His Mysterious Ways

Many years ago, God laid on my heart to start a group for women, who had been abused either in childhood, or present day circumstances. As many of you know, when abused in childhood, you can carry that baggage with you into adulthood. Getting saved, helps so much! When I first got saved, God began dealing with me....on issue after issue. One at a time, He would bring something back to my memory. I had to work through it, all the while, He would give me the scriptures that I needed to instill in my soul, to get through it. It was quite a long process, which I still find myself going through
even to today. I'm far from perfect! I always tell people not to look to me as being the best Christian, because
I'm not. I sin DAILY. I'm probably the worst Christian on planet earth! But I do try, and I think God honors that:)

Before I started the group, I asked God for confirmations. Being in the lime light of anything, is not my thing. Being in front of people, trying to lead them, is also not my thing. I'm the most back ward person you would probably ever meet! So why did He want me to do this? Because I was there, and if I hadn't done it, He would have asked someone else, hoping that they would do it. There was a need of this type of group in our church. God gave me MANY confirmations, from people that had no idea what God had spoken to my heart. The last confirmation, sealed the deal. There was a man that lived far away from our church. He was a very well known speaker. On a Wednesday night, my husband and I were walking into the church. The pastor was outside talking to some people. A car drove up, and it was this man. He rolled down his window, and asked the minister if he could speak at our church that night. He wasn't scheduled to speak there at all! The pastor recognised him immediately, and was stunned that THIS man would want to speak at our church. He welcomed him to speak The man explained that the Lord had spoken to him, and wanted him to speak to our church that very night. I forgot to mention that as the confirmations had been coming in that I start this group, also were the negative respones's of others. I had told God that morning, that He make it VERY CLEAR that I do this, that very day. Or I would give up on it, and chalk it off as my own imagination. Little did I know, that God had sent this wonderful man to confirm it to me.


The man was a dynamic speaker! Everything that God had put on my heart to do, this man said! He said that God wanted our church to be a healing center, an emergency room, for wounded spirits. The man went into how he had been abused as a child. One of his parents had been an alcoholic.We all know the problems that can have in a family. He also went on to say that God would not let him rest, until he came to tell our church of God's plan for us. He said that God had the people ready to start this group. I almost fell over! To have God confirm all this
to me, was surreal! Also, all the people that had openly rebuked me, for even thinking that God would tell me to start a group of this nature, were also hearing this dynamic speakers words! The "nay-sayers" reasoning for this, was that once you were saved, all things are made new. So NO ONE should have problems that stemmed back from childhood. After this man's serman, I knew absolutely that it wasn't my imagination, and nothing nor anyone could stop me from doing God's work.

The pastor was all for it, especially after the speakers sermon. I had no idea how to do a group like this, so I went to the Christian Book Store, to look for a book.There were so many books on the subject, I had no idea which one to buy. So I asked God to lead me to the right one. On this rack of 100's of books, one stood out. It was a book I wouldn't have even chosen, because the cover of the book was so unattractive. The name of the book was "Pain And Pretending" by Rich Buhler. To this day, I remember the name of that book, and the author...which in itself is a miracle! My next thought was that I was like this book. I didn't stand out as anyone that God would choose. Without even opening the book to look at it, I took it up to the register and bought it. After getting it home and beginning to read it, I knew why God had chosen this book.

The group was announced, and to my shock there were quite a few people on that first night. One of the people that I asked to help me, was a counselor at a children's home. I also had two other ladies that vowed their help too. We didn't know how to even begin, so we started with prayer. Then we introduced ourselves, and began reading the book out loud. Each time we met, we did the same thing...prayed, read the book, and discussed what we read, then prayed again for each person before we left. God was leading this group, not me. I usually went in unprepared, because I had no idea how to lead. I said a little prayer on my way into the church, asking God to lead it. We would only read a few paragraphs out loud, before someone would stop the reading and begin telling us their story. Usually with tears, and then someone else would tell their story. The people that had told their stories, were prayed for before they left. It took us almost a year to finish this book! God was healing broken hearts:)

Half way through that first year, we were reading about jealousy. One of the ladies that had started to come to our group, was someone that I knew didn't need this group. I wondered why she had come. As we read, this woman stopped the reading, and began talking. This was how the book worked, the Holy Spirit would gently nudge people about things in their own life, and they would talk about it. She said that she had been very jealous of someone in our group. The next words out of her mouth was that I was the object of her jealousy.
I know my mouth probably flew open, as did everyone else's!

She went on to tell me why she had been so jealous. All of the reasons I won't even mention, because they are not important. My first reaction was to laugh. Which I believe

shocked her, and everyone else. I couldn't imagine anyone, especially her, being jealous of me! After I composed myself, I told her that I had always admired her and her family.

I was drawn to them, from the first time I had come to that church. I loved the closeness I saw in all of them. She had a beautiful family, a wonderful husband, a nice home, nice clothes (I bought mine at garage sales!), and I couldn't imagine her of all people being jealous of me. She asked me to forgive her, which I did immediately. We both hugged each other.

Then she told me that the pastor had sent her to our group to spy on me. He was afraid that the group wouldn't be "Godly". Again my mouth flew open. Because he seemed to be very supportive to my face. She said she wouldn't be back to our group anymore, and that she would tell the pastor what a fine job we were doing, and that she would never do anything like that again for him. The group that I started remained in place for four years. Other churches that heard of our group, were asking for information on how to start a group in their own Church. As I said before, this wasn't my idea or group, but God's. As long as you solely rely on Him, He will do the rest! I love the way the Holy Spirit works:)

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Anger Management Can Be Fun!

Thanks Janet for the joke! You find the cutest ones:) 

Husband: "When I get mad at you, you never fight back.
How do you control your anger?"

Wife: "I clean the toilet bowl."

Husband: "How does that help?"

Wife: "I use your toothbrush!"

Tennis Match On Monday!

Remember my oldest grand daughter, that thought she didn't excel in anything? Well, today I just found out that she played 4 doubles matches in Tennis. She won them all! So on Monday, she has to play another match, against some of the people she already beat. If she can win this next match, she will go to state! So please say a little prayer for her. She is so excited about this! So are her Grandpa and I! 

I told her that if she doesn't win this next match, it is an honor to have gotten this far. She just started Tennis lessons this past year. She must be a natural at this, to have come so far in such a short period of time! Tennis isn't an easy sport. I used to play it when I was her age. I loved it, but it really takes a lot of expertise and stamina to get as far as she has gotten! Four matches in one day, is so tiring. Remember to say a little prayer for her:)

Thank you!

The Icing On The Cake

Today, my husband stopped in to see our grand daughters, ages three and four. A neighbor had given them a
small bicycle with training wheels. They were outside having such a
wonderful time! The four year old, had it mastered, he said! But the three year old, who takes after me in this area, wasn't doing too well. He said she kept going in circles. Finally, he was able to get her to turn the handle bars! He said they were sooo cute, trying to ride that bike! Aren't grand children wonderful?

We have four other grand daughters too! I'm so very proud of each and every one of them. My oldest is going to be driving soon! She turns 16 in April! She plays tennis (she has some tournaments coming up), the piano (has several recitals to do), she took dance classes for years, and even finds time to go to school and
help in several volunteer programs for different things. I believe one place
she volunteered to help out was in a childrens home. She goes to church, and is involved in many activities there. She just sent me an email today,
saying that she felt bad that she wasn't good at anything! She said at the school she goes to, if you don't have an "amazing talent" (meaning to be able to compete in the State), then you're looked down upon. I do believe that schools sometimes put far too much pressure on kids today. I saw the beginnings of this when my daughters were in school.

My grand daughter is very special and gifted! Now I don't say this because I'm
partial, but because it's true! I'm very proud of her:) She said that she went home and read the Bible, and that it helped to make her feel better. How many youth these days even read the Bible? That in itself shows me that she is going to be just fine in whatever she chooses to do in college. If you have God for you, who can be against you? Her younger sister is gifted too! She also is into many different activities, ball, dance, and also church! Their half sisters are four and five. The cutest little things you ever did
see! I love them to pieces!

I love my grand children very much, as you can tell. To me, they are like the icing on the cake! Without the icing, the cake wouldn't be as sweet!
Love all of you girls VERY MUCH!
Grandma
xxoxoxoxox

Divorce And Recovery (thanks J for the joke)

She spent the first day packing her personal belongings into boxes, crates, and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come to collect her things.
On the third day, she sat down for the last time at what was their beautiful dining room table, by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay.

When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.

She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the ex-husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything, cleaning, mopping, and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere.

Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.

Nothing worked.

People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house.
Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house.

Word got out, and eventually, even the local Realtors refused to return their calls.

Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man, and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house.

She listened politely, and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.

Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 10% of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day.

She agreed, and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.

I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?

A week later, the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home, including the curtain rods.
 

I have some flowers! Thanks to my daughter with the green thumb! She helped me with this last summer.She did most of the work! As you can see I need to clean out the beds! But it has been far too muddy. My sister in law had flowers quite awhile ago. My daughter and I were talking about that just yesterday. My sister in law lives farther south than we do. My daughter lives north of us, and her flowers haven't started to grow yet. Amazing what just a few miles can do, in the growing seasons.

Day After The Fire At The Inn On The Square

This is the East side of the house.

The West side, next to the church. As you can
see, most of the damage was here.

The rear of the house is hard to see, but mostly all
that is left is two brick chimneys. So sad.

Inn On The Square In Blazes

A very sad day, 3-24-07. My Grandpa a number of years ago,
plastered the walls in this historical building, Inn On The Square.
It operated as a Bed and Breakfast, for many years after that.
In the past few years, it was bought and used as a family home.
No one knows yet  how it caught on fire, but I believe there
was an explosion in the basement.

Look closely at the tree in front, there is a fireman on a ladder.
He was cutting the branches off the tree, to keep them from getting on
fire.When he cut this branch, it almost knocked him off the ladder.

Notice all the sprays of water on the left. I believe the firemen
stayed there all night, because new fires would spring up.
It burned all day, and through the night.

News media taking pictures, and interviewing people.

Firemen on top of church next door,
spraying the Inn with hoses of water.

In this picture, you can see the whole back
of the Inn is missing. If you look closely,
that's the rear half of the roof slanting
downward.

Pet Food Laced With Rat Poison

Thanks D.N. for giving me the update on the dog and cat food recall. They have found that the reason the food has caused kidney failure, is due to it containing rat poison. The rat poison that was identified, is banned in the United States. They can not speculate as to how it got into the food. If you want to read more about it, go to:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/23/pet.food.recall.ap/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

To find out what foods are tainted, go to:
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

God Hears The Cries Of His Children

I just saw a show, called "Forensic Files". I have only watched this show a few times. These are all true stories. I'm not sure I will ever watch it again. Tonight it was about a Palestinian family that moved to the United States, and opened a restaurant. They had a daughter, who was about 16. She was very popular in school, and a straight "A" student. She was very pretty, and all of her teachers and classmates loved her.

The police were called to the family residence, the daughter had been stabbed multiple times, and was dead. The father and mother told the police, that their daughter came home, and demanded 5,000.00 so that she could move out and be on her own. When the father refused to give her money, supposedly she tried to stab him. He had a few wounds on his hands, which he said he had gotten from trying to stop her from stabbing him. The police didn't believe the story, but there was no evidence to prove otherwise, since the mother collaborated the story.

Upon examination of the body, they found that their story did not prove true. The stab wounds did not appear that she had been fighting with someone. But more as if she had been held down, and couldn't move while the wounds were inflicted. Still, there was no other evidence. They found out that the father had been gloating about how easy it was to "take" Americans. Finally the FBI came forward, they had put "bugs" in this man's home, because he was suspected of terrorism. He had been seen meeting with known terrorist's, in other countries. Since they hadn't thought of him as a true threat, the bugs had been running 24/7, but without anyone monitoring them. Upon listening to the tapes, and getting a translator to translate the tapes, they found that the father and mother had planned to kill their daughter.

Her crimes were just two things. She had fallen in love with a black boy, who was also an "A" student, and an artist. Her second crime, she had gotten a job at a fast food restaurant. They didn't like the choice of her boyfriend, nor did they want her to work. She had "shamed" her family, punishable by death. This is an accepted custom in their country. The only thing that would take away the family shame, was to spill her blood. The father even calls his older daughter on the phone, to tell her what he plans to do to her sister. The sister tells him she would put on her best dress on the day that he kills her. The father then calls someone else, and they talk back and forth on how to make it look as if she had attacked him. In reality, the daughter comes home from work, her father begins yelling at her for working. She tells him she needs to work, to make money. Then the mother holds her down, while the father kills her.

Both parents were prosecuted, and were given the death penalty. The father died in prison, and his wife is still waiting execution. If they had done this in their own country, it would have been accepted by their authorities, because there they have a right to bring honor to their family.

How on earth, can people's minds be so warped as to believe that they are doing the right thing, by killing their own child? For such trivial matters? To bring them honor? There is NO REASON to kill your child. My mind can not comprehend any of this. How can parents kill a child, that they have birthed, nurtured, and loved? They are evil. The whole thing makes me ill. Her teachers said that had she lived, they knew she would have gone on to do great things. The blood of the innocent, cries out for justice. In this case, her cries were heard.

Man Of God

I will post a website below to go to. It's about a man, who was born without limbs. Can you imagine the obstacles he had to conquer? He has given his life to God, and goes out and witnesses. When we think we are going through trying times, if we think of this man, and how he overcame...perhaps it will motivate us, to overcome, as he did.

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

Now This Was Dancing! Thanks Sis!

The dancers are Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell. The year is 1940. The narrators voice is Frank Sinatra's! This was filmed in ONE unedited shot! It is considered the best dance scene ever shot! Just download and play on Media Player! Well worth the time to watch! When I was little, I always had a crush on Fred Astaire:)

FredAstaireEleanorPowellN.wmv 3219K Download

To Forgive Is The Essence Of Life

Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Especially if you're on the end, of being the one forgiven! But what if you're the one that needs to forgive? In my lifetime, I have been hurt more times than I would even want to count. If it's just an acquaintance, there is no problem at all in forgiving. You just decide to forgive, and make sure you don't run into them anymore:)

What if the person is close? For instance a family member, a coworker who has become like family, or a dear friend, what then? The process is the same as for an acquaintance, you decide to forgive. That is always the first step. The problem is, it hurts like the dickens, to trust someone...and then have them violate that trust. It takes a long time to heal. But the healing process won't happen, until after you decide to forgive them.

When a situation arises as this, I feel extremely hurt. It takes weeks or months for me to get over the pain. Immediately, however, I tell God that I forgive them. After a few weeks of the pain, then I feel anger. I'm very slow to anger, to a fault. But when I finally do get angry, I have to express it. There are "good" ways of doing this. Perhaps it's by writing your feelings down, then burning the paper, saying a prayer as you do it, and asking God to help you forgive. I did this once in an Abuse Class I used to teach. I had everyone write down everything done to them, and by whom. I told them to write how it made them feel, as well. Then we went outside, putting all the papers in a can, and began burning them. As they burned, we held hands, and asked God to help us. We each told God that we forgave them. At the end, we prayed for each other, asking for God's peace, and guidance. When we were done, there was such a peace, for all of us. We could feel God's presence. That night, everyone felt released from the pain, anger, and hurt. The offenses to these women had been of the vilest of sins...so if THEY COULD FORGIVE, so can we all!

There is a second fold reason for forgiving. If you don't forgive someone for a transgression against you, you will be bound...spiritually, to that person for the rest of your life. You see, it not only hurts them, but hurts YOU as well. There is also a passage from the Bible that comes to mind, it simply says that if we can't forgive others, then He CAN'T forgive us. We all need to be forgiven by God, there is not ONE of us, who is perfect. If someone believes that they haven't done anything to be forgiven for, then they are on dangerous ground. BECAUSE WE ALL SIN. The only person without sin was Jesus Christ.

Being hurt by someone else, is just one of those things that we all have to go through. It will never be easy, or painless. Especially if it's someone close to you. These things will happen, and we have to get through them. It's easier if we remember the steps, then do them.
1. Decide to forgive immediately.
2. Don't worry if you don't FEEL like you have forgiven. Emotions don't count. Choice is what counts, so choose to forgive, and ask God to line your emotions up with your choice. This may take awhile:)
3. It's normal to be angry, but try not to sin in that anger. If you do, ask God to forgive you. If you have chosen to forgive others, HE will forgive you:)
4. Know that this won't be the only time you have to go through this. So try to get the steps right the first time, it will make it easier the next time. Also, one more note here...when you forgive someone, it doesn't mean you have to place yourself in a position to be hurt by them again. Sometimes, we can't stay away from the person, especially if it's a "work" or "family" situation. Just do your best!
5. Finally go play Cooties with a child, or play fetch with your dog! Maybe take a long drive through the country, with the windows down. Or put that CD on that you love to listen to, but never have time for, and crank it up REAL LOUD. Do whatever seems enjoyable to you, and get your mind off of it. After all, you have put it in God's hands....so you don't have to worry about it anymore!

A Four Year Old Wonder!

Thanks sis for sending this link! My husband and I both watched this, and this little boy is the cutest thing I ever saw! To be just four years old, he has a lot of talent! Also have been watching the bald eagle off and on all day, since I've had a lot of work to do on the computer. I Just left my Media Player up in the background. Ever so often, I would hear the Eagle making a lot of noise, so I would look at the media player, and found that she was off the nest! A minute later, she came back. I wondered if she was chasing others birds off? This has happened several times today. Please check out this little boy, by clicking the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQPEsa5e7K0

God's Glory:)

God speaks to us in nature, always. Here are a few amazing pictures.

His Crocodile ::




His Sleeping Cat ::



Expressing His LOVE ::



A Teddy bear ::



And ONE Of His Angels ::



MAN ::



His Hands ::

Bald Eagle's Live Web Cam In Maine

This note is from my friends (J.C's) daughter or daughter in law. I forget which, old age, don't you love it?!! Anyway, at the bottom of that, I will post the site for the web cam. I just went to the site, and then clicked on "Live Video" and then after watching that I pressed "Live Video 2". It plays on your media player. It's simply amazing to see the Mama Eagle sitting on her nest. It looks like she is in a pine tree, overlooking the ocean! It's live too! AMAZING! Sure glad no one has a live camera on me! By the way, under " sites that I like" is also a link that she sent awhile back, of a live cam of an Owl! Check it out too!

Note From J.C's daughter or daughter in law:
This is the web site for the Bald Eagles we were watching last spring/summer. Last year they had 3 babies, only 2 lived. This year so far, she has laid one egg......right now if you check out the cam you'll see her just sitting on the nest with the one egg, and every so often you'll see the male come in and bring her food. It's still interesting, especially if you follow it. bookmark the page so you don't forget.....it's cool once they start hatching.

http://briloon.org/ed/eagle/

For The Love Of A Child

Many years ago, when our daughters were little, our middle daughter wanted a hamster. She picked out a Teddy Bear Hamster. He was very small, two colors, and long hair. Cute as he could be! But to me, he still looked like a mouse with long hair! Anyway, our daughter took such good care of him! She loved him immensely. She even loved him after he bit her little finger, badly enough, that I had to take her to the doctor!

One day she came in crying, and said he was sick. I went to look at him, and she was right. Poor little guy was laying on his side, breathing heavily. My husband came home about then, and we wondered what we could do. My daughter was so upset, we had to do something! So we called the veterinarian. He asked me how old the little guy was, and I told him we had had him for three years. He chuckled, and said that usually they only live for a year, if that! The Veterinarian said that we must have taken very good care of him, since he was 3 years old. He went on to explain there wasn't anything he could do, but suggested that we buy Karo Syrup, mix it with water, and try to feed it to him with an eye dropper. We all took turns doing this. He was asleep, so you had to slide the dropper in his wee mouth, and squeeze a small amount in. Instead of keeping him in his cage, we placed him in a shoe box, with blankets all around him, to keep him warm. This went on for a few days, and he got a little better.

We had hopes that he would pull through, when hope got dashed to the ground! He died. Our daughter was crying, and so upset. We took him out to my husband, who was working in the garage. This man saw how upset his little girl was, and took the hamster from her. He gently laid the hamster in one hand, and began CPR on him, with the other hand. He kept doing this for a long time. All of a sudden, we saw his little legs begin to move! He came back to life! We kept up the sugar water, and a few days later he was back to his normal self!

The little guy lived a few more weeks, and seemed to be doing quite well! Then one night he died peacefully in his sleep. We gave him a wonderful funeral.

Update On Our Angel!

Can you believe how much our little Angel has grown? Mommy and baby are doing fine! We are all so happy for all of them! Grandma and Grandpa went for a visit. I don't think wild horses could keep them away! :o)

Dog And Cat Food Recalled.

Now there is a new recall on Dog and Cat food. Some pets have had kidney failure and died. I will post the link to go to and read. At the end of the article, is the total list of brands affected. It is NUMEROUS. We just bought one of those brands for our dog. I can't believe there has been so many recalls on items lately. Thanks DN for sending me the link!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/17/petfood.recall.ap/index.html

The Book

My Mom likes to force books on people. She has been trying to get me to read a book, that I totally disagree with. It is written by a well known psychic. What makes this lady more dangerous than most, she laces the truth with lies. Remember my post on "The Truth About Lies"? She bases her beliefs, supposedly on the Bible. She even calls herself a Christian. Unfortunately that is why my Mom has bought into the lie. I have tried to talk to her about it, but she just won't accept it. My husband has talked to her too.

Since Christmas, Mom has been trying to get me to take this book home, to read. She gave it to her sister, and she read it. A few weeks ago, just to get her to stop trying to force it on me, I took it home. I had no intentions of reading it (since I totally disagree with psychics anyway), so I put it in a box, under my desk. I don't want to open my mind up to those things, since it is strictly prohibited in the Bible to do so. Saul and his son in the old testament were killed during battle, as a direct result of dabbling in the occult. Saul went to a "soothsayer" to learn about his future. Saul knew he shouldn't, since earlier God had told him to ban the psychics in his domain. But God wasn't answering him, so he "took a chance". He lost! The psychic even told Saul that he and his son would die in battle the next day.

How did the psychic know that Saul would die? Very simple. Because Saul had gone to the psychic, God's protection (that umbrella) was taken away. Saul had done a lot of things that were contrary to God, but God had still protected him. But after going to the soothsayer, the protection was lifted. To put it very simply...think of a bully. The bully knows he can't get you, if your parents are nearby. So he tries to lure you away from them, and whispers in your ear to go talk to the one person...they told you not to. So you leave the safety of your parents watchful eye, and go to the psychic. Then the bully, knowing you have left the "safety zone", whispers in the psychics ear what he is going to do to you. The bully KNOWS he can now, because you are unguarded. Not because your parents left you, but because you left your parents. Then the next day, the bully does exactly what he wants to do to you, making the "psychics" prediction come true. In other words, the psychic is just repeating what the devil whispers in his/her ear.

God speaks to us, through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes He uses other people to bring us messages. One time at church, a guest speaker, that was known as a "prophet", came up to me. He began telling me things, that NO ONE could have known about me. Then he went on to tell me things that God wanted me to know....and how God wanted to use me in a ministry. This was a verification, of what God had already told me. Usually when God tells you something, He will verify it to you several times. We are to "test" the spirits...to make sure that it is truly from God. There are also "false prophets", that do it in the name of God, and it isn't from God at all, but the bully. Again, truth mixed in with lies...just enough to try to lure us away from God.

We have three "thoughts" that constantly whisper in our ears, our own thoughts, the Holy Spirit, and Satan. Discernment is a gift that everyone should ask of God. There is a scripture in the Bible that says all we need to do is ask for the gifts. Discernment allows us to distinguish one voice from the other. Because as I have said before, sometimes the lie appears to be true. The devil is not a gentleman, and uses any tricks that he can. With Saul, he wasn't tricked in this instance. He KNEW BETTER than to go to the psychic. But he did it anyway. A very dangerous thing to do!

When I took that book from Mom, I KNEW BETTER. However I rationalized it. This thought came into my head, "If I take it, then she can't read it anymore, or give it to someone else to read. Because if they begin reading it, then they too can get caught in the lie." I believe that "just by taking it" I compromised myself. Even though I didn't read it. You may think I'm loony, and I don't want to give credence to Satan, but I believe that by taking it, I walked away from my protection.

The amount of "bad luck" we have been having....is too innumerable to mention! From small things (like things breaking) to large things. Life has been extremely stressful. The last incidence, was that my husband and I almost got into a car accident. We were driving through a parking lot, and a huge truck, had it's tail gate down. Our car was as long as the truck was wide, so he didn't even see us behind him. He began backing out, and his tailgate was aimed at my side window, where I was sitting. My husband was able to swerve just in time, but the tail gate took off our antennae, and scraped THE TOP of our spoiler on the back. If we hadn't swerved just in time, the tail gate would have come through my window.

My husband called my Mom to tell her we would be late, because of the accident. Mom had talked to my sister in law right before we had called. She evidently had told my sister in law that she had given me the book to read. She told Mom to tell us to burn it! Now, I had forgotten I EVEN HAD THE BOOK. My sister in law didn't know about the accident, so I believe this was God, speaking through her, to let me know what to do. We were protected, from bodily harm. But by allowing the book in my home, it was like opening a door to Satan. We burned the book that night.

Thank you W.O. for sending this link!

This is really cute. This baby reminds me of my three year old grand daughter. She giggles and laughs just like this baby! What a sweet laugh:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

The Unbogus Story

The "Bogus Story" joke, reminded me of a true story. Long time ago, my husband and I were in Kmart. He was in a bad mood for some reason that day. Now for those of you who know him, you know he usually isn't that way. (I can hear KS's "AHEM" right here:) But we were standing in a huge line, waiting to be checked out. There were lines to the right and left of us too. There was a lot of noise, people talking, sales being announced over the intercom, and carts clanging.

Anyway, he looked at me and started complaining about something AGAIN. I'm not sure what came over me! It was one of those moments when you say something, that you're just as shocked as the person you say it to! Have you ever done that? In a stage voice I said, "You have been soooo testy since that sex change operation, maybe you need some more hormone shots!!!"

It was as if the whole Kmart had stopped! Everyone became quiet, and all eyes were on us! Lines to the left of us, and lines to the right of us stopped talking and were looking!! Even the checker stopped checking, and was looking, with her mouth WIDE OPEN! She clung to the item she had just picked up, and froze. My husbands face became red, and he didn't say another word. As we were walking out of the store, he looked at me and said, "That was pretty good". I said, "Yes, I know." We never spoke of it again. Moral of the story: Don't irritate me in a public place:)

Bogus Story!

My "adopted daughter" D.N. sent this joke to me! D. was quite young when we moved to a little town, many years ago. She adopted my husband and I, and we adopted her! I believe she even gave us adoption papers when she was little! To this day, she calls us on our birthdays, and sends e-mails! Thanks for the joke! Love ya honey!

I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dog and was in line to
check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog. Duh!

I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting the
Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the
hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an
intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV's in
both arms. Her eyes about bugged out of her head. I went on and on with the
bogus diet story and she was totally buying it.

I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works
is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two
every time you feel hungry. The package said the food is nutritionally
complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now
enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.

Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was
that why I ended up in the hospital? I said no.....I'd been sitting in the
street licking my paws when a car hit me.

I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door....

I'm Stuck On You!

This is one of those embarrassing moments, that I hope to never have to go through again! So please, don't tell anyone, okay? This happened many years ago. I was up late one night, trying to get a few things done, before going to bed. I had cleaned up the kitchen, and was doing a load of laundry, since my daughter needed her gym clothes for the next day. My husband and daughter had already gone to bed, and I was the only one up. All of a sudden, I heard a crash in the bathroom. So I ran in there to see what had happened.

My daughter had left an empty glass on the sink vanity. Rookie, our sweet little gray cat, had jumped up on the vanity, knocking the glass into the toilet. Luckily, the glass hadn't broken....but to my horror, something else had. When I went to pick the glass out of the toilet, I found a huge chunk of the side of the toilet had broken! Now, my husband doesn't like cats too much, so I knew he would be furious if he found out. So I decided to try to repair it, before he saw it.

The chunk that had fallen out, was a little bit larger than my hand. When you flushed the toilet, it ran out from under the rim...onto the floor! I tried to think of a way to fix it. Then it came to me......SUPER GLUE! I looked in the closet, found the glue. I carefully put the glue all around the edges of the chunk, laid down on the floor by the toilet, set the chunk in the hole, and held it until it stuck. Which by the way, takes awhile for toilets! Finally, it had set, so I started to let go of the chunk....and realized that my hand was also glued, to the chunk!

Here I am, laying on the floor, with my hand stuck to the toilet! No matter what I tried, I couldn't pull my hand off! So I decided to try to pull the chunk out of the toilet. After about 10 minutes or so, I was able to bang the chunk back out of the toilet. So here I sat, with the chunk still stuck to my hand, but at least I was free! I tried many different solutions, to get it off my hand...but none of them worked.

I looked out the window, and saw my neighbors light still on. She and her husband were night owls like me. Their triplets and my daughter were friends. So I decided to go over there, to see if they knew how to "unstick" super glue. I knocked on their door with one hand...and the other hand behind my back. When they came to the door, I told them I needed help. Then went on to ask them if they knew how to unstick super glue. They said they didn't, and asked me why I asked. So I pulled my hand from behind my back. After explaining what had happened, it took them about 10 minutes to stop laughing! Neither one could talk, because they had tears running down their faces! I didn't think it was that funny!

Finally they stopped laughing, and tried to think of ways to get it off. Kim said perhaps she could call the hospital. So she did. She explained to them what had happened....and they also couldn't talk for about 10 minutes, because of all the laughter! The nurse called the doctor, and explained the situation to him, and he too laughed! After he composed himself, he gave us the number of poison control, because he had no idea!

We called poison control, and Kim explained the situation to them. Which of course, we had to wait for them to stop laughing before they could help us too! Finally they gave us some possible solutions. Kim would tell us what to try, while staying on the phone with them. Dave would run and get the toxic household chemicals, to pour on my hand. I forget now what all we tried, it was numerous! Finally after many concoctions...we were able to pry the chunk off my hand! I thanked Kim and Dave profusely....you see, they were cat lovers too:)

I went home, and successfully super glued the piece into the toilet. This time without gluing myself. No one was the wiser, about the toilet!

Monkey Business!

My sister in law says that this picture shows how she feels after working in her flowers! Actually, this looks more like me when I first wake up!

Spring Has Sprung!

My sister in law always takes pictures of her first flowers! Look at this years! She has the prettiest flowers! We want to see more of your flowers as they come up!

Today I babysat with the four year old grand baby....while the three year old went to the doctor with her Mommy. Miss Curly didn't even cry when she got her shot! Just don't call her a Cootie though!

Today was HOT and WINDY! When you live on the prairie, you can see for miles around, as you drive. At least before the farmers get their crops in! Today on my way to my daughter's...I thought I saw a HUGE cloud of smoke. As I got closer, I could see that it was birds! There was 100's of them! Before I finally got close to them, I saw them all land in trees, near a pond. The tops of the tree's were FULL of birds! I wish I could have gotten close enough to see what kind they were! (Kind of reminded me of that Alfred Hitchcock movie) I bet they were coming back to the prairies, after spending the winter down south. They must have seen KRK's flowers blooming!

Pictures

Thank you J.C. for all the wonderful pictures! I love moose:) I worked on the East Coast for two weeks, and hoped to see one! Didn't see any at all:( This may be the closest I get!

Just A Few "Way To Go's"!

Just a little note about four of my great nieces, and 2 of my great nephews, 2 nephews, daughter, and future son in law!

K.O., my great niece goes to Wesleyan College in West Virginia. She just received the Fulbright Grant, which is very difficult to do! This is awarded to very few. The program was first established in 1945, by Senator J William Fulbright, "to promote a mutual understanding between the United States and people of other countries." To learn more about the Fulbright program go to" http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm". K.O will be teaching in Thailand! Way to go!

K.O.'s sister, E.O. is a sophomore at the U of I. She is an Illinet (Which is a dance team that does routines during the games) there...and just tried out and won co-captain for next year! Way to go!

D.A, my great nephew, has just finished Junior College, and is now enrolled to start at ISU in a few months! My favorite college! Also his sister, M.A. will start at the U of I this fall! Way to go!

A.K., my other great niece, is enrolled to start College as well! Her brother won an art award a few months ago, and had his picture taken with one of the senators of Illinois. Their Dad (my nephew) is just having a book published, too:) I want to buy the first copy! Way to go!

My daughter, K.P. and her fiance T.P. have set the date of their wedding....it will be September 15Th! It will be a beach wedding! I can't wait! Way to go!!!

B.O. and his wife are expecting a baby soon! I believe it will be a little boy:) Way to go!

I heard through the grapevine that JK and his wife won a trip to Germany! Can I tag along? Way to go!

I'm very proud of all of you! Congratulations! If anyone has any more news, please e-mail me! Love you all....and CONGRATULATIONS!

Saga of the Cootie!

For those of you lucky enough to miss this melt down, it was quite funny...although hard on the ears. It all started one day when she had gotten all the cooties out and put them together. Then, she put four of their little chairs in a row, and placed a cootie under three of the chairs. Then, she laid down under the fourth. I unwittingly initiated the first melt down that day by assuming that she was pretending to be one of the cooties...apparently that was not what she intended. Needless to say, things really hit the fan when I suggested I try pulling a "cootie leg" off her....all in jest of course. In the end, there was screaming, crying, and inisting that she wasn't a cootie and did not have a cootie leg. After much yelling, I ditched the cootie leg, suggesting we take the rather loud cootie's "mouth" off...this elicited a renewed fit....with a vengeance. To this day, if you suggest she's a cootie, you may as well take cover.....
Posted by the Mother of the three year old Cootie hater!
Now we know how this all started! Maybe it didn't have to do with losing Cooties to the four year old sister? hahahaha!

Peanut Butter Scare

My daughter sent me this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/12/salmonella.peanut.butter.reut/index.html

Copy and paste it into your browser. I guess that the Peter Pan and Walmart's Great Value brand of peanut butter, was recalled to the date 2006. Now they have found the tainted batch to go back to 2004. The code on top of the lid starts out with the numbers 2111. I don't know about you, but I don't think I would eat peanut butter that had a date of 2004 on it:)

From now on I think I will buy Jiff:) Remember their slogan, "Choosy Mothers Choose Jiff"!? Now I know what that means!

The Littlest Angel!

Here's the newest picture of our littlest angel! Isn't she the prettiest little thing you ever did see? As I said before, I can't wait to hold her! I hear that she is keeping Daddy and Mommy up late at night! Until 1:00 AM! I remember those days!

There is nothing in this world more sweet than a little child! :o)

White Black Bear Taken Near Gordon, Wi.

A friend of mine from the East Coast sent these pictures to me today. I believe her daughter took the pictures. She stated in the e-mail, that she didn't believe the baby bear was an albino, because it doesn't have a pink nose or pink eyes. Amazing! Isn't the little white cub cute? Thank you so much for the pictures!!! I love pictures like this! Her daughter was also the one who sent the picture of the owl. I believe she helped in nursing the owl back to health. Under my "Sites That I Like" is a link that her daughter sent as well. It is a live camera of a mama owl and her babies. Also amazing! Check it out! Thank you J and daughters!

Life

Life can be rather challenging at times, to say the least. If you reach deep within, during one of those times in your life, you may be surprised by what you find. If you look back in history, during the periods of tragedy, you will find nougats of wisdom, bravery, and creativity.

Some of the most renowned artists and writers in times past, were going through great personal turmoil in their lives. Which in turn, came out in their art and poems. They produced great art and literature. Some of the poets for instance, you could feel their anguish and unending sadness. Which was recorded, if for no other reason, to let us know that none of us are alone in these feelings, at times.

During times of war, you will read about bravery. Men who put their lives on the line, to save another one. You realize as you read about it, that if they had sat down to think about it, they may not have done it. Then you wonder if you could have been as brave as they had been.

At times like these, even under horrific conditions, something good can be uncovered. Life is littered with "good and evil" and "AC and DC". Out of a bad situation, can come good. Without the bad, would the good even be recognised? What does all this mean? I'm not sure. That is one thing that I'm sure of!

Some day we will all know, the "whys" of this life...but unfortunately, it will probably be after we leave this life. Then God will tell us about all the mysteries that we don't understand now. When going through a crisis, remember you're not alone. God is always near. Also, remember that countless other people have been through situations like you have, and maybe worse. They came through it, and so will you. "Hope" is the lifesaver that you grab hold of. "Faith" is believing that it will be there, when you need it. So embrace the bad times, as you never have before. For out of the bad, comes a good...that if you allow it, will be around long after you are gone:)

The Cootie

This week I played Cooties with my 3 and 4 year old grand daughters AGAIN. It's their favorite game! This time, I didn't come in last. But only because the 3 year old defaulted the game, by going on a walk with her Grandpa. I explained to her if she went, she would lose the game. But she decided she didn't care. Her loss!

I watched the 4 year old carefully, and couldn't catch her cheating. But somehow, she rolled whatever number she needed on the dice, to build her cootie. She won again! I was so frustrated, at her uncanniness of rolling just the right number! She ALWAYS wins at Cooties!

Later the 3 year old returned from her walk with Grandpa. My daughter asked the 3 year old if she was a cootie. Have you ever seen a three year old have a melt down? It was scary! She flung herself on the floor, kicking her legs and flinging her arms...screaming, "I'M NOT A COOTIE I'M NOT A COOTIE!!!!!!!" Perhaps she had played Cooties with her 4 year old sister one too many times? I could understand her frustration! Poor little thing! Above is the 4 year old's winning cootie! The 3 year old and I have decided to hang our dice up, and never play again:)

Seeds Do Grow

Spring is in the air! My youngest daughter called me, and told me she was out getting her flower beds ready today! She has been planting seeds inside, so that they will be ready to transplant outside when it's time. She has her vegetable garden all planned, and seeds all bought! She doesn't get this from me! Even when she was a little girl, she was absorbed in planting seeds. For weeks I saw her busy outside, running small glasses of water over to my planters. I didn't have any flowers planted in them at all. I wondered what she was doing. But it was keeping her busy, and she seemed to enjoy it. Weeks later, she came in to get me. She wanted me to go outside with her, to show me something. So we went outside. There in the old planters, that I never got around to planting anything in....were MANY maple trees! The little whirly seeds that float in the air, she had picked up off the ground....and planted! She took such good care of them for all those weeks! Nurturing and watering them:) I see her doing the same thing now, not only with her flowers and vegetables, but with her daughters as well. She is so patient with them. Far more than I was at her age. I don't like to brag about anything...but I'm very proud of my daughters, and all 6 of my grand daughters. I'm not quite sure how they all turned out so well! But they did. I thank God every day for them!

The Littlest Angel!

This is the new addition to our family!!!! Isn't she precious?????? Happy Birthday KGA! You're a beautiful little girl! Was able to post the new picture, and just knew her Aunts, Uncles, and everyone else would want to see her debut! There is nothing in this world more sweeter than a new born baby! Again my congratulations to her Daddy, Mommy, Grand Parents, Aunts, and Uncles! May God place angels all around you, to protect and guide you...since you are the littlest Angel of all! God bless you, and your Mommy and Daddy...... ALWAYS!

Thanks For The New Look!

If you have been one of my regulars on my site, you may notice that it looks different! Thanks to my youngest daughter, she is revamping my web site! I think it looks a LOT better! She may be doing more changes as it goes on, and hopefully I can get my daughters and grand daughters to start writing too! As far as I'm concerned, this is a family blog. If anyone has anything at all to write, or pictures to post...please e-mail me!
Great job KLS!

Mr Humphries

John Inman died today at the age of 71. For those of you who don't know him, he was an actor for a BBC sitcom, that our family just loved. The show was called "Are You Being Served". The girls and I would sit up until 10:30, to watch the show every night. Most of the shows were reruns, but we didn't care!

John played the endearing "Mr. Humphries".....who worked in a Department Store, in England. My middle daughter e-mailed me the web page, about his death...and said, "A very sad day, I lost my first love." She was fortunate enough to meet John Inman a few years back, at a banquet held for him. It was fund raiser for PBS. She was so thrilled to get to meet and talk to him! She told him that she had watched him for years, since she was little. They talked for quite awhile, then he gave her a hug:)

We will miss you, Mr. Humphries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070308/tv_nm/inman_dc

Pictures from the Prairie

Here are some pictures of the wildlife here in the Midwest. As you can see, there's quite a menagerie here....and they all seem quite busy! And some people think the Midwest is boring! Not to these little critters!

"Hurry up, we're late!"

picture by: KRK

"I can't eat another bite!"

picture by: KRK

Dinner Time!

Picture by: KRK

Barred Owl

Picture by: J

Baby Deer
Picture by:KRK

*If you have interesting pictures of the wildlife in your area and would like them posted, feel free to email them to me.