Tic Tac Toe

I have been babysitting my two grand daughters, ages 4 and 5. While the oldest one was in kindergarten, I thought I would check my e-mail at my daughter's house. Hailey, the four year old was standing next to me at the computer, hoping I would hurry up so she could play her Care bears game. I got an e-mail from Tom, my brother in law. It said to click here, to play Tic Tac Toe. As I did, Hailey asked me what it was. I explained to her it was a game, called Tic Tac Toe. She loves games, so asked me how it worked. I explained as I did it for her.

This one, was a joke which I didn't know at the time. As I put my second or third "x" on the grid....a huge scary face popped up and SCREAMED at us! She and I both screamed and jumped! Then she began to cry. I hugged her, and told her I was sorry...and explained it was a joke and I didn't know it. Through the tears, she said.."do it again Grandma!" "Do it again?" I asked. "but it scared you!" "Yes," she said...."do it again."

So I played the game again, it screamed...she screamed and cried....and said "do it again, Grandma. We did this about 5 times or more! Each time she screamed, cried, laughed...and said do it again. I have never seen anything so funny in my life! It scared her each time, but she loved it:) I finally had to tell her we had to go pick up Sara from school...or she would have made me repeat the game a hundred times! THANKS A LOT TOM!

Here's the game:

Happy Birthday Kimberly!

It seems like just yesterday to me, that I held you in my arms and rocked you to sleep:) How time flies by! Those moments of watching you climb trees, bringing home strays (like Garfield!), swim in kiddie pools, being a Brownie, and watching you and Amy do those dances for me to music...seem so fresh in my memories! Now you have grown into a fine young lady...whom your Dad and I are very proud of!!! Happy birthday my sweetie! Love you always and forever! Mom

Logan

Thank you Tom, for sharing another wonderful video! After so many losses this year of family and friends, this video says it all:)

My Brothers And Sister

This past year has made me realize how we all need to cherish life, it is but for a moment we are here. My brothers, sister, and I all live many miles away from one another. I have missed so many happy events due to this! Births, marriages, graduations, on and on. Even though we are miles apart, I know I can always count on these three people to be there for me if I needed them to be! From left to right, is Mike, me, Sharon, and Jim. I love you three more than words can express! This picture was taken last Saturday by my wonderful sister in law Kathy:) She is the camera "woman" in our family! Thank you sister!

Virginia

It is so hard to say good bye to yet another family member. We went to Virginia's remembrance of life memorial this past Saturday. She had a wonderful life, and family. She loved her daughters and grandchildren immensely....and they loved her. I know she is with the Lord now, and her grandson JD...my nephew. We will dearly miss you both. If you look closely at this picture, you will see two people walking together into the sunset.

Even Though I'm Not Catholic, I Endorse This Message:)

It is so true, LIFE and MORALS are being voted upon this election. Christians of all denominations must stand up and be heard this coming election day! I don't know about you, but I'm voting for LIFE. Thanks Tom for sending this to me! This was such an inspiring piece of film. I for one, will be voting the Republican ticket.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

My Nephew was staying in a cabin. He put some ears of corn out, and guess who came to dinner? Yes, a Mama bear and her two cubs! Nature is such a wonderful thing! I didn't even know Bears liked corn! Good shot hon, hope you didn't get as close as this looks!!!! Love you!

The Beauty Of Fall!!

Mistaken Identity

I may have already told you this story, if so forgive the repeat. But today has been a day of reflection for me...not sure why. Perhaps I may just be listening to God more today than usual. I believe He talks to us all the time, if we would just listen. Most of the time we are too busy. But the Holy Spirit keeps on trying to speak to us.

The story I'm about to tell you is true. This happened when I was in my 30's, and I had just been saved the previous year. We had just gotten custody of my step son. He was 16, and out of control. We took him to church, and it seemed to help for awhile, but he was like the birds that flew away from the seed. He had several girl friends, none of whom he was very nice to. I always encouraged him to bring them home so we could meet them. One in particular I was very fond of. She was so sweet, and I knew right away that she came from an abusive back ground. God has always given me the instinct of knowing things like this. It was nothing she said, but I felt it.

It didn't take long for my step son to hurt her, and she didn't come around anymore. I always kept her in my prayers...she had touched my heart. When something like this happens, you know God has placed that person in your path for some reason. It's not in our makeup to be drawn to someone, and to feel God's love for them without even knowing them. At the time we lived in a small town, where everyone knows everyone. Someone at the school told me that that little girl was killed in an automobile accident. She was only 16 years old. I was devastated. By the time I found out, the funeral was over. My step son was at his Mom's at the time, so I didn't have him to confirm it.

My first thoughts were, was she saved? I hadn't witnessed to her, and how I wished I had! A few days later after finding out this news, I went to the grocery store to do some shopping. To my amazement, there was that little girl coming out of the store! I couldn't believe it! I ran up to her, and gave her a big hug, and began crying. I told her how glad I was to see her! Of course she knew something was up. and asked. I'm one of those people that blurts out things without thinking...and told her exactly what I had heard. As soon as the words were out of my mouth...it was too late to take them back.

The shock on her face, you can well imagine. By then it was out that I thought she had been killed. So then I told her I had worried because I didn't know if she were saved. She assured me she was saved....and went to church. I told her I was so glad she was all right, and saved. We hugged one more time and left. I just knew she thought I was a blundering idiot! Before this I had beat myself up for not witnessing to her, this time FOR witnessing to her. She had to think I was a nut case! I wondered why God had placed her on my heart so much....when obviously she was saved and alive.

Another week passed....and something absolutely horrible happened. The little girl that I had just talked to in the store...had been killed in a motorcycle accident. She was riding on back of her friends motorcycle, and was struck by a car. They both died instantly. The whole thing was unthinkable. What had just happened?

I went to the funeral a few days later. A young pastor gave the benediction. It was unlike any funeral I had ever attended. The whole place was packed with young people. People were standing for lack of room to sit. The pastor began speaking about how he had known the girl for a few years. She had had a hard life growing up. One day she went up to the alter to be saved. He said he hadn't seen her for awhile. Then a few days before she was killed, she had called him and wanted to talk. She told him that she had felt that she had gone away from God. She rededicated herself to the Lord. He told how amazing it was to know she was in deed saved. The rest of the sermon was a salvation message. I'm sure a lot of young people that day were saved.

When I think back on these events, I see the hand of God. I also know how vain it was for me to feel "silly" for talking to her that day. God has everything under control. He can even use a "silly" vain creature like me to help someone in need. She was such a special little girl, I think God wanted to keep her close to Him...and heal her of the past for good.

The Predator And The Seed

I love feeding finches. I have two feeders by my living room window...so that I can watch them eat...if I happen to be sitting on the couch.
Today was one of those days!
I wondered why there were so many finches this morning. They were hysterical! They were fighting over the best perch, while others hung to the side. Still others were sitting on top of the feeder, patiently waiting their turn.
All of a sudden, a HUGE dark shadow came over the ground. Above them was the BIGGEST hawk I had ever seen! Then to my horror, there were two others! Three hawks circled my feeder....and my sweet little finches!
Before I knew it, I was at the window..raised it, and was yelling at the hawks.
Some of the finches flew away, very low.....staying away from the hawks. There were some finches that didn't leave. They aren't afraid of me, because they have come to know me.
Would you believe that when the feeder is empty, they will hang on the screen of the window...to try to tell me I need to fill it? Hard to believe, but true! They also won't fly away while I'm filling the feeder...they stay close by.
Anyway, the hawks kept circling, so I clapped my hands...and they finally flew away to the woods across the field. The few finches that had stayed,
kept on eating...knowing that I would keep them safe.
We need to trust in God in the same way. When the enemy comes to devour us,
just trust in God and keep on feeding from His Word.
Today must have been one of those days that God wanted me to write about these things. This post goes along with the last one. I didn't even know that until now:)

*Note: Something else came to mind while cleaning the house. So I want to add it here.
The Finch that flew away from the feeder were in danger by doing so. The ones that stayed at the feeder, were safe....
because the hawks wouldn't come near me.
So if we stay under God's protection we are safe.
It's only when we run scared and away from God, are we in true danger.

A Time To Harvest

Fall is a favorite time for me. I love it:) All the country roads around me, once barren, are now bustling with activity! For people who have always lived in the city, and never been around the country side during harvest, are missing such a wonderful experience. The farmers are in their fields, picking their crops before winter. The roads are filled with HUGE combines, going back and forth to the fields. Tractors, farm trucks, and semi's are hauling the grain that has been picked. Some are going to the elevators, to be weighed...so that the farmer knows how much grain has been picked. From there it's loaded into semi's to be taken to the factories to be made into food (cereals, etc.) The picture above was taken with my cell phone. I believe this is one of the fields my son in law will be harvesting. The sky was so beautiful that day, it was surreal.

The harvest reminds me of the Bible. Below is a parable Jesus told about the seeds being planted, the Word of God. The harvest is the souls that are saved due to the seed (Word) being planted in their lives. The Word IS GOD. His word does not return void. Jesus also points out why sometimes the seed planted, doesn't return a crop. The worries of every day life or satan comes like a thief and steals away the Word from the believer...hoping to take that person away from God. Satan is very jealous of us, and wants to try to keep us for himself. Only because he knows this will hurt God. Satan HATES us. He has been jealous of us, since God created Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Since then, he has made a bag of tricks that he uses to try to steal us away. God gives us a choice. Satan on the other hand, does not. He does everything in his power to trick or steal us away from salvation.

In harvest, there is a joy of seeing the crops grown and healthy! I wonder as I write this, if in the spiritual realm...we can see a busyness as well in the harvest of souls? The angels of God, busy taking the harvest in...all the while having to fight against satan as he tries to steal the harvest from God. If God be for us...who can be against us?

Mark 4

Parable of the Sower and Soils

^1(A)He began to teach again ^(B)by the sea And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that ^(C)He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

²And He was teaching them many things in ^(D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

³"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

⁴as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

⁵"Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

⁶"And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

⁷"Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

⁸"Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

⁹And He was saying, "^(E)He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

¹⁰As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

¹¹And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but ^(F)those who are outside get everything ^(G)in parables,

¹²so that ^(H)WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."

Explanation

^13(I)And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴"The sower sows the word.

¹⁵"These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^(J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

¹⁶"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

¹⁷and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

¹⁸"And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

¹⁹but the worries of ^(K)the ^[a]world, and the ^(L)deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰"And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(M)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

²¹And He was saying to them, "^(N)A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

²²"^(O)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

²³"^(P)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

²⁴And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. ^(Q)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

²⁵"^(R)For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."

Parable of the Seed

²⁶And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

²⁷and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know.

²⁸"The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

²⁹"But when the crop permits, he immediately ^(S)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30(T)And He said, "How shall we ^[b](U)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

³¹"It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,

³²yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that ^(V)THE BIRDS OF THE ^[c]AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE."

³³With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

³⁴and He did not speak to them ^(W)without a parable; but He was ^(X)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.