breasts heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night.
He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
The knife was as sharp as the tone used by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) in her first several points of parliamentary procedure made to Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) in the House Judiciary Committee hearings on the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton.
The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.
Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
Her voice had that tense, grating quality, like a generation thermal paper fax machine that needed a band tightened.
It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.



Some of you writers might find this helpful! LOL

Another Encouraging Thing

Well, today I found out that one of the retired peachers in our church has been asked (by a nursing home) to preach there each Sunday morning. He is thrilled because, as he said, he's "been sitting on a pew for a year now." That, plus the ministry of the lady I mentioned in the last blog, increases our outreach considerably. Isn't God good?

I Feel Encouraged

I had made a comment on Monday through Sunday's blog about Compassion and Kindness. I said I had been praying that God would renew my passion for the nursing home ministry. Tonight at church, a lady, who has been attending for awhile, came up afterwards and asked me how she can bring up the subject of salvation when she visits in nursing homes! She has been doing that for quite some time but feels timid about approaching people about the Lord. She has a heart for these folks and I felt as though I had found another kindred spirit (there are several of us already involved). She can't go on Sunday afternoons to our services but wants to visit on a one to one basis. A gentleman she was visiting had recently died. I told her that, since she is familiar to the staff, she could just sit and visit with someone and get to know her/him. A good way to bring up the Lord is to say something like, "Just look at that sky! I just love God's creation, don't you?" Or "I had a wonderful blessing from the Lord the other day." Or "My favorite Bible verse is etc. Do you have one?" Then she can find out whether they are agreeable to the idea of God. Thank you Lord.

I Don't Get It!

Just what does "Rest in peace" mean? People say it at gravesides all the time. Doesn't it imply that we believe that person is somewhere and we want him to be at peace? Somehow I came across an atheist's blog. He had a link to a Tribute to George Carlin. You know him, he was that atheists' hero stand-up comic. This article commended Carlin for "softening us up to accepting that religion is completely man-made and man-driven, from start to finish. The gods are fair game; it's okay to doubt them, to joke about them, and to use their holy books as a means to even out wobbly tables or for toilet paper!"

THEN, at the end he writes "Rest in Peace, George." I thought these people (they call themselves '"freethinkers") don't believe in any afterlife, so why does he wish him peace? Isn't he suppose to assume that Carlin is just a chunk of flesh lying in the ground? This is the most absurd comment I've ever heard, considering its source. What do you think? If you want to read it all, it's at debunkingchristianity dot blogspot dot com

Quite a Day!

Today we had a dedication service for our new auditorium. Our old auditorium is now our fellowship hall and our old fellowship hall will be a class room and/or children's church, I think. We had lots of lovely music and a rather long sermon, good, however. We had dinner afterwards and then between 2 and 4 was open house. Anyone need some cookies? Plenty of food and cookies left. I think the cookies will be used for Vacation Bible School coming up soon. I counted about 390 people this morning. All the people involved in the construction were invited and many were there. Contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc. This evening we had some testimonies, a great sermon on evangelism and outreach, followed by communion.

Change comes harder for some of us than for others. I never thought we would have choir robes but we do! Kinda comical to see some of those guys wearing dresses :) The pastor and wife from 35 year ago were there tonight, plus their oldest son , his wife and their four kids. Bro. Leon S. for those who know of whom I speak.

It was a good day.

Hey, I just caught on that I have passed my 100! This should be #102. Had not given it any thought. Don't have anything to say. It's 90 degrees and 13% humidity here today. Sun with some puffy white clouds along the horizons.

Fun Week

Well, this has been an interesting week. Two of my grandkids came on Sunday to stay two nights. This was great because they are reluctant to be away from home. (We had a "tragic" thing happen a few years ago. They had to stay an extra night and it traumatized them). So that is why I was so glad they wanted to come. The best surprise was that they conspired with each other and asked their mom if they could stay another night!

Things my grandkids did while here:

1. Groomed cats, some against their will.
2. Carried my carry-able cat around
3. Tried to pet the cat that skirts around saying, "Pet me! Pet me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!"
4. Searched for the cat that was scared out of her wits and hid rather effectively.
5. Ate weird things.
6. Wallowed around on the sleeping bags which lived on the living room floor for two days and nights.
7. Ipods, hand held games, etc.
8. Made a big mud puddle, took showers.
10. Groomed and wrestled sister's dogs.
11. Carried her cat around (the one that seems to have no bones, he's so "flexible.")
12. Grandson learned how to saw wood on a table saw.
13. Did some B-B gun target practice.
14. Grandson's tendency to car sickness helped us take three hours to take a two hour trip.

We stopped at a convenience store and the two people working there were so kind and concerned. The lady gave us a cold wet hand towel to put on our boy's neck. It helped.

I stayed overnight and enjoyed being with my daughter and her sweet hubby.

Long Time Coming

Monday through Sunday's latest post reminded me of a similar situation. There was a lady in our church for years who prayed for her lost husband for 35 years or so. Every pastor we had went to visit him, each thinking he would be the one to get to lead R. to the Lord. No. No. No. On and on. He and his wife went fishing at a mountain lake and a pastor from another town sat and fished and visited with R. that whole day. When R. was in a hospital in that town, that pastor went to see him. The minute Pastor G. walked into the room, R. looked up at him and said, "Pastor, I need to get saved." After all those years and all those pastors, Pastor G. had the blessing of being the one. You see, he made friends with R. that day, and instead of just coming to the house as his wife's pastor, he came as a friend.

He never wanted his wife to watch Billy Graham or any other Christian program before, but after he got saved, they watched those programs together. When he went into renal failure and decided to stop dialysis, he talked about the Lord all the time. What a wonderful memory that is for all of us who knew that couple. They are together again, praise the Lord.

Lightbulb in the Brain

I think I know what the problem is, in regards to the previous post. I started going to that unit because of a certain special wonderful lady who loved to sing the old hymns. I played them and we sang. She passed away and eventually it became a ball tossing time, which led to different music. I need to go back to the original plan, whether those who work there agree or not. I have no problem with the activities director or the administrator, both being Christians. I now believe the reason things are not going well is because I lost my intent. It may be that I won't go back there. I go four Sundays a month to nursing home church services, once a week to do a Bible study at a nursing home, once a week to play the preaching tape at another home, and that one, where I compromised. Yes, I do get burned out. So do the other people who have been going for almost as many years to the Sunday afternoon services. But God hasn't given us permission to quit yet. Perhaps if I go back to the hymns, things will go better. I really appreciate all the insight from my blogging friends (and family).

Cop-Out or Not?

I stopped one of my volunteer jobs today, at least for July. I didn't want to exactly because I always feel so guilty and selfish. This particular job was going to an Alzheimer's unit and spending an hour with the residents. Originally I went to play music and toss a ball with them. Some of them got past that and are unable to do that anymore. So I started doing more 1:1 things with them. Walking, visiting, looking at magazines, etc. Some of them are very aware whether an activity is childlike and patronizing. For the past several months I have felt frustrated every time I walked out. I couldn't actually put my finger on what was wrong, but knew I felt no pleasure or assurance that I was doing what I should have been doing. The staff seemed mostly indifferent to me, sometimes moving the residents into another room just before I got there, instead of leaving them together in the dining room. They played "relaxing music" all day long so music was not a treat for them. They didn't seem to want me to stimulate the residents because they might get out of hand. Sometimes they would turn my music down or turn it off. Well, I am quite experienced at working with dementia victims and I know how to stimulate them and then bring them back to a state of relaxation. Sometimes staff conversations went on while I was trying to read a story or do an activity with the residents, disregarding my attempts to give the staff a little bit of a break. I think I mainly felt I was intruding and disrupting their routines. I will still visit but not at an appointed time as before. Perhaps I can reconcile myself to a better plan. Boy, is this a wa wa thing or not? Just pretend I'm crying on your shoulder, my friends.

The Bible in 50 Words

Found this in "Bits of Sonshine", published by the SONShine Society. It was submitted by David Pikel.

The Bible in 50 Words

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharoah plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.

A Squirrel Angel or Two

I had a squirrel angel once. Some years ago, three close family members died within three months. Two years later, two family members died following an explosion, I had a major illness, and a niece died. I can't really recall when this angel appeared, I think after the first bad year. Anyway, I worked at a doctor's office as a transcriber. My office had a window looking out onto the rooftop of our building. One day I was as far down in the dumps as I could go and still function. My care bucket was empty. I almost couldn't climb the stairs that day. But a little squirrel suddenly appeared on that roof, standing with his arms folded in front of him, looking at me through the window. I just knew it was sent by God. The little guy lifted my spirits so quickly, it was almost unbelievable. Then others came. I looked forward every day to seeing my squirrel angels. It sounds dumb to say this, but I think they saved me from a deep depression. I fed them every day and they entertained me.

The roof had to be replaced and they used a metal roofing. The squirrels couldn't access my window anymore, but I had come past the worst time and my care bucket had refilled.

I still get a little teary when I think about how precious those squirrels were to me.

OOPS

Well, I found out that the blog I recommended doesn't allow comments from anyone other than the team members. But go look at the pictures and watch the videos anyway.

Interesting Blog

I was just clicking through blogs for fun, you know, hoping to find something in English. I came across a beautiful blog about a young woman travelling with an African children's choir. It seems they visit mostly churches. There are wonderful pictures and some videos of the kids singing. The sad thing is, however, there are no comments, at the most one, on any given post. Check it out. It's teresemonnette.blogspot.com.

Good thing or bad thing?

What do you think it would be like if television had never been invented? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing? What if we suddenly didn't have television available any more? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing? What do you think about this?

God's Timing

Several years ago, a co-worker asked me to go visit her mother-in-law at a nearby nursing home. She told me that Mom hadn't been very responsive for about three weeks and didn't recognize the family. Mind you, she was afraid that Mom would die without the Lord. Well, okay, I said. Please note that she didn't ask her pastor to do it. We prayed about it all day and we stopped by on the way home. We went to the room and I looked inside. Mrs. G. was lying on her bed. I knocked and said, "Mrs. G.?" This woman who had been unresponsive for weeks looked up at me and said, "Yes?" I asked her if I could come in and visit with her. She agreed and sat up on the edge of the bed. I introduced myself and told her that I worked with her daughter-in-law. I told her that S. wanted me to talk to her about Jesus and was that okay. She agreed. Then I did something I usually don't do right off the bat. I asked her, "Mrs. G, if you died today would you go to heaven?" Her answer, "No." I proceeded to ask if I could show her what the Bible said about the way to heaven and she agreed. I asked her if she believed the Bible was God's word, and she said yes. I asked her she believed Jesus Christ had died for her sins and she said yes. I showed her Scriptures and she said she understood and she prayed. Meanwhile S. is standing in the doorway with tears clear to her knees. S. came into the room and we chatted a bit.

Now, let me explain this a little better. I did nothing more than the usuall approach. God certainly cleared her mind that day. She, for that short time, was totally lucid and knew exactly what she was doing. That was one of the most astounding evidences of how God works on the heart of someone He knows will get saved, regardless of the circumstances. I am so thankful that God allowed me to be a part of that. I have some more similar stories concerning mentally ill people, Alzheimers, developmentally disabled people, where God cleared the minds so they could understand.

Mrs. G. died three weeks later.

Feelings of Humbleness

Thanks to everyone for the comments about my kind deeds. I shared those basically to show how God often puts me into a situation like that, because He knows I'll do whatever I can to help. But after receiving so much praise about being kind, and feeling so good about it, I reread the blogs and now I have to wonder if my motive was to expound on my wonderfulness. I often feel that way at the mental health facility I visit... am I doing this because God wants me to or am I doing it because they like me and it makes me feel happy? I know that God won't put you in a ministry that you hate! My heartfelt apologies if anyone thought I was being boastful. I truly didn't mean to be. Thanks again and God bless.

Outrageous behavior

I have been on the border between disbelief and rage since seeing that video caught on a security cam) on the news about the elderly man being run over by a car. The crowd just gathers and cars keep going by but no one goes to the man to offer any help. A policeman answering a different call comes by and stops and takes care of the situation. People actually walked out into the street to within a few feet of the man and just gawked and walked away. I read that there were a couple of calls made to 911 but the policeman was there before any others could get there. I know there was probably little anyone could do but someone could have comforted the poor guy. He is in critical condition with paralysis from the neck down, I believe. Why in the world didn't somebody at least direct traffic? Arrggghhhhhh!

Okay, I'm better now. What would you have done?

THE WHEELCHAIR AND THE MANHOLE COVER

One of my nursing instructors was a lady I much admired. She was such a dignified lady. Her husband was crude and kind of a jerk, even though he was a professional. He had been in a nursing home for several months at this time. One day I turned a corner and there they were, Mrs. L. desperately trying to move Mr. L.'s wheelchair out of the middle of the street. She had taken him for an outing down the street near the nursing home. The wheels of the chair were caught in a manhole cover and she was not strong enough to get it free. About the time I parked and got to them, the street sweeper truck came along. The driver parked that huge machine and came running to help. Meanwhile Mr. L. had slid down in his chair to a point where he was almost out of it. The driver got him under the arms and I got his knees and we tried to pull him back into the chair (Mr. L. was a fairly small man). It didn't work because Mr. L. stiffened his back and legs. I said, "George, bend your butt!" He did, and we did the job. After receiving many thanks, the driver left. Mr. L. took my hand and said to me, "You are my angel!" I liked him better for some reason after that. Mrs. L., ever the lady, thanked me every time she saw me after that. I enjoy helping people anyway, but the timing then was perfect. Other cars passed them by, she said. How pitiful is that?

Five Kind Things Meme

The Five Kind Things Meme works like this:

List five kind things you do for yourself.
List five kind things you do for your closest friend, partner or child.
List five kind things you have done for a stranger.
List five kind things you do for fun.
List five people you are tagging with this meme.

Five kind things I do for myself.
1. Blog
2. Read
3. Go to writing group
4. Go to church
5. Do nursing home ministry

Five kind things I do for closest friend, partner or child.
1. Pick up my friend for church.
2. Do not insist hubby go everywhere I want to go.
3. Cook a meal occasionally
4. Put lotion on his back
5. Love and respect my children

Five kind things I have done for a stranger
1. Helped a lady with diarrhea from wheelchair onto potty in Wal-Mart.
2. Rescued a little girl, who had injured her knee, by having her playmate get her own mom so we could take the girl to her home in my car. (you know, the fear of being accused of something).
3. Helped a little boy who had fallen off his bike and was pushing his bike home. I had him go on a little ways to a convenience store (couldn't put him in my car either), bought him a bottle of water and some Bandaids, cleansed his knee and bandaged it. He then was cured by the Bandaid and the water and I watched him push his bike home. Cute Cute
4. Saved a man with the Heimlich maneuver, in a nursing home. It works.
5. With the help of the street cleaner driver, rescued a man whose wheelchair was stuck on a manhole cover on a busy street. Now that is a story.

Five kind things I do for fun.
1. Do a Bible study at a mental health facility.
2. Spend an hour with Alzheimers' victims.
3. Play church sermon tape at nursing home.
4. Listen to western music, you know, tumbling tumbleweed type of music
5. Read


I don't know anyone to tag that hasn't already been tagged. Lots of fun, though.

My Version of THE TRIP

Some thoughts about our trip to Missouri with our daughter K. and her kidlets.
1. Overcast skies.
2. Burros and baby burros. Cute!
3. Baby alpacas.
4. Dead turtles.
5. Dead armadillos.
6. Daughter saw a live one.
7. Car trouble.
8. Wonderful son-in-law who knows how to do a tune-up.
9. Horrific allergy flares, with swollen, bloody-looking eyeballs.
10. Watched smallest grandson do a pretty good job with a BB gun.
11. Watched 15 year old granddaughter who is a sharp shooter to be.
12. Saw what a small boy can do with a pocket knife.
13. In Wal-Mart I helped a lady with amputated leg get out of her wheelchair and onto toilet quickly because she had the diarrhea. We made it! She loves me.
14. Left my pillow at motel. Drats!
15. Vomit goes a long way.
16. Enjoyed seeing my two daughters be such good friends.
16. My grandchildren can have fun without fighting. All of them.
17. Birds are noisy.
18. Don't like hot muggy weather.

The Day I Dropped Out of School

I’m sure Mrs. Swayze was an excellent teacher. I’m sure she loved her students and wanted the best for them. That description probably would be accurate from an adult’s point of view, but I was only 7.
Second grade was very difficult for me. I was apparently very shy, or so I’ve been told numerous times by my older sisters. I loved the play store we had in the back of the room, where we could take turns being the storekeeper and making the change for the "customers". I loved being a customer and trying to count out my money so that it would cover the cost without getting change.
The school was built like a fort. A huge grassy square was in the middle, with verandas and sidewalks around, from which each class room could be accessed. We had to go outside and walk around to get to other rooms, including the bathrooms. Hence, my problem. The teacher apparently was rather reluctant to let me go every time I asked to go. I don’t know why! One day I wet my pants because she wouldn’t excuse me. I had enough sense to leave my coat on at recess and lean against the building because I knew if I played jacks, I would leave a wet spot.
Because she knew what happened that day, she let me be excused the next time I asked. I went to the bathroom and sat there and cried for a long time. She finally came and checked on me. She urged me to come back to the classroom. I said I would, but I ran down that long hall, out the front door, and headed for home. I lived about 4 or 5 blocks from the school, and had to cross a major highway. On top of that, during my run, a bulldog decided to join me. I thought he was chasing me but, on retrospect, he may have just been running with me. I was screaming as I grabbed our back gate and almost pulled it off the hinges. My Mom let me stay home for a little while so I thought I was okay.

I saw her talking on the telephone but I thought she was excusing me from school. Then she betrayed me! She put me in the car and drove me back to the school. Mrs. Swayze met us at the front door and together they pulled me up the stairs. I made it as difficult as possible by bracing my feet on each and every one of the 10 or so steps. I honestly don’t remember any further problems with that teacher. I wonder if she had any further problems with me?

Goin' on a Trip

Well, we'll be taking a trip to visit our daughter and her family in Missouri. We leave on Tuesday and will be back on Saturday. It's about 13 hours of traveling. Our other daughter and her two kids are going with us. We are anticipating traveling through tornado alley during that time so please pray for us to have peace about going and safety as we travel. I should have something to talk about after that trip, at least about the kids. Thanks.

Shot glass

I found new meaning to the term "shot glass" this morning. I dropped a heavy glass (my favorite one) and it shattered and my one leg got shot in two places and the other in one place. Nothing serious but it was so sudden and kind of shocking. Makes me realize how suddenly something really bad could happen and I would be totally helpless to stop it.

Some of my Youthful Memories

1. I smoked about 8 of my Dad's cigarettes when I was about 10, I think. I couldn't understand why my mother didn't feel sorry for me when I got so sick. After all, I rinsed my mouth out to take away the smell! By the way, I don't smoke.

2. I supervised the birthing of some kittens. I was Roy Rogers and I watched the cats and announced when a new one came, calling out the color to anyone who was interested.

3. My mom "let" me carry a dead bullsnake down to the canal to dump it after she found it full of eggs from the cellar and killed it. I carried it on the end of a long sturdy stick.

4. A mouse ran up my sister's pant leg and I almost died of laughter. She didn't.

5. I gave a sick baby kitten a bath and it died.

6. I was still riding stick horses when I was 12.

7. I didn't like my nephew's Boston bull terrier but when a kid passing by threw a rock at him and hit him in the eye (he barked at the kids), I chased them about 3 blocks while waving a stick at them.

8. I was looking for my mother's drain hose for her washing machine and found it on the porch. However, when I started to pick it up, it revealed itself to be a big bullsnake (a different one.) I think I screamed.

9. I loved sleeping at my sister-in-law's house because the sheets smelled so good and she made a cherry cake.

10. I didn't know what chiggers were until a cousin told me how soft their Oklahoma grass was to roll on.

Oh Deer Me

Years ago, a couple of us activity workers took a van of n.h. people to a local wilderness park. It was okay then to feed the deer (not so now because it caused them to be too troublesome and this is a good example). There were about three deer along the road and we pulled over. I took some of the bread we brought and got out to feed them so the residents could watch. Well, guess what? I don't think a deer understands what "I have no more bread" means. She raised her front leg and pawed at me. What she actually did was rip every button off the front of my shirt! The residents enjoyed that more than I did.

My Mothers Day Gifts

One of my lovely daughters wrote me a beautiful poem and the other wrote a blog about me. These things are more precious to me than all the flowers and chocolates in the world (well, maybe not chocolates). Loopdeloops has the blog but the poem hasn't been publicly published. The blog talks about my involvement with nursing homes, etc. I don't know when my thing for the old, disabled, strange, unloved and unlovely people of the world actually began. I do remember that some of the "strange kids" in high school were my friends. I liked working at the state hospital, even as an office worker, and got attached to many of the people. When I lived in a tiny mountain town, a friend and I talked about wanting to start a nursing home there. I didn't even visit in nursing homes then. I believe that the calling came when I started visiting an old guy and brought him to church. I went to the pastor, bawling my eyes out, asking if we could have a nursing home ministry. Of course, he said yes, but the understanding was that lay people would do it. That worked out fine. So I guess God just gave me that desire.

MY WHOLE WHEAT KICK IN THE 70s

Continued from Flower of the Family's blog comments. She mentioned my whole wheat kick I went on when she was a little girl. Well, I outgrew that shortly. The girls had some friends whose mother was forever on that kick. They milked their own goats, ground their own wheat, used honey instead of sugar, made their own cottage cheese, etc. My kids loved to go to their house because they could eat that good stuff, and her kids loved to come to our house because they could eat chips, cookies, and drink pop! Wonder which had the best advantage healthwise? Doing all that is hard work, especially when at least one in the family wants to live on mac and cheese and hamburger. Guess which one? Not me.

Dumb sheep

I've been thinking about those sheep that were in the parade. There were those sheep, hundreds of people sitting along the street, and the sheep keep steering away from the middle of the street. See, I think they would be afraid of all those people but they seem to not notice them. Then the dog would circle the straying sheep and bring it back to the herd. Isn't God good? We are dumb as sheep and need a shepherd. When we wander off the path God has set us on, he sends His Shepherd's dog (the Holy Spirit) to gently urge us back onto the right path. Sheep are followers, not leaders, and they are trusting. Sheep people usually have a goat with the herd because the goat leads and the sheep follow. We need that dog to steer us back into the right path, and we need that goat to lead us down that path. I don't think God will mind the analogies.

Parade events

Today our town had its annual Blossom Parade. There was supposed to be a surprise between the pre-parade and the main parade. The only thing I figure was a surprise were the four monstrously big Texas Longhorns. They were being ridden just like horses, but moved a lot slower. They were huge with really long horns. Also in the parade this year was a herd of about 7 sheep which was being herded down the street by a border collie and a man, mostly by the border collie. When the sheep would ease off toward the side, the dog would gather them back into the middle of the road. Cool!

Last year my sister and I were next to a lady who suddenly fell forward and smacked her face on the sidewalk. She was having a seizure. Fortunately, the ambulance was just around the corner and they were there in about a minute after the call. The lady had so much blood coming out of her mouth and nose that I just knew she'd broken her nose and busted out her teeth. I saw her a couple of days later at her work place and she was fine. All that blood came from busted lips and a bite on her tongue. Not so cool!

Won't it hurt?

Several years ago our church was conducting a service at a nursing home. There was a rather elderly gentleman there who appeared to be somewhat developmental disabled (we used to use the word retarded). He raised his hand at the invitation and wanted to talk to someone about getting saved. The gentleman who does our service took his Bible over and sat down and talked to this guy for a considerable length of time. Finally, Mr. K. came to me and said that the man wanted to get saved but every time he was asked to pray, he would say no. I went over to talk with him and when he resisted praying, I realized that I had used the expression "ask Jesus to come into your heart". I asked him why he didn't want to do that and he said, "Won't it hurt?" I reworded it and he went ahead and prayed. Bless his heart! He wanted Jesus in his heart but he didn't want him to come busting into his heart! It certainly caused me to be more aware of things being taken so literally.

Dog confusion

Yesterday I went to the Alzheimer's unit at a local nursing home for my regular visit. A lady was visiting her mother and had brought her little apricot poodle. One of the other residents there has one very similar dog. For some time she lived off the unit in the general nursing home and had her dog with her. She would carry him around, then she began wheeling him around on a wheelchair. Then they required her to keep him in a carrier while wheeling him around. They had to eventually ask her son to take the dog home and keep him. J. had gotten too confused to deal with it. She was moved onto the secure unit. So, concerning the visiting dog, J. seemed to understand who it belonged to, however, when the lady got up and started to leave the room, J. got upset, wanting to know where she was taking her dog. The aide there apparently didn't know how to deal with it and just said, "it will be all right." Well, J. knew it wasn't all right because someone was taking her dog. Reality orientation doesn't always work with dementia victims but in this case it was necessary. I explained to her that this was not her dog Nickie but his name is Spider. I told her several times that her dog was with her son and that he was taking care of him. She finally said, "Well, I guess my son would let me know if something had happened to my dog." And then she was fine. She basically reconciled her own mind with just a little help. Bless her heart. She knows something is wrong with her but she doesn't know what. Sometimes it's a blessing when they reach the point where they no longer know that something is wrong with them.

Conservative or not....?

There have been several comments about being raised in a conservative church. I have seen it all in our church, from legalistic to "loosey goosey anything goes". I personally prefer more conservative to the "loosey goosey anything goes stuff". That brought in some false teachers and an attempt to destroy the Baptist tradition of the church. However, the extreme legalism would be very difficult to go back to. For the most part, our church is somewhere in the middle, with no compromise of the Gospel, standing on our foundation, some hymns, some praise songs, some older people, some young people, modest dress, friendliness, welcoming to all who come, and a loving spirit. Some things are good and bad about conservative and "loosey goosey anything goes". With the one we have negatism and rules about every aspect of life, i.e. entertainment, music, dress, hair, etc. With the other, we have people wearing torn jeans, short shorts, and halter tops to church; rock and rap music; couples openly shacking up; false doctrines being taught by allowing anyone who wants to teach (after all, can't exclude anyone from ministry).
Yes, I know that under grace, we are supposed to let the Holy Spirit tell us if we're doing something that will shame the Lord. But I don't think everyone is dedicated to obeying the Holy Spirit's urgings. The definition of worldly is certainly open to interpretation, unless the Bible specifically says, "you will not do...". There are definite no's, definite yes's but most stuff falls in the gray area. That is where we trust the Lord to either convict us or give us peace about a decision. If we have been convicted about an activity once, it's probable that we can stay away from that the next time, too.

A favorite memory

This is one of my favorite memories of one of my late brothers-in-law. His son had some Bantam chickens that the boy was very fond of. There was a sow with new babies and we had been warned to stay out of the pen because a mother pig can be very protective of her kids. Well, about three of those little chickens were in the pen and T.E. was bawling like a banshee for fear that the sow would hurt his chickens. Mind you, this pen had a fence about four feet high. Big T. went in the pen, grabbed the little chickens into his arms, and the sow took after him. Big T. ran with those chickens in his arms, leapt that fence and never dropped a chicken. I was almost hysterical! Afterwards, he realized he could not have leapt that fence under ordinary circumstances, only under an adrenaline rush.

My Part of the Birth Story

After my lovely daughter was born, and I had been taken to a room, I developed a terrible headache and stiff neck. My back hurt between my shoulder blades, probably from all the fun activity. Well, it turned out that I had reacted to the saddle block injection. When I would sit up, I had the sensation in my neck of water wings expanding. Isn't that bizarre since I had never seen water wings. I was to lie flat on my back but it hurt between my shoulders. I begged for them to let my chiropractor come and help me with that. They refused, of course, but had someone come up from Physical Therapy. She gave me the lamest back rub I had ever had. So gentle. I wanted one of those muscle squeezing massages. It didn't help. I had an I.V also. In fact, when my father-in-law walked in, he almost fainted. In his day, an I.V. was a last resort and it usually meant impending demise. I don't remember how long I stayed there flat on my back, but when I went home, I had to take muscle relaxants for a couple of weeks. That meant bed rest and my wonderful mother-in-law came and took care of me and my baby during that time. I slept a good deal of the time from the medicine. Mom would bring in the baby for nursing whenever necessary. I wonder if my daughter had any lifelong effects from that medication? She was probably pretty limp. Remember, that was 1966 and doctors weren't too much in agreement that stuff we ingested could affect the breast milk.

I just read in an old nursing book that letting the patient lie down too quickly after the injection might cause the anesthetic can rise too high in the spinal canal. Hum! They had to lay me down pretty quickly that day. Makes me wonder now.

SPAM

This isn't what I had planned for my next blog, but... I found a book at the library titled "Discovering America's Past" (Reader's Digest) and found a story about Spam. "Meat packer George Hormel had several thousand pounds of leftover pork shoulder, so that was transformed into a unique product, a canned, minced pork and ham loaf that required no refrigeration.". That was in 1937. Tens of millions of pounds of SPAM was shipped abroad during WWII to the
GIs. Many of the GIs remember it as the "ham that didn't pass its physical". This information is directly from the above mentioned book. Mr. Hormel offered a $100 prize for a catchy name, and the winning entry, SPAM. won. So now we know!

Happy Birthday!

Forty-two years ago today (noonish. our time) my lovely daughter was born. I doubt anyone other than family will be interested in this blog but bear with me.
We lived in a mountain town 25 miles from the hospital. I started having "pains" in the evening of April 8. I called the doctor and he said to wait until the pains became stronger and closer together and regular. Well, I went to bed and kept looking at the clock. The pain increased somewhat but, even though the pains got sort of closer together, they never became regular. I had gotten up (again!) and my water broke. I called the doctor again and told him and we headed to town. By this time, my hubby was trying very hard not to act nervous or anxious (It was our first baby) so he drove very carefully and slowly down the highway. It was probably the first and last time I told him to drive faster. They put me in a room where I slept in between contractions and then moved me to another room. The doctor came in and examined me and determined I was a "2" and said he would see me in about six hours. Six hours? Keep in mind these contractions were not terribly severe as far as I could determine and had not become regular. Minutes, just minutes, after he left the room, I had a totally different contraction. I hadn’t screamed, cried or anything, but when that contraction hit, I said, "Oofffuuh." I turned on the call light and told the nurse that I had had a "push pain" and she said, rather condescendingly, "Oh no, dear, you couldn’t have. You’re only dilated to a 2". I had another contraction and she examined me and ran out of the room. They took me to the delivery room and sat me up on the table to give me a saddle block. I was sitting on my daughter’s head because she had crowned. The doctor came flying into the room, throwing his jacket to one side. I wanted to watch but the mirrors were messed up and I couldn’t see. The doctor was telling me to push and I was telling him that I am, and he is telling me, "no you aren’t", and then I heard him say, "Oops." Well, that is what I wanted to hear! He explained that she was turned sideways a little but he used a forceps to turn her a little and then everything was fine. My beautiful little white-haired daughter was born the day before Easter. The next day, all the babies had little bonnets and hats. I probably had a total of 5 actual push pains. Nothing like the ordeal women go through on television shows, with all the screaming, crying and grunting. I felt very fortunate to have an easy time.
Continued next post.