Sunday School

Claude taught our lesson today. We are studying Hewbrews this month. It was a good lesson. Thanks to Claude for filling in for Shirley. She is out of town. We missed you Shirley. We had a few others out, too.

Things are getting quite here now. The bigger children are watching Scooby-Doo. They will be getting in bed soon. Luke is already in bed and Jacob is playing on his palet on the floor. He just turned over! He started that one day this past week. He will be as big as Luke before we know it.

Later!

God Is Good

If you missed this past Wednesdy night Prayer Meeting, you missed a real blessing. We had a wonderful Bible Study. Several were added to the prayer list. Ray Davis has a mass in his right lung and other spots in the other. He will have a biopsy Monday, August 11, in Mobile. James Griffin will have to go back to Houston in a month due to some areas they are watching. His last visit the area had not changed. Martha Harrell's Mom has some disk problems with her back and will have an epidural soon. Martha has some health problems, too. Elizabeth Hare has some problems with dementia and really needs our prayers and remember her family, too.

We left after Sunday School for vacation at the beach. We are all 10 here now and Wyatt, Daisy, Maggie, Bryan, Abby & Zach are taking a walk on the beach. Baby Jacob is napping and little Luke is playing in the floor entertaining Ward & me. I love to hear him laugh with such force in a deep voice. His smile lights up the whole room and of course our hearts.

The beach looks peaceful right now. Most of the "sun bathers" are gone in for the day. Just a few people walking and enjoying the late afternoon. This is my favorite time of day down here.

Later!

Tryin' It Again!

Well, here I am again. Blogging! I hope I can stick with it this time. It really helps me to be more accountable not to mention that I really enjoy sharing with you all. We missed several Wednesday nights due to bronchitis, but we are back now. For some reason Wednesday Prayer Meeting makes me want to blog. It also seems to make me more accountable to my Lord. I think Wednesday Church is the bridge between Sunday Bible study and worship. That bridge just keeps me on track better during the week. It is a reminder that Christ expects my very best during the week as well as on the week-end. Silly analogy, but I just need Wednesday Church.

Wednesday Bible Study was very much a blessing this week. Sunday was wonderful, too. We had a good crowd in Sunday School. We missed Peggy, Thomas, Larry & Billy. We added Mac Bedwell to our prayer list. He is the grandfather of our computer repair man. We are studying from the book of Hebrews the month of August. One thing that puzzled me was in Hebrews 1:2. The verse says that "in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. I never even thought about that last part, "through whom He made the universe". I just never think about Jesus being there when the universe was created. Now, I know God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have ALWAYS been. But...when we study Genesis 1, we learn that God created the world in 6 days and on the 7th day He (God) rested. But, Jesus was there, too and so was the Holy Spirit. Proof again that Jesus IS God and NOT just a prophet or a good teacher.

In worship, we had a "house full"!! Brother Don brought a very eye-opening. As always it blessed my heart so much. His text was Luke 14:17. I also learned something else that amazed me. "God always has everything ready"! What a statement!! When He created the fish, he had the seas ready, the birds had trees to nest in and bugs and seed to eat; when He created man, the whole Earth was ready for man to have domain over; when Jesus came to Earth he had a life planned for Him; AND back to creating man, He knew we would need a Savior and you know the rest of that story!! What a great Lord's Day.

Zach is at his daddy's this week. I have Jacob this week. He is so sweet, but we really miss "brother"!!

We leave for vacation next Sunday after Church. ALL TEN OF US!!! What a good time we will have. I will include pics during the week.!!

Check out Daisy's blog and read the post from yesterday (I think). Ward hasn't read it yet, but I know he will cry when he does.

Post again later. In Christ's Love.

Don't Grow Old!

We do not stop playing because we grow old;

We grow old because we stop playing .

NEVER Be The First To Get Old!

Just a little "fun" stuff that I ran across today. A friend sent me a "Where's Grandma" poem that indicated that Grandma's computer had taken her away! It was actually a tribute to all of us Moms and Grandmas who have learned to use the computer. This picture of Maxine and the little saying were at the end of the poem. I believe the saying "My grandchildren keep me young". Do you?? When Zach, Maggie or Luke are around, I don't have time to feel tired, ache all over, complain, all those "old people" things that we do. They keep me busy and on my toes at all times. Zach sat down to his lap tray this morning and said, "Mimi, I am hungry". I thought, well he didn't eat much breakfast so I asked him what he wanted. He wanted me to go to "his" kitchen, the play one, and cook him some food!! So....I got out a play plate and put him some spaghetti & meatballs one one and corn on the cob on the other. I served him tea in a cup. He "ate" it and said "Good job Mimi, that was some good food"!!! We read about 30 books and played the Diego game. He checked on his "baby boy" in the cradle and rocked him for a while. We went to get the mail, came back and worked on our letter recognition and counting. Then...it was lunch time, ALREADY!! See, no time to be old. He is napping now and I am catching up on things that I need to do. Still, no time to be old!! When he wakes up we will go to the swings and play for a while. Then to the Fish House to meet his Mama and Daddy Bryan and eat supper. Then Ward & I will buy groceries. Then, when we get home and put the groceries away, then watch a little TV, maybe I can feel old for just a little while!! :) :)

Carly is home now!!!! Woo!! Hoo!!! Don't you know they are so glad to be back in Auburn. It will only be for a little while though. She will go back to Houston for radiation treatments in a short while. Thank you to all that have been praying for Carly and please keep it up.

TURKEY SEASON COMES IN TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

Ward went to listen yesterday morning. He heard at least 3 gobbling. WOW!! I can hardly wait. And with the time change already in effect, we don't have to get up so early. We will get up around 5:45 and be gone by 6:00. I will hunt tomorrow and then not again until probably Wednesday. This probably sounds silly to many of you, but Ward got me hooked about 4 years ago and it only took one morning to do that job. I have loved it every since. The most wonderful part of it is watching the sun rise and wake up the world. You start to take notice the first bird to make a sound. Then as you wait it the early morning light, finally in the distance you heard it loud and clear. That big "Tom" makes his first call to his "girls". Then the near silence is over, just like that. Those "girls" start to put on the show. Then back and forth...they do their "love talk" to each other. It will make the weakest man or woman hooked for life. What a thrill to see this first-hand and be a part of God's handy-work. You sit there and think, 'He made all of this and I am here to hear it for myself, to witness something that is only a fact in a book for many people'. How thankful I am to have this opportunity!!



Enough of dreaming about tomorrow morning. But, I do love it.

Please remember Ronnie Harrell. This man is facing his last days and I know he and his family are devastated. I'm sure Ronnie is "right" with the Lord, but it must still be so hard to leave...for good. Pray for strength and courage for Sharon and their family as they prepare to say good-bye.

We have a family member that is facing a tough decision right. Nothing bad, just a difficult decision. That person is a God fearing one and is trusting God for all the answers. Just remember our loved one as they seek God's guidance.

The week-end is here and I am glad. Sunday will be another good one. Last week we heard our future Minister of Youth preach. Sunday night we voted him in with a 100% yes vote. Dustin Moore will be on the field soon. Keep him and his fiance in your prayers.

God Bless

If He takes you to it, He will get you through it.

Sorry it has been so long. After working on uploading videos and that not working, I just had to take a break.

I ran across the title of this post somewhere and I just can't get it out of my head. What a comfort, that no matter what we are faced with God will get us through it. I am amazed at how much He loves me. Certainly, I don't deserve His love. But he took my place on the cross. Could you take the place for your child if he/she were faced with a life and death situation?? Well, sure you could, but Jesus took the place of the whole world. All of us, no matter who we are, how good or bad, rich or poor, no matter what, He spared us all from eternal damnation that day on Calvary. Do you know Him?? There is a link to the right that will introduce Jesus to you if you don't already know Him. Or, I will be glad to make that introduction. Actually, I would consider it a blessed privilege!! Call me, leave a comment here on the blog, email me, whatever I can do just get in touch with me.

That said, I will list some prayer requests for your lists. Ronnie Harrell has gotten some really bad news. His body is covered with Cancer. He will go to meet his Lord soon. Please pray for Ronnie and Sharon and their family. This will be a very difficult time for them and they will really appreciate our prayers. Carley is doing really good. She is coming home to Auburn this week. She will be going back soon to start the radiation treatments, so keep her in your prayers.

Zach will be an official "big brother" soon. The dr. has set up Abby's C-section for April 23rd. Keep her and our family in prayer. This makes 4 grandchildren for us now. What a joy and a blessing it is to have these little people in our lives. It is such a blessed reward from God. I guess it is a reward for having children ourselves, raising them and now growing older. I do believe they help to keep us young, but someone forgot to tell my body that!!! :)

I will leave you with this well known little story about attitude. It is one that I have to go back to very often. Bro. Don read it to us not too long ago. God guides us in all we do. But, we have to make the choice to follow Him. Life really is what we make of it. Our Heavenly Father is always there for us, but we are the ones that make the choice. Enjoy this story about ATTITUDE. I pray it becomes a favorite of yours as it has for me.


Attitude
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror,
and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today!' So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today!' So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail.' So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

'YEA!' she exclaimed, 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

Attitude is everything!
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly.......
Leave the rest to God.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain

The Videos

I had trouble uploading the videos on the last post. I'm trying again to see if it will work. If it does, you will need to click one time and then another on the play button. Or, at least that's the way I think it works. This is new for me so I hope practice makes perfect. I didn't tell you about Wednesday Bible study. I know it was wonderful, but I missed it. We went to Church and ate supper and was waiting for Bible study to start. All of a sudden I got a need to excuse myself. I got very sick in the ladies'room. Scared to death I had a stomach virus, so we had to go home. I was not sick anymore after we got home, just a little "washed out". Thank the good Lord I didn't have the dreaded "bug"!! I was just very disappointed to miss the study. We now have a book though and I am catching up on Wednesday night's material. Maybe I can share later. It was about what we believe about being in God's Image. Now that is a challenge we should all be dealing with on a daily basis. After we delivered Zach to his Mommy yesterday afternoon we went to Grove Hill to run an errand or two. We decided, at the last minute, to go by Bertile's and get a Tacco salad for supper. We met a man in there that had a badly deformed arm and hand. He only ordered a cup of coffee. Odd for that time of night (suppertime and all). He started talking to us about trying to get home to Tupelo, MS. He need oil for his car and already had gotten some gas somehow. We talked with him and got him some food and a little help for oil. We talked on the way home about how odd it was that when we went to town we had not even planned to eat out. Ward said it was just meant for us to be there at that appointed time. How great it is to be able to be used by our Lord. We also talked about how BLESSED we are to have all of needs met and have a good house to live in and money to pay our bills and buy food, help our loved ones and do the things we want to do. But, it is so important to look for opportunities to help others when the Lord has provided so well for you. Jason and Ward are working on the sun porch today. The plans are to be finished with everything but the floor covering and baseboards when the days ends. Hopefully, next Saturday will finish it up. The babies will love it. They already are excited over it. They both go and open the back door now to look at what has changed about it. Awaiting His Glorious Appearing.

Grandbabies Everywhere!

We have Zach and Maggie today. As a matter of fact Zach is just arriving and Maggie is screaming at the door "It's Zach, Zach, Woo! Hoo!!, Zach is here!!!". What a day we will have!! I have attached a few video clips to show you some of our fun times. What a blessing to have grandchildren! Sometimes I think just how really blessed we are when I think of little Carly Parker. She is the little girl that I have mentioned before that has cancer. Seven years old and two very long surgeries and she is finally cancer free. The last surgery, Monday, lasted about 12 hours. Her parents are praising God for the wonderful report after the surgery. She will still have proton radiation, but they are much closer to having their little girl well and back home to a normal life. As I read her Caring Bridge site yesterday I couldn't help but cry, yet again, at Mikki's words. This is a mother that has given her little girl completely to God. She and Carly's dad have praised God through this whole ordeal. What a testimony. You can read about Carly's story at her site that is on this blog under "sites your might enjoy". Tonight is Bible Study at Church. I am looking forward to it even more now. I found some of the study books on line. It is a discontinued book, but they had some on Amazon. I ran one short and as dear friend didn't get one. I do hope she found one on her own as I really hated that she did not get one. Thank you to all of those who have been faithful to pray for Carly. Thank you too for sharing with me by reading this blog. I will post more tomorrow. We will take Maggie to meet Daisy this afternoon. She will meet us half-way. Things will be somewhat quite here on the "home front"!! We will be lonely without all the hustle and bustle of the children playing together!!. Don't forget to check out the pics and videos of the children!!

Wonderful Wednesday!

Tonight was Bible Study at Church. Oh my goodness!!! It is so good. I am learning so much. We studied about some of the natures of our God. Our God is all powerful, He is everywhere, He created everything. The later was almost "mind-boggling"! Bro. Don explained it so wonderful. He said many people want to argue about the creation and they say things like "it all came from one tiny cell" or "there was this explosion", you know that one, the Big Bang Theory. He said well where did that first cell come from, or where did what blew up come from?? Now that question pretty much blows all those so called experts' theorys doesn't it!!! This study has been so exciting. On the way home from the study, I played one of Selah's CDs. I played it loud and sang with it all the way home. Thank goodness I was by myself. It would have absolutely driven Ward crazy!!!! If you don't have a Selah CD, any one of them, you need to purchase yourself one. They are really good.

Today was so busy. As soon as we picked up Zach at 7:30 and got back to the house, we started to put the new swing set together. Finally around 3:00 p.m. it was finished. Zach had already been able to swing a little before lunch, but the final touches weren't done until middle afternoon. He told us about 5 times that he loved us for "building" he and Maggie such a "cool" swing set. And he thanked us about that many times, too. Well now, that made all the stooping, bending, lifting, mis-matched nuts and bolts worth it all!!! What a sweet blessing to hear that little guy saying thank-you and I love you for something we did for him. He called Maggie about a million times on his "cell phone" to tell her to come and play with him on the swings. He even told her she had to eat her lunch and take a good nap so she could go outside! That's what we told him when we came inside for our lunch! I can't wait for Maggie to come to enjoy it, too. We will attach the baby swing for Luke, too. God created these little children and entrusted them to our family. How great is that?? Yes, he did create everything and I am so thankful He did. Something else we learned about tonight is that God was NOT created. He was, is and always will be. Period. God is forever and so are we, if we are in Christ. Doesn't that make you want to shout it from the roof top? It makes me want to share it with everybody.

Back to today. We got the swing set up. Next we moved the sand box AND sand (about 5 five gallon buckets full) and play house to a new location. Ward is going to move the big swing (the adult one) over to the new place, too. I have attached pics of the new swing set.

We are making a sun room out of our back porch. Pics of this are added, too. Jason Gates is doing the work and Ward is helping him. He works on the side for people who have smaller jobs like this. He does it in the afternoons after he gets off from his regular contracting job and some on Saturdays. We now have nine windows, a door and walls instead of a porch. We are very excited and thankful to be able to do this. It will be great fun for the grandchildren, since the room will be partly for their toys, etc. It will almost be like being outside. Of course we will be spending much time OUTSIDE with the new swing, too!! It is still a few weeks from completion. The inside still has a lot to be done, but the wait will be worth it.

Prayer request that were voiced at Church were: Mr. Hart, Debbie Stifflemire, Nick & Emily Steadham all in the hospital with flu. Renae Wood, Morgan Keel, Leila Bell Newton, Sandra Anderson, Lenette Tarleton & family at home with flu. Bimbo Baugh had a heart attack and is in Mobile awaiting open heart surgery. Jackie Duke will have surgery for prostate cancer. Bud Morgan, surgery. Mary Sue Clark. Sid Mizell is the missionary that was captured by the Talaban. Please remember her. John Matheson is back in the hospital in B'ham, serious heart problems.
What a long list and this is not all, I'm sure. These were just mentioned tonight. Oh yes, the Stewart family in Camden, death of Mrs. Stewart (wife &n mother, only in her 40's). God bless all of these and I pray He will minister to each one according to their needs.

We closed tonight with this verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". John 3:16 Praise God!

I'm Back

Sorry it has been so long. I have missed each of you!!! Blogging is something I have come to enjoy and when you tell me you have visited my blog, well, it makes me feel like I have visited with you.

Last week I was in Daphne for a couple of nights. Daisy had her monthly Bible Study at her house and Wyatt had to work. I went down to help with the children. On Tuesday night we bathed, even though I wasn't in the tub, I was wet enough to have been!! Then Daisy came upstairs and fed Luke and I rocked him and he was out for several hours. Maggie and I then played in her "lovely pink 'woom'". We played for a while and then read several stories about princesses, like Cinderella, Ariel and Snow White. She loves those stories and they are LONG! Then we got in her bed and both went to sleep before 9:00 p.m.! Mimi was TIRED, TIRED. Maggie kept telling me those "ladies" at Mommie's meeting were keeping her awake. They did sound like they were having fun. When they got down to really studying, they got quiet though. We had a really good time in the "pink woom". Next day Maggie and I hung out while Mommie and Luke went to Daisy's weekly Bible Study that she does with her preacher's wife. They have been studying Hebrews for a long, long time and it must be really a wonderful study. Daisy loves it. She has quoted parts of Hebrews 11 to me several times. It teaches us about giving our problems to God and putting our trust in Him. She has ministered to me from that Bible study many times. What a blessing for my 29 year old daughter to minister to me, her 56 year old mother!! I am so thankful for my girls and what they stand for.

After Daisy got home, Wyatt got up and I treated them to lunch at Olive Garden. I had a low-fat selection from the menu of baked chicken (of course) with asparagus and broccoli. Oh, and salad, too. No bread sticks! Well, I did have one for dessert. Delicious!!

When we returned to the house, I rocked Luke to sleep and then read to Maggie until she fell asleep for a nap. Then it was off to Grove Hill to see my love. When I got there he had 12 red roses on the bar for my Valentine's Day. And he had me the cutest card with a little boy with a man's tie and dress hat on. Zach said, "Mimi that's me on dat caad". It was a precious card. Well, I gave Ward a nice card that played music and a CD of love songs. We didn't exchange cards until Thursday morning though. Great Valentine's Day. On Friday I had two dr. appointments in Mobile, so we went to the Original Oyster House for lunch. Now, I didn't obey my diet that day, and...it was so good!!!

I am posting some pics of the children over to the right, if you have time and would like to take a look. Maggie is so into the Princess thing. She doesn't really even like baby dolls. She loves dress-up, princess stuff, story books and her doll house that I got her at the consignment shop. Zach loves cars, horses, story books and the outside. They both love to swing. Oh yes, we bought them a swing-set for our house today. Can't wait to get it put together so we can swing high.

Please remember Carley Parker. She will have another surgery on the remaining part of the tumor in her sinus cavity. She is so afraid, because she will have to have another trache (sp?) They think the drs. in Houston can get more of the tumor than they did in B'ham and maybe even all of it. That would make the treatments so much more successful. Please remember her.

An answered prayer and praise is for Mr. Royce Council. He is the man I have mentioned that had cancer and was very, very ill and probably not saved. We have really been praying for him and even that God would lead us if we were the ones to witness to him. Well, last Wed. night it was reported that he had died. I was just sick to my stomach, but then it was added that he had gotten saved before he died. What a BLESSING AND A TRUE MIRACLE.!!! God is so good.

There are others that are on my heart that are not saved. One in particular that God has not given me the go ahead to visit again. We are not doing Faith right now, but Ward is ready to go with me, if the Lord leads and I really believe that is what is about to happen. No name can be mentioned right now, but please pray that God will clearly lead me to know what to do, when to do it and what to say to this person. It will be a very dificult task as the person knows what we are talking about, but just does not want to take the steps that are needed. Oh, my dear Lord, what a terrible situation to be in. This is such a burden to know someone that feels like this person does and you just can't get through to them. We can't stop though, so just pray, pray, pray.

This post will be way too long. Sorry, but it has been too long since I last wrote. The diet thing is just at a stand-still right now. I am trying, but the scales are not moving. Exercise is what is really lacking right now. I must get to the task though. My body does not feel healthy like it is and I know how it would feel if I could just drop 10 pounds. I WILL NOT GIVE UP!! Just writing about it gives me courage and I do believe if you are reading this you care enough to pray for me. Thank you so much.

If you need me to pray for you about anything, please email me or leave me a comment on this blog site. All you have to do is click on "Comment" and type your message. You can just sign in as Annonymous. No need to have a Google account or anything like that. Don't forget to sign your name to your comment so I will know who you are.

Love to you all.

Friday!!! Yea!!!!!

Today has been a good. I actually dusted everything and cleaned bathrooms while Zach took a nap. Yesterday I slept while he slept!! :( It was good though. We just got back from feeding the horses some apples. Zach loves that so much. We really need a horse!! Hope we can talk Pop into it!:) I'm attaching some pics of Zach and what he calls "his" horse. It was born in late summer and is growing in leaps and bounds, but Zach always knows which one is which! There is also a new baby horse up there, too. Mostly white and so cute. That is the one I want, but Zach insists on "his" horse. Today Pop had the small tool storage house moved! Darren Henson came and moved it with a BIG green tractor. Of course, we had to be out there to see it done. Zach was in "hog heaven". He liked sitting in the tractor and pretending to drive it. Pics attached of that, too.

He just left with Daddy Bryan going squirrel hunting. He looked so cute and was so excited. I hope they get at least one, but Zach says they will get 16!!!! Pop bought him some camo overalls yesterday at Buck & Freds Farm Supply Store. He has them on in the pictures.

Daisy and her family are in Jackson. They will be here tomorrow afternoon to spend the night and go to Church with us on Sunday. It will be fun!!! Maggie is just a little entertainer and Luke is a sweetheart, cubby cheeks and all!! There are pics of them, too.

What a blessing, having all our family together for a meal Saturday night and then again at Church on Sunday. Can't wait. God is so GOOD!!

New Bible Study

Last night at prayer meeting, Bro. Don started a new Bible study. We will be learning about the doctrines we believe. I am so excited about this study. My knowledge is very limited about Baptist Doctrine. Hopefully this will equip me with the knowledge that I need when witnessing to the lost and answering some of the questions (and excuses) they have. Bro. Don makes it so interesting and really makes you hunger for more knowledge. Join us if you can and gain all the knowledge you want from this study.

Last night we started with the BIBLE, God's Word, and what we believe about it . It is alive, divinely appointed. It is an expression of who God is and has his breath contained in it. The Bible is for use in rebuke, dotrine and reproof. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God is forever. The Bible brings critisizm when needed and becomes a mirror of our soul; it is a picture of who we are and who we SHOULD be. It gives instruction to where we need to be. I really liked this part: man and God are separated, and the Bible is the bridge that brings them together. These are just a few things we learned about the Bible and what be believe about it.

Caleb is home and doing great!!!!! He responded to the treatments they gave him at Scared Heart and hopefully he will not have anymore trouble. Thank you so much for your prayers for him and his family.

Carley is in Houston and doing good. They are still in the "meeting with doctors" phase right now. She will have more tests this week. Pray for her, please. God has really been ministering to her family as they wait on tests and pray for good results.

Prayer requests that were voiced are: Royce Council (very ill with cancer, and his relationship with the Lord), Roy Brunson (tests next week), Rhonda Huggins (lost her brother to an airplane accident), James Griffin (cancer patient, doing good), our country and the upcoming presidential election.

I picked up a card this morning to address to someone for their birthday. The scripture on it read, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) This really jumped out at me. What a MIGHTY God we have. Sometimes we just can't comprehend just what that means. But, this verse says it well. We really can't imagine just what he has prepared for us that love him. But, I believe we have to listen to Him, obey Him and follow His direction to get what he has prepared for us. I don't mean just when we want something or have a problem we want Him to solve. I mean everybreath we take, every decision we make. One decision that is so gravely important right now is who will we vote for in the next election. Our country will elect a new president next election. Don't say "my one vote won't make a difference". What if half the Americans said that. Well, that would make a big difference. Go vote, but don't just vote. Pray from now until the next election what God want for our country and who He has prepared to lead our country. THEN and only then go vote!! This election is probably one of the most important elections of our time and it is crutial that our vote count and that it comes straight from the Throne of King Jesus.
"Take a good look at God's wonders--they'll take your breath away." Psalm 66:5 (The Message)

Super Sunday

No I don't mean football. Our scripture for Worship was Matthew 13:45. The only parable that has no explanation. You should have heard it. Bro. Don is just so anointed by King Jesus. He explained that if the Church is divided, then it is destroyed. If the pearl talked about in this verse is divided then it is destroyed. Pearls are the only precious gems that cannot be divided. So, the same with the Church. He preached about the Church's responsibilities and that means our responsibilities. What a message. God is really moving among us right now and we feel Him so much. That also means Satan is on the war path, too. We must walk closely with the Lord and follow His guidance to the letter.

I have not heard from little Caleb today. Keep praying for him. Carley and her parents left early this a.m. for MD Anderson Clinic in Houston. I'm sure they have hopefully gotten a feel of the place by now. Sunday is a good day to get out and walk the halls and find where everything is. I believe they start meeting with doctors tomorrow. They will be there all week. Please pray for Carly. Another person that needs our prayers is Dale Goodman. We talked to his wife yesterday while at the hospital. He had back surgery and had developed an absess (sp?). His wife brought him in terrible pain and the place had to be drained and I think they put a drainage tube in while we were there. Remember him and his wife Linda.
James Griffin is doing really well. Praise God for that. Keep Mary Sue Clark in your prayers, too. She is almost done with her treatments for breast cancer. This is her second time to have this cancer. There are many others that you know of I'm sure. Get the word out so we can pray for them, too.

Let's remember our state and each person that will vote in the upcoming election. Pray that we will all get on our knees and ask God to lead us as we cast our vote. This is one of the most critical elections of my lifetime and folks, it is serious. I won't get on my political soapbox, but please don't go to the poles without much prayer and time with God. Only He has the answer as to the "age old question", "Who is the right man for the job?"

I hope you all had a good Lord's Day. Hopefully, we will all have a good week. Oh, and by the way, GO PATRIOTS!!!

WOW!! What a Saturday!!

First, let me ask you to add Caleb Walker to your prayer list. He is about 5 months old. He and his parents and older brother, Tyler live near Daisy and Wyatt, go to church with them and they are good friends. The Walkers are originally from Jackson. They left this morning with Caleb taking him to Sacred Heart in Pensacola. His platlets were low when checked the other day and they have dropped yet lower. The drs. believe he has some type of immune deficiency and it can be fixed. Please remember this family.

We just got back from the hospital in Grove Hill!! Ward was working on a ladder at the office this morning and it turned over with him. The ground was soft from the rain and one leg of the ladder just sunk all of a sudden. Down he went. His head took a bad lick on the side of the office building. He now has 7 staples in his head, a stiff neck and a migrain headache. The x-rays were fine though. Maybe he will feel better tomorrow.

Maggie and Zach got to go to a parade in Fairhope Friday night. Their parents took them and they had a blast. Zach got a stuffed Scooby Doo that is as big as he is. Maggie got a huge monkey last year, so Daisy was glad all the other animals they caught were smaller!! They got all kinds of stuff and really enjoyed it. They are not big Mardi Gras fans, but many of the parades in Fairhope have lots of families with small children attending, so it is fun and not so dangerous. The kids loved it.

Please remember little Caleb, Carley (going to Houston in a few days) and Ward and his sore head.

Here are some pics from Mardi Gras.

Wear Red Today!

Today is National Wear Red Day. By wearing red you are saying you support women's heart health. I had forgotten about it, but I changed shirts after watching Marie Osmond on the Today show this morning. She is a spokesperson for the cause. Marie's parents both died from heart disease. Did you know she is a single mom with 8, yes eight children!!! WOW! What a brave woman. She lost 30 pounds to make herself more healthy.

Several people have asked me why I want to lose weight. They say, you look fine. BUT...I don't feel fine. No energy, not sleeping good, short of breath, no stamina are just a few reasons that I want to lose. These reasons are all in addition to my clothes don't fit!! As I have said before, God gave me this body and it is my responsibility to take good care of it. It will be a real battle for me, because I love to eat and eat things that are not so good for me. My main stumbling block is sweets. After talking to my doctor about it I have realized I am literally addicted to sugar. That doesn't sound so bad though. If I told you I was addicted to pain killers, cocain, maybe even pornogrophy you would gasp in disbelief and be disgusted with me. Well, an addiction is an addiction and that is just the way it is. This came from my doctor now, not from my little brain. It was a pretty sobering thing to hear from a medical professional. He told me there are no miracle cures like pills, magic teas, etc. I have to take control of my eating and my health. Well, it is kinda like going through withdrawals!! I haven't completely given up sugar, but just controling the amount I use. IT IS HARD, VERY HARD. But by the grace of my precious Lord and Savior, I WILL make it. So far I have managed to lose 4.2 pounds and believe me that is a big encouragement!!!!!! :):) I already feel better, but the best is yet to come. 20.8 more pounds to go!!

Blessings have come in multiples lately. James Griffin got a good, clean report in Houson this week. Carly is doing really well. She will go to Houston in a short while for proton beam radiation. The spots in her lungs are not cancer!! Our sweet Lord has been so gracious to us all, hasn't He? Seeing prayers answered is such a blessing and being allowed to be a part of those answered prayers is an absolute priviledge given to us by our King Jesus. Are you receiving those type blessings and priviledges? If you are you know what I am talking about, if not, start today to pray for those around you that are hurting. When our girls were little I told them God was a "multi-purpose God". I was trying to explain to them the power in prayer. When God answers prayers, it always touches so many people in so many different ways. After all, He knows all our needs. He never lets one ounce of blessing go to waste, He uses every bit of it. We have never even met Carley Parker. She is the daughter of a woman that Daisy worked with in Opelika/Auburn. Just following her story and seeing the strength this family has drawn from God and the blessings he has poured out on them has lifted me to heights that are breath taking. He allowed many of my family to be a part of Carley's life through prayer. We are connected forever. Neat!!

Sewing is at the top of the agenda for today. I'm making a "Taggie" for Luke and one for Jacob. A taggie is a square piece of cloth with all kinds of ribbons, etc. coming from it's seams. Babies and even toddlers love to feel these different textures. Hopefully, I will get to Maggie's dress today. Gotta get started on Jacob's "coming home outfit" very soon.

Have a good one!! Make Jesus a part of all you do!

Another Good One!

Yesterday was another wonderful day at Church. Brother Don is just a man after God's own heart and that is the way it is. He really challenged us as Christians to make a difference in the world around us.

Another prayer has been answered. Mrs. Edge got the job at the Clarke County Museum. She is very excited and emotional, too about it. We have been praying that God would have His way for this situation. She really wanted the job. It will give her something to do, a little extra money and contacts with the public that she will really enjoy. We are so excited for her! She may be 81 years young, but she still has so much to offer. God is so good.

James and Linda Griffin are back in Houston for James' check up. He will have a long day tomorrow (Tuesday) with tests most of the day. They will see his dr. Wednesday morning. Hopefully she will have at least some of the test results back. Then they will head for the airport to come home. Please, please make them one of your priority prayers. James looks so good and it is hard to believe there could be anything wrong with him. They have been through a tough fight and they really need some good news. I talked with Linda this a.m. as they were almost to the airport. They are a little nervous about this trip, but they know God is in control and they give Him all the glory for everything. They have been such an inspiration to me and Ward. We have learned so much from them and their testimony shown through this battle. We have learned much about letting God have our problems and concerns and actually letting go for Him to handle it. We will be forever grateful to our special friends the Griffins for being our friends and letting us share in their journey.

Little Carley got a good report from her CT scan. They are fairly sure the lesions on her lungs are NOT CANCER!!! What a blessing for Carley and her family and what a blessing that God is allowing us to be a part of these blessings through prayer. You can check out Carley's progress and her story. Just click on her link on the left side of this page. Please continue to pray for her.

I wish I could just open my heart and let you look inside. For about a month now, God has really been doing some major reconstruction on it. When I started this blog, it was for support to be a healthier me and to lose some weight. Well, little did I know it was for so many other reasons. He has made some real changes in my life. One of the many things that has happened is Ward asked me what I wanted for Valentine's Day. I said, "Do you really want to know?" We have tried to start a family devotion time many times before and it just fizzles out after a few times. Well, that is what I requested for Valentine's Day and I told him he didn't have to wait until Feb. 14th to give it to me. What a wonderful blessing it has been. It is so good to read the Bible together and pray together. It does not take the place of a personal prayer time and Bible study, but we have shared a lifetime together and it is high time we do this together. We have always prayed and studied and we brought our girls up to do the same. I thank God that He has finally gotten us on the right track to doing this time together each night. I was a little nervous to ask Ward, which is totally crazy, we talk about everything. Prayer for us together has always been an emotional time for Ward and I knew that, but it just seemed to be creating a void that I could no longer ignore. We have talked about it since we started this time together and we both agree it is such a special time and we actually look forward to it every night. Do it, just do it. If you and your spouse don't have a prayer and Bible time together, what more perfect time to start it than Valentine's Day? You and your spouse starting a new love affair...together with Jesus!! :) :)

Sorrow Upon Us

Today is so sad for the Burgess family. Losing their precious little boy "cornbread" must be a burden that most of us can not even imagine. While listening to the radio program "Rick and Bubba" my heart breaks for them. But, Bubba has done such a wonderful message for us all. This family is praising God for the life they shared with Bronner. What a testimony. The grief is there, but they are still putting God's will first in their lives. Please, please pray for them.

Little Carly is in surgery now. I pray God's hand will be on her throughout this ordeal and that He will guide the doctor's hands to get all of this tumor that is possible. God, please keep her safe in her recovery. Give her parents a calmness and serenity that will take their breath away.

Today I am attaching the picture of Maggie that caused the question of her health. Please just look at it and keep it in the back of your mind. I pray that you will never see this in another child's eyes, but at least you will have the knowledge that might help someone. We are still praising the Lord for the blessing He chose to bestow on us this past week. We have learned so much from it and we will carry this in our hearts forever. Praise God!

Blessings and Prayers

Just in from Church. A couple of things are on my mind that I need to share. Our son-in-law was Baptized at Church tonight. He is a wonderful young man, husband and father. Abby, our daughter brought little Zachary into this marriage and now she and Bryan are expecting a baby in late April. Bryan is a very quite, shy person. He was saved when he was about 11 years old. His Mom led him to Christ in their kitchen. What a privilege that was for her!! He was just too shy to go down for baptism. He wanted to join our Church to be a member with Abby at Tompkins. Well, he went down last Sunday and decided it was time to be baptized, too. We are so happy and proud. He has now completed ALL that is asked for by Christ's example to us for salvation. Although none of this will get him to Heaven, it is only what is in his heart that makes him a child of God, it is such a blessing that he desired to complete his commitment. His mother, brother and aunt joined us for the service. Bryan's dad wanted to be there, too, but he could not get off from work. I know he was with Bryan in prayer and thought. Keep Bryan in your prayers. We all know that Satan can't be too happy right now that there is one more on the firing line for Christ.

Please remember Rick and Sherri Burgess and the entire Burgess family. Many of you already know about their 2 year old son drowning yesterday. What a nightmare this family is going through. Rick & Bubba are one of few radio talk show hosts that really take a true stand for God. Please remember them. \

Also, remember little Carly Parker. She is having surgery tomorrow a.m. for a very rare malignant tumor in her sinus cavity. I will leave a link on my main page so you can check up on her.

Included with this post is a picture of Maggie with the terrible glare in her left eye. Maggie is fine as you may have read in my last post. If you see a glare in another child's eye, you will know that they should get checked out. I pray that won't happen, but we need to stay informed.

This has been a wonderful Lord's Day. Kasey Garrick came to our service today. He surprised us with big hugs!! What a sweet nephew!! We heard our special friend Bro. Darryl Brunson preach this morning and our sweet Bro. Don tonight. What wonderful men of God and how they bless me just being around them. Thank you men for your service and devotion and your willingness to share the gospel with us. We love you.

I'm Still Here

It has been several days since I posted. Much has been happening. First, God has granted us a blessing that we will never forget and we will Praise Hm forever for that blessing. Our only granddaughter was thought to have eye cancer (retnoblastoma). We agonized at what the outcome would be. We prayed for God's mercy on our little Maggie and her parents. We prayed for strength for us to be supportive for them. We prayed for Abby, who is pregnant and very upset at this news about Maggie. God did bless us and He blessed us, well, I'm not sure if there is a word for the type blessing he gave us. Maybe I will find that word when I get to Heaven. Maggie is OK. No, she is just fine!!! A trip to the optomologist (sp?) Friday morning revealed to her parents that she is just fine and she is also seeing fine. It was a photo taken by a friend that caught the eye of a total stranger. She in turn, through several people got the word to Daisy that Maggie's eye looked funny in the picture. It could have been this cancerous tumor, but Praise God it was not. No tumor, nothing. We are Praising God!!!!

Now, this has shown us without reserve that God IS in control and He knows what is best for us. No, I am not saying that b/c Maggie is fine. It seems that God gave Daisy and Wyatt a peace about the whole situation. He gave us a peace about it, too. No matter the outcome, we knew we would not be alone. It was a peace that I have felt only a few times before. But, a peace that I intend to look and search for more often from now on. He took care of Maggie and our Lord will also take care of the things that are to come. How wonderful God is. He is everywhere, knows how many hairs are on my head, knows what will come tomorrow!! A N D...that means I don't have to worry AT ALL. :) I AM NOT ALONE.

Will I worry again?? Oh yes, I will. But, when I remember this past week and what God did, I will gain that peace that passes all understanding. Isn't it funny how God uses one situation to reach so many people with so many different problems?? I am so glad He is my God. I hope he is yours.

I have not lived too healthy the past few days. My diet has not been anywhere near the forefront of my thoughts. Tomorrow will have to be a new start for me. God forgive me for not holding up my end of the bargain at living a healthy life.

The Fear That Is In Me

Yes, today I have a terrible fear in me. My heart is filled with fear and unforgivness, too. A wise person sent me this verse: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

This verse tells me I don't have to fear...ANYTHING. God is really working in all my family's lives today. My daughter's new husband (of almost a year) joined our Church yesterday. He had already asked God to save him, several years ago, but he has not been baptized. That will happen this coming Sunday night!!! We are praising God for the steps Bryan is taking.

Now, you might ask, WHY do you fear and why can't you forgive. I want to forgive and believe me I am so tired of fearing. God has used my Sunday School lesson yesterday, my preacher's sermon, my preacher's wife and 2 other very good Christian friends to send help and hope my way. One of those friends called today shortly after 8:00 a.m. We were on his mind and his devotion this morning made him feel he had to call. WOW!! Just writing down all this makes me know that I must give ALL my fears to God and that I must give Him my unforgivness and let Him teach me to forgive.

Whoever you might be out there, if you are there, thank you for listening (reading) my thoughts. Keep us in your prayers and if you will, leave me a comment and anything you might need me to pray for on your behalf.

God is all powerful and so wonderful, if we could just live on that 24/7 what a difference we would see in our lives.

This Is The Day!

This is the Day that the Lord hath made, we will Rejoice and be Glad in It. Today is Sunday or as we sometimes refer to it "The Lord's Day". That is a reference we use out of reverence to our Lord. The 7th day, the day the Lord rested, a time for us to rest from our busy lives and worship Him. But, actually everyday is His. Many times we just don't live like that is true. Why should Sunday be any different?? Do we love the Lord anymore on Sunday than on Tuesday???? I pray NOT!!! This is the day we go to HIS Church to worship Him. I challenge myself to worship Him everyday...24/7. I should study my Bible, pray, even sing praises to Him 24/7. Today is Sunday...the day I go to Church to get my "spiritual tank refilled"; Bro. Don, Shirley, the choir, Paul, they all do their jobs to "refill" me. Then, it is my job to use the fuel they provided me with to do my job...24/7.

One concern today is eating healthy at Mrs. Edge's house. She loves to cook for her family and she loves to fix all the things we like...one of her spiritual gifts!! Sometimes, I eat way too much there. Well, actually MOST of the time. :) Today, I will try, try, try to eat senseable and feel good about what I ate when I leave.

I've included two pics of 2 of our grandchildren, Maggie and Zach. This was a very special day the Lord made. "At the Beach" with the family!!! Praise God! Our third baby was with us at the beach, but still growing in his Mommie. Luke is with us now as of Oct. 19Th and that TRULY was a day the Lord made especially for us. Now he will give us another SPECIAL day when baby Jacob will be born to us in late April. What a wonderful God we have.

Yes!!! THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HATH MADE, WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!!! SING IT AGAIN AND AGAIN 24/7

I Need HELP!!

Yesterday was a total "bust". I did great with breakfast, Grapenuts Flakes. Lunch was good, 2 Special K Waffles/6 sprays of butter spray/less than 1/4 cup sugar free syrup. Well 3:00 p.m. hit. I was starving. I ate everything I could find. Won't list those things b/c of my shame. What will I do??? I need help. Please pray for me. I am a failure. BUT...I WILL NOT GIVE UP. I feel bad most of the time, nothing particular, just lousy. No energy, no "get up and go" at all. My body is just not healthy and that is mostly my fault. There are ways to deal with the issues that are not my fault, like taking my medicine on time, eating right, exercise. These are things I CAN CONTROL. And...God WILL get me there. I think I am not eating quite enough at breakfast and lunch. That might be why I get so hungry in the afternoon. Also that is my "weak time". Today I will work on this. A verse I came upon today was Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." That says it all. He WILL GET ME THROUGH THIS! Join me, pray for me, encourage me...but most importantly JOIN ME.

The Decision Is Made

Well, I have read and read and prayed for God's guidance. I have made the decision to use the Kellogg's Special K diet regeimen. Some product from Special K for breakfast and lunch (all around 100-120 calories), fruit or veggies for afternoon snack, normal dinner. The normal dinner will be low fat and low carb though. Tonight we are cooking quail on the grill. Don't know about the sides yet, but they will be healthy and small portions. I learned a valuable lesson while studying my Sunday School lesson this a.m. I need some guidance in accepting blessings. I tend to overlook my blessings. They are there, but I am too busy worrying and anguishing over what is wrong or difficult in my life instead of finding God's blessings for me. Kinda like looking at the glass half-full instead of half-empty!! My New Year's resolution started out as somewhat 2-fold. Well, if the days ahead are anything like today's, the "folds" will multiply. You know, I think that is the message God had for me today. Yes, my glass will no longer be half-empty, instead it will be HALF-FULL!!! Join me in my efforts and let God bless you, too.

The First Day of A New, Healthier Me

This is a picture of me with my sweet husband and our 3 precious grandbabies on Christmas Eve. I wish I could just crop me out of that picture. But, there it is in living color! Now, is that a healthy looking person, I ask you?? NO, NO, NO!! God made me and he fearfully and wonderfully made me. How could I let myself go like I have. Fried food, butter, desserts, chips. Not a very healthy list of foods. Now, we do eat pretty healthy for the most part, but these things should not even be in the cabinet. Tonight we ate at the Fish House. I ordered broiled catfish fillets and a baked potato. I started out good, but when the food came, I immediately covered that potato in butter and sour cream. WHAT WAS I THINKING?????????? My mindset has got to get back to healthy, healthy, "good for you" kind of food. My prayer for tonight will include, "Dear Lord, please remind me minute by minute how you made me and that I have a responsibility to take very good care of my body." If you are reading this and you need to improve on how you take care of your body, will you join me in that prayer?