Today you should see my kitchen.... cupboard doors open, counters are filled up with dirty dishes, crumbs, rolling pin, kettles, and this 'n that... even some red Christmas balls, the radio is playing Christmas music. The house needs cleaning, but that'll wait until I get the mashed taters made... Oh, the pies are shoo fly pies and one ground cherry pie. My family is coming for Christmas dinner tomorrow afternoon... Ed/Lori... Kent/April, Sarah, Daniel, Tori, Hannah... So excited... Hubby is puttering around, he stretched out our table.. and he is putting our slides on computer...

I'll miss Conrad/Heidi/Alissa/Justin so much, but to know they are serving the Lord is a most wonderful gift.

I'm so thankful for God's gift to us...Jesus, His precious Son..Who'd a thunk it? We can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. Good Job, God!!!!!! Praise You.

I think of some of my dear friends who have lost loved ones recently, or who are in the process of loosing loved ones.. and that is difficult to ponder.

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I didn't spray very much of that pepper/mace stuff, but just know... if you are going to use it.... the intruder AND you are going to be coughing and hacking and be at various levels of disability... it goes both ways...unless the wind is very strong in your favor.

It's wonderful to have a young willing man, who happens to be an extended family member, whom I can call on the spur of the moment to shovel snow for two elderly people that I work for. His name? Joel Bontrager. And I do thank him from the bottom of my gizzard.

Conrad/Heidi and children will be leaving Portugal tomorrow and heading for Mozambique...Please pray that the children will stay healthy through all of the travel... They get motion sickness so easily. Also pray that luggage and personal items will arrive safely with no stealing, etc. It will be a long trip and many adjustments in the coming weeks....

We read in Scripture that Jesus went to pray.. He'd spend the night in prayer, or go to the mountain, etc. We see these art pieces that show Jesus looking serenely 'up' somewhere with his hands folded; He's praying.

Why did Jesus go to pray alone? And what went on there? Yes, He rested, I suppose. He talked with his Father, adored and received direction from his Father with Whom there was deep love and joy in relationship. According to Hebrews 4 & 5 there would have been prayers, petitions, loud cries, tears, reverent submission and learning obedience. He, most of all, would have known what temptation was all about.

So what does that have to do with me?

Read and relate if you can!!!!!!

Q: How many women with PMS does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: One. ONE!! And do you know WHY it only takes ONE? Because
no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb. They don't even know the bulb is BURNED OUT. They would sit in this house in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it OUT. And once they figured it out they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS. AND if by some miracle, they did find the light bulbs, TWO DAYS LATER the chair that they dragged from two rooms over to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE CRUMPLED WRAPPER THE STUPID LIGHT BULBS CAME IN! WHY?! BECAUSE NO ONE IN THIS HOUSE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12 FEET DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE. THE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS . . .
I'm sorry...what did you ask me?


I can read this and laugh, but I cannot relate. My hubby-wubby is not like this............ And besides I'm not PMSing anymore... I just do Senior Moments. And that's bad enough.

You know the man who was invalid for 38 years and was lying at the Bethesda pool, waiting for someone to help him get in the waters after they were stirred? Jesus came by:"Do you want to get well?" Did he answer Jesus?

Those lying around the pool are an example of mankind, those who need Jesus. He was healed physically, but not spiritually. Jesus spoke to him later and told him not to sin anymore unless something worse would happen to him. Spiritual healing is much more important than physical healing.

What would you want Jesus to do for you today to make you whole spiritually? What responsibility will you carry to prove your willingness?

Yesterday my second cousin told me she reads my xanga and it encourages her... Having her say that encouraged me greatly. I guess my Love Language is Words of Affirmation. But I also have all the other Love Languages in full measure. *LOL*... (sigh)

Maybe my daughter will put this on her Xanga..

Little Tori came to her the other day: "I hurt my feelings!"
April: (knowing by now what she means) "Where?"
Little Tori: (pointing to her toe) "Right there."

I've hurt my feelings, too, only it's not right there.

Today's Sunday School lesson is "Cultivating Noble Friendships". Of course, I'm going to emphasize BEING a noble friend.

We as women smile a lot and feel hurt if people don't smile back at us. We have intuition and can perceive 'the person' and don't know how we can. We just can.

We are nurturers. Physically we are equipped to carry babies under our heart and nurse them at our breasts. Emotionally, our hearts are full and can stretch beyond full for one more person.

But there is the dark side of being crazy-glued. We have this uncanny ability to draw circles and leave people out. We keep them tight and we could even be disloyal to dear friends to keep a circle intact.

The feminine sex deserves the reputation for back-stabbing. Men can be nasty, but women are vicious in words and actions. True, we can make ourselves vulnerable in relationships but then we also have more to tell.

As a Christian woman, are you driving your friend to God or are you roping them in to yourself?

There are times to be silent, but there are times to speak up. Are you holding the hand of your friend while they are plunging over the cliff? Maybe they are considering abortion, suicide.. maybe their marriage is dissolving..

These are some random thoughts that I've gotten from some notes I've kept down through the years.

Today I was at WalMart. A young girl around 3 years old hollering and fussing, following her mother who was marching ON. I went to my car which was half way down Row One. I could still hear her screaming.

Something is wrong about this picture.
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Thanks for the responses... I have much to learn