Pink Saturday

I am participating in Pink Saturday, hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. My mother's favorite color has always been rose. She has macular degeneration and sadly is now legally blind, unable to enjoy her favorite hobbies. Next week, I will show a pretty quilt she pieced and quilted, pink, of course. This week, I will share this pretty pitcher I purchased at my cousin's shop. On the bottom is inscribed USA, Camark, 1398. I have a small collection of pitchers and this is one of my favorites.
Enjoy the other pink by visiting Beverly's Pink Saturday.

January 30, 2009

I am learning a little about creating blog pages so I'll be changing often through February. I told Brian this one looks like a saloon. Not really my style. Bree heard my comment and wanted to know who Miss Kitty was?
I am sneezing, hoping it's allergies and not a cold, and my treatment is food so I am not doing well on my plan but I think it will be fine by Monday. I always "ease" into this new eating routine. Right now, my head is throbbing and I know ice cream would help. A local church, Cornerstone Fellowship Baptist Church is having a Bible conference and I really don't want to miss. I might sneak into the back after it starts tonight and leave just before it is over. Tomorrow night my husband speaks and there is a concert by Shiloh, a wonderful Gospel group from Dallas. I plan to be fine by then. Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Encouraged and Equipped

I love to read what men of God have said about the battle we find ourselves in as Christians as well as citizens of America. Some of us are slow to realize that aspects of today's America would no longer line up with the intentions of the founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin said the Constitution was a result of Divine intervention. George Washington said the constitution was a miracle. History is literally being rewritten and distorted to lead people to believe the Constitution is a secular document and that these men did not recognize the authority of the Divine Creator and their responsibility to Him.
I am so thankful for those who are standing for truth. I am going to include some links in the side column for places we can go for encouragement as well as education on how to make a difference. Besides loving people and praying, of course.
I am thankful for the Christians I have met blogging. I have been encouraged visiting with you, some far from Texas, who are like-hearted. God is so good. And He "has prepared His throne in the Heavens and His kingdom ruleth over all." PS 103.
We are blessed to belong to Him and have freedom to learn what the Word teaches on the issues of the day and then lovingly stand.
Love,
Jennifer

Burr!

Haskell felt temperatures in the teens and twenties today. School and many other activities were cancelled throughout the Big Country. I drove slowly to the grocery store and post office before lunch. Later I took my folks some soup and the sleet tapped loudly on my car.
I enjoyed most of the day in my home and spent too much time on the computer trying to familiarize myself with creating google pages. The problem is that this cozy atmosphere encourages the appetite to rare back and whinney. And mine has. I didn't cave in totally but I have not done as well as yesterday. We expect more freezing moisture tomorrow but I will be at work, away from the temptation.
I was blessed again as I read of Joseph this morning.
I am sure friends from colder areas have much prettier pictures of ice but here are a few of Haskell's ice sicles.

Lamenting

I feel so terrible about the babies. ... the babies that will never have a chance at life because of the decisions made on their behalf. There are the decisions made by their parents who will suffer from heartache and guilt. And these two people formed their opinions and decisions as a result of the beliefs, decisions, or maybe just words of many other people. Considering that possibility makes me want to become involved again in the Awanas program at Cornerstone or be willing to put full effort into Vacation Bible School. I want to do whatever I can to thrust truth into the lives of children who will grow up and face these dilemmas.
In America, we choose our leaders fully aware of their intentions regarding these issues. But it makes me want to ask everyone I can if they know the devastating affect that the Freedom Of Choice Act will have on our country. I hear and don't understand these words, "But abortion is just one of the issues." Well, yes, there are many other areas where America is choosing "the way that seems right to man but ends in death." (But I don't think that is the point they are making.)
I believe that just like in the lives of the nations we read of in the Word that if our nation would get it right on these vital issues that scripture speaks to, then the rest would be taken care of by the one who is the beginning and the end, the one forgives and heals, the one to whom every knee will bow.
I love you.
Read a portion of a letter sent to me by Coral Ridge Ministries by clicking HERE.

It Has Begun...

In an earlier post, I spoke of dieting. I began in earnest this morning. I was inspired by my friend Ruth at fittertrimmerruth to let my blog help me be accountable by posting exactly to the calorie what I have eaten each day. So, today I had an egg and cup of coffee for breakfast, half a baked potato with 2T of cheese, garden salad, and 1/2 C of red beans for lunch, and for dinner I had this salad with brisket I had cooking all day in the oven. Lunch was at Cornerstone with the ladies ministry. Very good.
Each day, I will post in the side column what I have consumed so I will shame myself into eating correctly. And each Friday, I will include the amount I have lost (hopefully). So, there ya' go.

If you are interested in a wonderful program designed to help you find freedom (in the Lord) from bad eating habits, take a look at "Setting Captives Free". It is great. I noticed there are also courses designed that address sexual purity, substance abuse, and gambling. Click HERE

"Love" Print

I have to tell you about the framed print that hangs on the East end of the room below. I met Brian when I was a very young 16 years old. I was a part of the FBC youth group and the church organist and Brian came that summer as the youth and music minister. I didn't think much about him the first time I met him but by the third or fourth time I was around him, I knew that I loved him. I know what you think. I was just 16 and the whole thing could have just been puppy love, a crush. It could have ended just as easily as it has lasted these 37 years. I don't know about that. I do know I love him more as time goes by. I know I have never ever doubted for a second that our relationship has been blessed by God. I know I am where I am suppose to be.
We had begun dating by that fall and Brian wanted to give me a present when my 17th birthday came around. He went into a store and saw the print (I guess it's a poster) on the wall but couldn't find one in the bin. He asked the clerk who looked and told him that there weren't any more. I don't know if he removed it from the wall immediately or if he came back later. But, he did take the print, paid for it, and wrapped it for my birthday. I had it on the wall for a while in a different frame but eventually had a nice frame built for it. I like it very much. It reminds me of how young we were when we "began". We married just days after I graduated from high school.

Most things in this room have much more sentimental value that anything. My parents had the couch and chair in the 60's. They've been recovered but not lately. The closest round table/chairs is the one in the Blog header picture that was in my friend's Rhineland home. The table with the cloth was made by Brian's brother as a wedding gift. Years ago Brian built the tall chest with the punched tin doors which holds Christmas and other special dishes. The small trunk belonged to Brian's Dad and contains some very old letters that he and his family sent and received. The desk on the far wall is the first thing we bought as a couple, a desk from Ethan Allen, and my children sat at it when they were learning to print. It has lots of scars. The wooden sewing "bucket" behind the chair belonged to my Aunt Ret. She used it nearly every day. She created the most wonderful Christmas stocking for all of her family and some friends. I wish we knew how many. Her only son was one of the last people in the US to die of polio and she "mothered" the rest of us. Hers is one of the lovely faces that will be there to greet us... The other furniture was purchased at the "antique" stores. Some will have to be put elsewhere when we rearrange but not the "Love" print. It will be fun to pay bills, write letters, read books, and blog in the same room where my wonderfulest ever husband is preparing sermons and studying God's Word, preparing for whatever God has next for this aging couple of youngster.

In 1980, we bought a house that was built in 1939 by a carpenter/lumber yard owner. His family lived on one floor and they rented the second. It is a very well built home. We spent years working on it and have enjoyed living here. We added this room to the south side and haven't really used it a lot though it is a very comfortable room. We are changing careers in April and will be transforming this room into our office or study. Our present office, we will lease to my brother in law who is going to be the new State Farm Agent. Brian is retiring from State Farm after 32 years and will be finishing his masters degree in theology. He will need lots of shelves for all the books that will have to be moved from his present office plus the new ones he'll need. And we will need computer space. I will move my computer out to this room so we can be together.



I am not sure how to do it yet. I don't know how much I'll have to move out of here first.



I think it will be fun to fix this space for our office/study. We are soooo excited about the future even thought we don't really know what it is. Brian is sure this is what he needs to be doing. God blessed our years in the insurance business but Brian's heart is in teaching Bible. He has always taught Sunday School and other Bible classes and has pastored a small church the past five years. But this is definitely a new adventure. Later, I'll show you how it turns out.

36th Anniversary

This is taken from NPR article...


Roe V. Wade' Anniversary Could Bring Policy Change
by Julie Rovner

Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators gathered during the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade in 2006. Getty Images

Morning Edition, January 22, 2009 · Thursday marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. It's also likely to mark the day President Barack Obama will reverse at least a few of the anti-abortion policies of George W. Bush.
By now, it's become something of a tradition.
In 2001, just two days after he took office, Bush used the Roe anniversary to issue executive orders reversing some of the abortion rights policies of his predecessor, Bill Clinton, just as Clinton had used his first Roe anniversary, in 1993, to override some of the anti-abortion policies of President George H.W. Bush.

I pray for our country often. 50 M innocent babies have been killed because Americans have given women the "right" to do so.
I hope that our new president will not keep the promises he has made to the abortion activists. I hope for our citizens to be awakened and to come to the defense of these defenseless babies. Did you know that last Sunday was National Sanctity of Human Life Day? I didn't hear it broadcast on MSNBC. The proclamation signed by President Bush said "All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection". He added that America recognizes that "every person waiting to be born has a special place and purpose in this world". If our area had a March For Life today, I would have participated.

Happy birthday Bree

The birthing process began about 2:30 am January 17th, 1981 on a very cold night. The roads weren't as bad as the night Casey was born two Januarys earlier but it was so cold. We drove a small Chevrolet and I squatted, backwards, on the edge of the front seat, tightly gripping the head rest with much of me hanging off the seat, all the 55 miles to Abilene. Unlike Casey's birth, labor contractions started right away.
By the time we arrived, we had nearly bounced that baby into the world. I'd recommend that method to anyone. The Doctor didn't have time to prepare as she wished. The first check, she said that Bree was posterior, her head looking the opposite direction and she would need to turn. OHNOOHNOOHNO, this was exactly like Casey's birth. The Dr who delivered Casey said that he had seen many births and that in his judgement, none had been harder (more painful) that his. Casey would not turn and after hours of his poor head hitting my poor back bone, they finally did an episiotomy (surgical incision of the perineum to enlarge the vaginal opening for obstetrical purposes during the birth process) large enough for him to walk through. Well, that is how it felt. I stayed in the hospital an extra day and my nurses would bring nurses from other floors in to see the port of entry. It was somewhat embarrassing. When this Dr ( changed Drs hoping a different Dr would make it not hurt) said Bree was also turned backwards, I loudly "asked" Brian to pray that God would turn her right away and He did. She made her entrance into the world. She was a beautiful baby. She was so cool and calm. She has been lighting up our world ever since. Brian and I talk about how fun it was to go to school or anywhere to pick her up. She invariably ran to the car with a huge smile, always excited about the day. How thankful we are for our Bree.
She graduated summa cum laude from A&M and has decided to go back and become a physician's assistant or physical therapist so she is getting the sciences she lacked. Here are some pictures of her.

"Praise" and "Snow"

If you or someone you love aren't going through a season of testing or suffering, you probably have or it may be in your future. If you have, I hope you experienced the comfort of God through obedient praise to Him. I can't explain it but I can testify to its reality. You may agree with me that in some extreme circumstances, daily survival can depend on what He does in us and for us when we praise. Below are some quotes about praise that I love.

"I think God is especially honored when we offer a sacrifice of praise. He is glorified when we offer words of adoration wrenched from a pained and bruised heart... Most of the verses written about praise in God's Word were penned by man and women who faced crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other intolerable situations." Joni Eareckson Tada

"Praise is a declaration, a victory cry, proclaiming faith to stand firm in the place God has given you. Praise is a proclamation that the enemy's intent to plunder you will not rock you. Praise declares that you will not be moved by the enemy's attempt to snatch you away."

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. Ps. 50:23

Praise Him! Tell others about this promise of God.

ON THE WEATHER, remember the snow of Feb ' 07 in our area? How we need moisture now. Literally everything outside is covered in layers of dirt. Enjoy these pictures of the pretty snow two years ago. I Love you.

Blogging

I don't remember discovering blogs. My Munday friend, Wilma, may have sent me a link to hers. I don't even know anyone in Haskell who blogs. Maybe blogging is attractive only to particular personalities. One friend said she can't imagine sitting at the computer longer than she has to. I am not a sitter either but time can get away from me when I am reading the experiences posted on blogs. You know how you can talk to a complete stranger and realize immediately that you have the same Father? That is what I have experienced visiting blogs. People who have been doing this a while have listed links to the blogs they follow and anyone can click through these links, reading as much or little as you wish. I have "met" some wonderful people, read some amazing testimonies. Most of the time, when I pull up a believer's blog the first time, I realize right away this is my sister in Christ. The words on the screen bless. It may be a simple description of someone's thoughts as she cleaned house. Or she may share how God is sustaining through one of life's hurts. She may recite how God used a scripture in her life that day. Or pictures: yards (where people get rain), families celebrating , new babies, church services, homes. I like blogging.
As I expressed in previous post, I want to be transparent. God has reminded me of that statement several times and given me opportunities to be "clean all the way through" - or not. I want to use the computer screen with that intention.
I hope that in 2009, you are being drawn to more Bible study and time with Him, being compelled to live in the light of His love. I love you.

Here is a link - a testimony that would bless you. http://ruthlifestory.blogspot.com/ OR click on this link in the right column.

Happy Birthday Casey

Brian and I were married in 1974 and we were hoping for a baby by '76. I thought we'd be pregnant immediately but it didn't happen that way. After months and then years, I became very discouraged. I wasted some of our very limited dollars at the Dr.'s office every month, hoping I was pregnant. I broke several thermometers trying to take my temp when I first woke in the mornings. How I longed for a baby. I pleaded for God to send us a baby.
After examinations, a doctor told us the probability that we'd have children was slim. We began the process of adoption through Buckner Baptist Benevolences. We were attending a Sharing Group that was a result of God bringing people together at a Lay Witness Mission. God was truly at work in those evening get-togethers. One Bible teacher spoke directly to Brian and myself (He was visiting from another town and knew nothing about us.) saying that God was going to give us a baby. My spirit confirmed that this was a word from God but I had no problem continuing to pursue adoption. God could be sending us a baby through adoption. But Brian thought God was saying that we would give birth to a baby.
Our counselor from BBB told us we would have a baby before summer and we were making plans. We built a small house and a couple from the sharing group came by Brian's office with a house warming gift. I was not in the office and Brian didn't know where I was. I didn't know our friends were in the office or that they had brought a gift. I hadn't told Brian that I was making another trip to the doctor, just in case. And this time, the little slip from the lab had a different message.
I walked into Brian's office and handed him the slip from the lab that had "Positive" written in large letters from edge to edge, over all the other printing. He handed me the gift from our friends, a beautiful wooden plaque with scripture that said, "God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do?" We were thrilled. So thankful.
The next day or so, I called our counselor at BBB. It was the end of May, time for the baby they had matched to us. When I identified myself, she began to tell me how sorry she was, that there had been a change and that they would be working toward a new "match" for us and that we shouldn't get discouraged, etc. She was blessed to hear how God had a different plan.
Our first son was born in January, about six weeks early, when I had the flue. He was a healthy baby, but so skinny. He lost weight before he began to gain. My first baby, I thought he was a husky hunk of a man child and didn't realize how different a baby born at term is till I had my second. He has blessed us all these years. He walks with the Lord and we couldn't love him more. Here are a few pictures and don't tell him I put his scrawny, naked body on the WWW.

January 5th

If you can't quite see it, the title of his book is How To Diet...
I really mean it this year. I need to consider my health more seriously. And we have several special events. So, I must lose 25 pounds at minimum. Then, keep it off. I mean it. Really. I do.

We enjoyed a special time in our church Sunday. We heard about "encouraging ourselves in the Lord" as David did in the morning service. We returned at 4:00 to de-decorate. It didn't take as long to box decorations and store in the basement as it did to get out and put in place. We wanted to begin 2009 seeking God's wisdom so we decided to read the Proverbs aloud. Earlier in the week each volunteer reader had been given their chapters to read and pray over. There was something very special when each person stepped to the microphone and spoke God's Word from Proverbs. We read the first 16 chapters and then broke for a meal. We returned to the sanctuary and read the second half of the book and prayed.

"Holy words, long preserved for our walk in this world. They resound with God's own heart. Oh let the ancient words impart. Ancient Words, ever true. Changing me and changing you. We have come with open hearts. Oh let the ancient words impart."

Yes, Lord.

Two thousand and nine

I am thinking about a new year. My hopes create the image of a transparency. (I don't know the correct term for the piece of mylar that is used on the overhead projector.) My desire is that I will want to be transparently clean before Him, to get clean immediately when marked up. And I hope I will want to have that same transparency with others. Not artificial. Not insincere. Pure motives. Worldliness is wearisome. The scripture says that anything that is not of faith is sin. I want to please Him in 2009.

I bought a party sack of hats and noise makers thinking we'd celebrate with people on the 31st. I bought the sack, rather than the higher quality individuals because a lady was blowing, with her mouth, ALL the individual horns to see how they sounded. Well, we had no people around with whom to celebrate. Brian and I were in our home, reading, watching the news, and then praying around midnight. We didn't wear the hats. Friday we invited Kim's family and her visiting in-laws for a spur of the moment luncheon. We enjoyed playing with the hats, horns, and the blow-ey things that unroll into your face.

January 1, 2009