This morning, we woke up to news that a wonderful man from our church had passed away from cancer. He was a true servant and had helped in so many ways and so many areas in our church. You may know someone like him. He was a perpetual deacon, helped in boys' clubs a long time ago, and ran the Pinewood Derby at our church. He had built the track years ago and set it up every year. He put together ice fishing trips in January. He played bass in the praise team band. He even played bass during VBS for a few years. When our janitor got fired, he took the position part-time. He mowed the church lawn for a while. I'm sure that there is much more that he did... we will really miss him.
For the past 2 months, I've been driving for a local meal delivery service that brings lunches to seniors that need them. I deliver about 15 meals every Monday for an hour and a half. Today they just brightened my day. A newer client called me by name. I was briefly invited into two different homes (that I'd never been into before). One gal told me that she had a busy afternoon because she was going to the bank. I just enjoy getting to know these seniors, petting their dogs, and briefly chatting with the older ladies and men. Today God knew I would need their smiles, and that is what I got in return for my work.
I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy this when I began in mid-July... but it has been a great experience. Even though one week my van broke down and I needed a jump 20 minutes from home. Thankfully my son came through for me! My youngest daughter helped me 2 or 3 times in the summer. She was a great navigator. I hardly need the navigation anymore, since I am remembering how to get to the clients' homes. I miss her company though, she tells me stories!
Here is what my car looks like during my deliveries...
What kind of volunteering do you do? I'd love to hear about it and how it affects your life!
Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Acts 9:39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Acts 9:41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.
When I was young, my Dad was a garbage man in downtown Chicago. It was not a glamorous job by any means. Since there was so much traffic headed into the city, my Dad left our home at 4:30 a.m., so he could get an early start. Then he was always back home by 3:30 p.m. and he took a nap. He had other jobs when he was first married and out of the army. But then he got into the garbage business, and eventually owned his own garbage business.
My dad was and always has been a good businessman. He has sooo many stories about being on the garbage truck. When he first began his business, it was with his youngest brother. There were lots of stories about them being together. My uncle had been in the military too. My uncle was a really good shot with a baseball. One time he threw a snowball at a moving train, and it hit into the middle of an O in a word, just like he wanted to. My dad was amazed! Another time they found a bowling ball, and my uncle dribbled it down an alley and into a basketball hoop!🤣 They said it was REALLY loud!
Another time, they had stopped and gotten shakes at a fast food joint. My uncle, who had a beard during the winter, was drinking it at a stoplight. Of course, my Dad let off of the brake pedal (or popped the clutch), and my uncle spilled it all over his beard!
They dealt with a LOT of rats in the trash containers. My dad and his brother found baseball bats and would hit the rats when they came out of the trash after they opened the lid of the container. They have so many stories of stuff they did to control the rat population during their time as garbage men.
After a few years, they were able to buy another garbage truck. They picked up more customers and my uncle had his own route. Even though they had separate routes, they began together each morning and saw each other usually when their routes were done. When they were driving alone, they listened to the radio a lot. They talked to their customers, and bought things from them, like cherries or ice cream. My dad even took a Spanish class so he could learn to speak to some of his customers. My uncle came over to our house once a month and they did their customer billing together. I loved seeing my uncle. He always called me things like "sweetie" and "honey." I miss him.
On school holidays and occasional summer days, my Dad would let us (my brothers or me, one at a time) come and ride with him and "help" for the day on his truck. We liked it. It was nice to spend the day with my Dad. I never helped my uncle on his route, but my older brothers did. There were a few unsavory places that I won't mention, but they were just plain GROSS. Dad knew it was gross and had had several helpers puke at certain stops. He always gave us the option to stay in the truck, and sometimes I did.
He always wore work gloves to protect his hands. When I worked with him, I was probably 7 until age 11. He only had one size of work gloves, which of course was his size. Needless to say, they were very big on my little girl's hands. So most of the day I would keep my hands up so the gloves wouldn't fall off. Several of his customers thought I was so cute and gave me free bags of cherries or free ice cream. My Dad was disappointed because he always had to pay for those things! He paid me $5.00 a day to help him.
When I was about 10, my Dad bought a new garbage truck and had it painted blue. He had his friends paint phrases on it, which we thought were funny. One said "purveyors of used foods and exotic salads." EW! He always had Mack trucks, and I remember the bulldog on the front of his new truck being so shiny! The Mack truck always makes me think of the first "Cars" animated movie when Lightning McQueen's tuck that drives him is a Mack truck (not a Peterbilt!)
We moved away from Chicago when I was almost 12. My Dad sold his garbage business and had another very successful business and jobs. But I'll never forget his stories or the days that I worked with him on the garbage truck.
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Isaiah 64:8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
John 5:16-18 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense, Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.
We are nearly done teaching our 2nd child, our one and only son to drive. He will get his license at the end of the week, on his birthday (but he will be 17). I was telling my husband today, that we are halfway there...
Sing it with me... 🎶 "Oh, we're halfway there, Ohhh, living on a prayer..." 🎶 😁
My son driving... I'm very thankful for my husband, who really did the bulk of the teaching. He is a better driver than me, I admit it. The kids would drive with me after he had already taken them out several times, and after they finished driver's ed. Both of our teens have been good drivers (so far!). There have been a few times when I got nervous with them driving, but for the most part, I really enjoyed having them chauffeur me around. I will miss the conversations that we had while driving to school, band, or classes.
I have memories of learning to drive too. I am the third child, I have two older brothers. One of my brothers was pretty difficult to teach to drive, and my parents still talk about him. Both of my brothers got into car accidents as teens, involving black ice, hills, ditches, etc., I have been in minor accidents, mainly. My accidents were being rear-ended, backed into, a ding here or there.
The day he got his driver's permit
I remember my Dad bringing me to the industrial park, which was very slow, on a Sunday afternoon. We also parked A LOT. ("Every time you drive, you need to park.") We parked in a lot of spaces at the mall, driving around very slowly. I didn't like driving in the beginning, it made me nervous. After my dad taught me a while, I took driver's ed in the summer. I drove for several more months with my parents (even stalling our full-size van at the bottom of a hill!). I didn't get my license until I was almost seventeen.
When I first had my license, I sped a lot (I am not proud of this now, though). I got my first ticket when I picked up my friend on the way to school. It was not a normal route for me, and there was a school zone that I forgot about. I got a ticket for going 35 in a 25, OOPS!! It was okay to drive your friends around then, right after you got your license. Now they have you wait to do that for 6 months, which I think is wise. Another ticket I got on the way back to college from my parents' house. I was driving fast, maybe 70 in a 55? I was close to losing my license then, and I took defensive driving. I did slow down more after that.
Now I rarely speed. It isn't worth it, plus I am more of a rule-follower now. I trust the city planners and Dept. of Transportation who make the limits for the roads. I definitely slowed down after I had babies in the car. One thing that bothers me though, is when I go the speed LIMIT and people act like that is the slowest that you should go. No, limit means that is the HIGHEST you should go.
Getting your license is a privilege, a rite of passage for a teenager. I just wish they would stop getting so old? Where does the time go? My babies are turning into wonderful young men and women. I love them so much. I'm so thankful that God gave them to us. I just wish it wasn't so challenging to let them go, to let them learn and grow and change. But that is part of parenting, just like feeding and clothing them. I know I will enjoy them as adults. Right now, I will enjoy the children that I have with me, and hug them all the more. What a blessing to be their mom!
I love this comic-- "Strange Planet" cracks me up!
What memories do you have about driving, or learning to drive? Have you ever taught anyone to drive? I'd love to hear about it!
Romans 13:1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Exodus 6:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
Matthew 12:28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Many years ago, my husband and I traveled to Estes Park, CO for a Christian music conference. It was a delightful time away from home, but we missed our kids. While we were there, we attended a songwriter's showcase, with one of our favorite Christian artists, Chris Rice. (If you don't know his songs, please listen to "Lemonade" and "Smell the Color 9.") We were inspired to write song lyrics. I'm not a writer, but I was inspired then.
I am a word-lover. I love word games. I am a good speller. I love grammar. I was not an English major in college, but sometimes I wish I could have been! In high school and college, my friends always asked me how to spell everything. If you wanted the thesaurus, you asked another friend. 😁
Anyway... When we left the showcase, there was a huge torrential downpour of rain. It was a real "gully-washer." That rain was coming down quickly! It was one of those times when the sky just opened up and beat down rain. I mean, a bigtime downpour! What struck me about that time was watching the rain rinse and clean everything. There was no more dirt on the blacktop roads. There was no more dirt on the sidewalks, it was all washed away by this rain! The leaves on the trees were clean. Of course, our shoes got clean too! Thankfully we had an umbrella and made it back to our room safely.
There are not many things that I remember about our time in Estes Park. I remember hummingbirds at a feeder there, fighting for the food in the feeder. I remember seeing Chris Rice perform in concert. I remember hearing and meeting Sarah Kelly, a singer-songwriter. And I remember the rainstorm. This all happened about 14 years ago, so it must have been quite the rainstorm, am I right?
There have been many times that I have thought about that song, and what I wrote. If I really dig, I'm sure I can find the lyrics somewhere. I know it was about the cleansing rain. Just seeing the rain clean the ground, reminded me of God, and how he cleans our hearts. If we open our heart to Him, He will come in and cleanse us. He can take away the dirt, grime, and darkness of our sin in our hearts and lives. He can renew us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And only God in heaven, through Jesus His Son, can remove the old and make us new. (Read verses below. If you are interested in learning more about this, I am happy to talk to you. Please contact me!)
The problem with the cleansing rain idea was that Michael W. Smith's song "Healing Rain" had just come out. I knew I couldn't compete with the likes of Michael W. Smith with a similar song called "Cleansing Rain." But I still remember the idea and the time when I was inspired to write a Christian song.
What about you? Have you ever been inspired to write a song? I've written other poems, some of which you can find on my blog under the tab to the right called "Poems and Quotes."
Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
One of my favorite stories that my mom tells me is the one of how I was born and how my name came to be mine. There is nothing gruesome here, I promise. Nothing embarrassing. Just a nice story, It's ok... keep reading!
My dad is one of 5 boys (one died after birth), and I have two older brothers. (or bothers, as I typed... haha!) My parents figured that they would have all boys. When my mom was pregnant with my oldest brother, she was trying to find a girl name that they liked. There weren't many that they agreed on. My mom worked at a hospital, and she found the name Jill. They both liked that one. Then they had to find a middle name. Again, it was a tough process.
My mom put a basket at the nurse's station, and she asked for middle names to go with Jill. Finally someone put in the middle name Suzanne, and that was the one! They didn't use it with my oldest brother, then the didn't use it with my second brother either.
When I was born, they announced it was a girl. My dad started to cry. My mom asked what he thought, to say something. He said, "I can't... I'm crying!" How sweet is that?!
Reportedly on the way home, my oldest brother who was in kindergarten, sang the ABC's to me.
My parents also told me that when my first girl cousin was born, he didn't believe it when they told him it was a girl. He had to see for himself! He went on to have 3 out of 4 nieces in that one family, and when I was almost 10, my younger sister was born! So my dad, one of 5 boys, ended up having 3 boys and 2 girls of his own.
I thank God often for my family, what a blessing they are to me!
Writing prompt #4: Tell the story of your birth.
Genesis 21:1-3 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
Deuteronomy 32:18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
1 Samuel 2:21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
When I was younger, I didn't get much money. We didn't get allowance, and didn't have any way to work for money. That was ok, my mom would give us coins to spend at the corner store for Bazooka bubble gum. It was 5¢ for a piece, and it had a little comic wrapped around it. We didn't go shopping a lot, except for groceries, so I didn't have a chance to spend much either.
I had two older brothers, and they had paper routes. My oldest brother loved the Hobby store, and they bought lots of rockets and supplies there. My brothers also had model trains, and they made a huge board for it, with little trees, rocks, and even a volcano that worked. It was pretty cool. I was content to ride my bike, play at the park, and play Barbies with my friends. I did like being with my older brothers, but they usually liked to have me run bases for them. They could throw their baseball much faster than I could run between them, so I got winded pretty quickly.
One summer when I was ten, my brothers got an opportunity to deliver a bunch of papers to apartment houses. I think the papers were mostly classified ads, but if we delivered a bunch of them, we got paid for it. They got me to help them, and gave me a little bit of the money. (Which I probably spent on gum or candy at the corner store!)
We were walking outside the apartments, between the apartment houses with my mom's friend Lynn. We walked across this one driveway, and there was some cash lying on the ground. I picked it up and fingered through it, it was ELEVEN dollars, that was a lot of money back in 1983. ;-D I gave it to my mom's friend, and she said she would see if she could find out who it belonged to, and return it. Well, after several days, nobody claimed the money. So Lynn gave the money to me!
I felt so lucky! I had not been alone when I found the money, but just happened to be the one who found the money! I don't remember what I spent the money to buy, I may have put it into my savings account. My parents placed an importance on saving money, so I bet that's what happened with all or most of the cash.
I told my kids and nieces and nephews, it pays to look down! ;-D You never know when you will find some money lying on the ground, even if it is only a penny. You save your pennies, someday you'll be rich!
What about you? Have you ever found money? Share about it in the comments!
#5. Share a childhood story about a time you got lucky.
Matthew 17:27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Luke 15:8-9 [ The Parable of the Lost Coin ] “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’
When you're a kid, you get scared at silly things, right? Well, having shows on TV like "Scooby Doo" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost" didn't help! What child born in the 80's didn't watch or at least see those two shows? I know my older brothers and I watched Scooby Doo often. It's funny to me that my kids watch the same show now, and I laugh when they talk about "if it weren't for those meddling kids..." It's basically the same plot in every show!
So I knew about ghosts. Halloween was filled with ghosts-- think kids dressed in white sheets-- which were so creepy to me. My older brothers liked to scare me and probably said things like "Ooo-ooo!" I don't remember exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised. My parents even liked to jump out and scare each other in the dark.
I was the firstborn girl in my house and was quite privileged to have my *own room* for 10 years. I was the envy of my two older brothers because they had to share their bedroom! I remember my Mom having me clean my room, and I stuffed everything in the closet and under the bed. Which worked until she opened the bulging closet... I wonder how she knew... she probably walked by and saw me doing it! (Now that I am a mother, I know these things, also I can hear them...)
I had a "big" full-sized bed in my olive green room. I had olive green furniture, purchased from my uncle's juvenile furniture store. I had a large corner desk (read: hard to move), a six-drawer dresser, matching headboard and shelf unit which I had pieces of even after we were married. They had white laminate tops.
So I would lay in my bed at night, in my room alone. I had a high window. Sometimes the moon would shine just right, and illuminate my closet on the other wall. It was just enough light so that the white clothes had an eerie glow. I did not like this. I just KNEW there was a white ghost in there, just waiting to come out and scare little me!
My main remedy for this, when calling mom and dad didn't help, was to close the closet doors. I mean, then the ghosts couldn't get out. I think I knew they were clothes, but who could be sure?! Closing the doors was the only remedy.
When my oldest daughter was younger, Monsters, Inc. came out and we saw it on video. Cute movie, except of course for the one time that the monster SCARES the girl! Ruined the whole movie for us. Nightmares for months. Ugh. Thanks, Pixar for that fun. But monsters do live in closets...
Even now, I have a *thing* now about my closet doors being closed at night. And my children's closet doors are always closed too. They can't even get scared about ghosts in their closets. But then, my middle daughter says the curtains have creepy shapes...
My closet doors are closed every night, mostly out of habit. My hubby teases me, but I can't leave them open unless it's maybe an inch. I know there are no ghosts, but it just looks nicer that way... (wink, wink)
When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
(He must have been illuminated like a light!)
Luke 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Jesus)
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Several months ago, I got new glasses that I had to wear ALL of the time. I had originally gotten glasses when I was 21, but I mostly wore them to drive and see far away. Last year, I started noticing closer things getting blurry, and I was not happy about it. After a few months of trying to read my Bible and squinting, I got my eyes checked. Sure enough, I needed a new prescription. I got glasses online from zennioptical.com, and I have really liked the frames that I got.
Here are a few things I have learned since getting glasses full time...
1. What it feels like to open the hot dishwasher and not be able to see for a moment, because my glasses got steamed up.
2. How annoying it is to have fingerprints (or nose prints) on them, and that a good glasses cleaning cloth is needed in my pocket or purse at all times.
3. The times where I need to change from sunglasses to glasses and back, and forgetting my glasses in the car several times...sigh.
4. The feeling of glasses sliding down my nose, ALL day long. My nose is greasy, and yes they are adjusted well, they just slide.
5. How my glasses fog up when going outside in the cold.
6. My eye makeup does not get seen very easily anymore, even my hubby can hardly see my eye shadow. Good thing I don't wear it too often!
7. When I take my glasses off, my kids tell me I "look weird."
8. Glasses in the rain are just not fun. Spots, spots, spots...
9. Taking flash photos with them on always leaves a little reflective glint.
10. I still forget to put them on in the morning, and occasionally forget to take them off when I need to!
11. Crying with glasses is an experience... off, on, off, on, okay, I'll just leave them off!
I know I could get contacts, but I really don't like putting my fingers in my eyes. So for now, I'm rocking my glasses!
My Dad tried them on too! haha
Genesis 33:10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.
Mark 8:23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”
John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”
In my college days, I was an R.A. (Resident Assistant) in the dorms for three years. Most of the time I enjoyed the job. In my first year as an R.A., (when my future hubby was my Resident Director!) I lived on the second floor. Late one weekend night, I was off-duty and sleeping in my room just down the hall from the stairwell door. I was not sleeping hard, as was often the case in the dorms. They were always loud until after 2:00 a.m. on the weekends. Since I was an R.A., I slept with one ear open most of the time. It was quite tiring. At times I was a counselor, at times a discipline enforcement officer, other times a friend laughing with the girls on my floor. I was always good with names, and I knew many of the residents that lived in my dorms.
This particular night, I believe it was spring. I don't remember what I had done that evening, but I do remember this incident. I had gone to the bathroom, and all looked quiet. A few minutes later, I heard a crash near the stairwell. I didn't get up because I figured someone had fallen on the stairs, probably carrying something. I heard some laughter and exclamations from some guys. I didn't sleep, feeling like I needed to check outside my room. I opened my door, while in my pajamas, and looked into the hallway. Much to my dismay, there was the exit sign about the door to the stairwell, hanging off the ceiling, broken. AAH!?!! Sigh. If I had gotten up when I heard the noise, and spoken up then, I might have caught the people who broke the sign. I called my R.D. Joshua at the time and we later had it repaired. Oh well...
It's not a good memory, but I learned a lesson that night. If you hear something odd, go check on it. It has served me well as a mother to my children. I check on them often in the night if I hear crying or whimpering. My hubby will check too, if he hears the kids. God has His own ways of preparing us for what lies ahead, using our experiences in the past to form who we are today. Was there a time you wished you had spoken up or done something differently? What did you learn from it?
3.) Describe a time when you wish you had spoken up.
Proverbs 31:9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Luke 6:45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Acts 25:18-19 When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. 19 Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.
Several months ago, I was entering a store and I saw a bird. It flew nearby me as I walked along the sidewalk. As I drew nearer to the store, the bird flew into the window! Aw, poor bird! I watched as the bird fell to the ground and flailed around briefly before I went into the store. I began to think about the bird, and how we as humans feel that way sometimes. We are just flying along when BAM! Something stops up in our tracks, we lay flailing (metaphorically) on the hard, cold cement.
Just this past week, I felt that way as I heard the news of the horrible shooting in Newtown, CT. Poor, innocent children who were attending school on a Friday, same as they had every week for the past few months. But they would not come home that Friday. I have tried to make sense of it, and there is just no real reason. Why a school? We don't know. Little six and seven-year-old children who had done nothing to the evil coward who killed them. So unexpected, shocking...
And then, two thousand years ago, a young woman's plans were derailed when she had a dream. The LORD appeared to her, and announced that her life would forever be changed. She would become the mother of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Most High God. She may have likely been shocked, stunned at this unexpected news. What was the young servant's response to this news? "May it be to me as You have said."(Luke 1:38) Would I have reacted the same way? I'm not sure. I hope so. Food for thought in this Christmas season.
The best part of my first story? The bird was jumping, hopping and beginning to fly around when I left the store. I have a feeling that we will recover from this shocking news too. God may even have something special planned in the midst of it.
(The third story taken from a portion of our Sunday sermon, shared by our pastor at our church.)
Luke 1:26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God.Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
When I was in 8th grade, my brothers had a friend that was their age. This friend was kind of a leftover hippie, and he dressed in some outrageous clothes. He had a fantastic clown costume that I really liked. For Halloween, I asked him if I could borrow it, and he let me! For the costume, I used my own purple plaid shirt, but everything else in the costume was his: crazy pink and orange pants, forest green plaid blazer, hot pink Hawaiian tie, red clown nose and rainbow hair wig. :-D I painted my own face with a big red smile, blue around my eyes and white on my cheeks and forehead. I don't know what the white button on my lapel says...
I loved it. I don't remember if I wore the costume to school or not. I do remember my face paint being itchy. I remember trick or treating with my brother (not pictured) and sister, who are 7 and 10 years younger than me. My sister and her friend had the same "Baby Kermit" costume with a green Kermit mask. They are in the picture with me. I think my sister is the one on the left. My sister had green gloves and an orange pumpkin bucket for her candy. I had a plastic trash bag. Aren't we cute? You almost can't tell it's me! :-D
Writer's Prompt #5: Describe a favorite Halloween costume that you once wore.
1 Peter 3:3-5
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.
Titus 3:8
This is a trustworthy saying.And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Miss Kooyenga was new and pretty. She had medium-brown, feathered hair. She lived in the "teacherage" nearby the school. The teacherage was a building with three or four small apartments, usually for newer teachers to live in. Sometimes I'd see Miss Kooyenga (a single woman) walking to her home from the school when I was playing with my friend Dawn. Dawn lived on one side of our Christian elementary school, (nearer the teacherage) and I lived the other direction a few blocks.
I enjoyed third grade and Miss Kooyenga's class. Miss K's class was much better than the alternative: a meaner, older woman that we all breathed easier knowing we weren't in her class. One of my older brothers had that mean teacher, and I was so glad it wasn't me. I kinda felt sorry for my friends in her class.
I enjoyed most of the subjects in my 3rd grade class: Geography, Bible, Science, Spelling (a subject which I was good in) Reading, Library, Gym class. But I particularly enjoyed cursive handwriting. It was fun to glide along the paper making the fancier, swirling letters.
One day, all of the kids were asking Miss Kooyenga after lunch who had the best handwriting in the class. "Is it me?"I wondered. "Surely not"... I thought. but she said yes, it was Jill. I was so happy to be the best in something in my class! It was me! It was a tag that I would carry the rest of the year.
Isn't it interesting that I still enjoy writing in cursive to this day? I still remember the positive, encouraging event, so it must have made an impression!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
John 8:7-9
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
This story is one that I like from the Children's Book of Virtues Edited by William Bennett. I like the idea that children can be taught good manners, sometimes from each other, and sometimes from parents. I nearly always say, "Please" when I ask my children to complete a task or be kind in our home. I think if we can't be kind to the ones we love the most, why would we be kind to others? I hope that my children grow to see the value of manners, and that I tried in big and little ways to teach them!
Please by Alicia AspinwallGood children learn good manners (sometimes from their brothers and sisters).
Webster's defines our manners as our "morals shown in conduct." Good people stick to good manners, as this story from a turn-of-the-century reader reminds us.
There was once a little word named "Please," that lived in a small boy's mouth. Pleases live in everybody's mouth, though people often forget they are there.
Now, all Pleases, to be kept strong and happy, should be taken out of the mouth very often, so they can get air. They are like little fish in a bowl, you know, that come popping up to the top of the water to breathe.
The Please I am going to tell you about lived in the mouth of a boy named Dick; but only once in a long while did it have a chance to get out. For Dick, I am sorry to say, was a rude little boy; he hardly ever remembered to say "Please."
"Give me some bread! I want some water! Give me that book!" — that is the way he would ask for things.
His father and mother felt very bad about this. And, as for the poor Please itself, it would sit up on the roof of the boy's mouth day after day, hoping for a chance to get out. It was growing weaker and weaker every day.
This boy Dick had a brother, John. Now, John was older than Dick — he was almost ten; and he was just as polite as Dick was rude. So his Please had plenty of fresh air, and was strong and happy.
One day at breakfast, Dick's Please felt that he must have some fresh air, even if he had to run away. So out he ran — out of Dick's mouth — and took a long breath. Then he crept across the table and jumped into John's mouth!
The Please-who-lived-there was very angry.
"Get out!" he cried. "You don't belong here! This is my mouth!"
"I know it," replied Dick's Please. "I live over there in that brother mouth. But alas! I am not happy there. I am never used. I never get a breath of fresh air! I thought you might be willing to let me stay here for a day or so — until I felt stronger."
"Why, certainly," said the other Please, kindly. "I understand. Stay, of course; and when my master uses me, we will both go out together. He is kind, and I am sure he would not mind saying 'Please' twice. Stay, as long as you like."
That noon, at dinner, John wanted some butter; and this is what he said:
"Father, will you pass me the butter, please — please?"
"Certainly," said the father. "But why be so very polite?"
John did not answer. He was turning to his mother, and said,
"Mother, will you give me a muffin, please — please?"
His mother laughed.
"You shall have the muffin, dear; but why do you say 'please' twice?"
"I don't know," answered John. "The words seem just to jump out, somehow. Katie, please — please, some water!
"This time, John was almost frightened.
"Well, well," said his father, "there is no harm done. One can't be too 'pleasing' in this world."
All this time little Dick had been calling, "Give me an egg! I want some milk. Give me a spoon!" in the rude way he had. But now he stopped and listened to his brother. He thought it would be fun to try to talk like John; so he began,
"Mother, will you give me a muffin, m-m-m-?"
He was trying to say "please"; but how could he? He never guessed that his own little Please was sitting in John's mouth. So he tried again, and asked for the butter.
"Mother, will you pass me the butter, m-m-m-?"
That was all he could say.
So it went on all day, and everyone wondered what was the matter with those two boys. When night came, they were both so tired, and Dick was so cross, that their mother sent them to bed very early.
But the next morning, no sooner had they sat down to breakfast than Dick's Please ran home again. He had had so much fresh air the day before that now he was feeling quite strong and happy. And the very next moment, he had another airing; for Dick said,
"Father, will you cut my orange, please?" Why! the word slipped out as easily as could be! It sounded just as well as when John said it — John was saying only one "please" this morning. And from that time on, little Dick was just as polite as his brother.
Picture with me, if you will. I am about 10 years old. I have two older brothers at home, and we bicker and fight frequently. I also have a younger brother & sister, ages 6 months and almost 3. They are quite fun, and I do play with them. There are times of the day when we get a little crazier than others. One such time was in the hour before bedtime.
I do not recall why we were disagreeing. Perhaps it was because we wanted to watch different television shows. Perhaps my brothers were teasing me, as they were prone to do. They were known for ganging up on me and getting me to scream, which got us all into trouble.
My poor mother had two little ones and three bigger children at home. We were not all old enough to be grounded, but too old to be spanked. My mom was a pretty good disciplinarian, and was always looking for ways to be creative in this endeavor. She had heard of a new thing to try, and found it to work for us. One evening however, she didn't know how it would backfire.
We were sent outside to walk around the block after our episode of bickering. My mom must've been tired of hearing us. My two brothers grabbed their jackets and ran outdoors quickly. I dawdled a little more, got my light jacket, found a flashlight (it was dusk) and zipped up my coat. I ventured outside and walked alone, humming to myself. We lived in the suburbs of Chicago and had square blocks back then. Here in 2012, we do not have square blocks in the outskirts of our Colorado town.
I walked alone outside, bobbing the flashlight up and down, probably humming a song. Bob up, bob down. I did not see my brothers. They had run on ahead together. On the far side of our block, there were some tall bushes. As I approached the bushes, I thoroughly checked them over with my flashlight. Seeing nothing but bushes, I began to walk past them.
You can imagine my literal surprise when my two older brothers jumped out from behind the bushes, "AAAAHHH!!!" They said. I screamed, and jumped off the ground at least three feet. I began to cry immediately. They laughed, but I had hurt my knees when I landed so hard, and was genuinely scared. They picked me up, dusted me off and we walked home together. They reenacted the scene from their point of view, and made me laugh imitating my look of surprise.
I had never been so surprised and scared in my entire life, and maybe not since then. Leave it to older brothers to scare you half to death! I forgave them, but it was tough since I was so scared...
Have you ever been so scared? Was there someone or something that scared you? I'd like to hear all about it!
Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
I know, it's an unusual song to begin a blog message with, but bear with me. I have an interesting, funny story to tell.
This past Wednesday, our family learned of a dear friend from church that was dying-- heard first thing in the morning. It made for a long, tough day... I was busy all day with laundry, homeschool, the usual cleaning, cooking, straightening... ( and chickens dying too...) I didn't nap that Wednesday, although I did lie down with our youngest daughter and rest. She slept sooo sweetly on my arm, it was hard to pull myself away.
My son had a baseball game that night, and my husband had music practice at church. We dropped him at church, since he had brought our minivan in for service and had left his car there after he picked up the van. We (4 kids and I) went to the baseball game, which was very windy, chilly and busy. I kept track of my two little girls while helping in the dugout. We went home about 8:20 and I got the three girls to bed. I waited a little while for my hubby and son to get home. When they did, my son told me that they lost the baseball game. :( Oh well, you win some and you lose some... My husband and I talked for a little while about our friend, things that had happened at work, how the near widow was... sigh.
It was the 16th of the month, and we went, with heavy hearts, to the grocery store. We needed to stock the partially empty pantry and fridge, since we were running out of the usual staples. I grabbed my coupon binder, purse and canvas bags. We had told our 13-year-old daughter that we were off to the store and left her with a phone nearby in case an emergency arose.
When we arrived at the store, it was about 10:00. We are known for being "night owls" and have found it a lovely quiet time to shop in the evenings without small children. We joke that it is a "date night" where we enjoy the music and laughing at the store with each other. As we arrived at the store, my hubby's phone rang. It was his father, so I went into the store and shopped the first few aisles without him.
In our local supermarket, the lights dim at 10:00, so it was partially dark as I wound my way through the aisles. My hubby joined me as I gathered items we needed, a few things we wanted, and found coupons for several items from my binder. When we were in the dairy section, Joshua got another phone call and it was a fellow pastor from church. We giggled about listening to the Eagles singing, "Standin' On a Corner in Winslow, Arizona" and the other old music that they play over the store speaker. We passed the ice cream, gathered some coconut ice milk (since I had a coupon) and went to the toilet paper aisle, when the phone call ended.
As we went to the check-out lanes, my sweetie mentioned that he'd seen the Klondike bars were on sale, and that sounded good. We went to the registers, and the checker informed us that we had to go through the U-Scan since she was the only checker available to help everyone. So, we winced and began the process of the self checkout. I don't mind the self checkout normally, but when you have over 100 items to purchase, it is a drag. We agreed and slowly scanned each item, placed them in our own bags, and then I ran to grab Klondike bars at my hubby's urging. After they were scanned, Joshua went to pay by credit card (since we get rewards that way). As he went to sign on the signature pad, he pulled it to adjust the angle and broke it. We all three (checker included) tried to get the signature pad to work. No luck. Checker called the night foreman, he couldn't do anything.
Then she tells us the bad news... We have to cancel the order and scan everything again. Sigh. She offers to run it all through a checkout lane this time, so we traipsed over and began unloading our full cart again. As we unloaded, the checker offers to give us free ice cream. So the Klondike Bars, in the package of six were FREE.
After loading our bags into the car at nearly 11:30, I began to giggle about the Klondike Bars we were eating on the way home. What would you do... for a free Klondike Bar? Would you check out your groceries twice? We giggled about it on the way home, and decided that we had fun and were glad to be done. I'm glad that my hubby was with me, so I didn't have to endure that crazy process alone! We hoped we were a light in the lost world to the frazzled checker that helped us late that evening!
--------------------------------------- John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Genesis 42: 6-10 "Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreamsabout them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 10 “No, my lord, ” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies. ”"
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