THOUGHTS FROM DR. BOB (our pastor)

This is Jennifer's son, Zack,
graduating from high school.

It is the time of year that high school graduates and
college graduates receive the reward for their
accomplishments. As I read Dr. Bob's message
from the church's newsletter, I thought of
the day, our graduation day,
when all of the Christians will
receive their reward.

"Because of Christ's victory over death when He rose from the grave
we know with assurance that when this life is past
we will be affirmed by the One who saved,
gifted, and empowered us.

The Rewards Bestowed:

The Incorruptible Crown, I Cor. 9:25
which is the mastery over the old man;

The Crown of Rejoicing, I Thessalonians 2:19
relating to soul winners;

A Crown of Life, James 1:12
for thoses who have endured trials,

A Crown of righteousness, 2 Timothy 4:8
for those who love our Lord's appearing;

A crown of Glory, I Peter 5:4
for being willing to feed God's people on the
Word of God."

As graduating seniors throw their hats into the air,
so will we cast our crowns at His feet.
What a day that will be!!!!!!!

FOXES IN YOUR GARDENS

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines."
-- Song of Solomon 2:15

A little thorn may cause much suffering. A little cloud may hide the
sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do mischief to the
tender heart. These little sins burrow in the soul, and make it so full
of that which is hateful to Christ, that he will hold no comfortable
fellowship and communion with us. A great sin cannot destroy a
Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk
with his people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, "If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my
Father's commandments and abide in his love."
BY: CHARLES SPURGEON

BLOGGER NEWS

The oldest blogger in the world died.
You can go to her blog which is in Spanish,
but translated below.

Her URL is
amis95.blogspot.com

Bloggers don't die,
they just log off!

DRIVE-THROUGH CHURCH

HIGH JUMPING BUNNIES

I am house sitting this week for our neighbors.
Every day I walk around, check the doors, make sure
no packages have been left on the front porch, and
make sure that no bunnies have broken down the fences.

The reason for the chairs barricading the deck is so that
the bunnies who have been known to hop up on the deck,
squeeze through the railing, and jump down into the
flower garden can no longer get to their jumping off place.

You can see that fencing is around everything
even on top of walls because these bunnies are high jumpers!

The reason it looks like a prison around here is because
bunnies have jumped up on this wall and into this garden.

Can you believe it????
This wall is not low at all.
Concrete blocks had to be put on top of the wall
to discourage them from jumping up.

Do you think that our bunnies have been bred with
JACK RABBITS?

Excuse me while I go check my charge.
I hope that I do not see a break through.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Today is Ben and Ainsley's wedding anniversary.
They have been married nine years.

Yesterday their furniture arrived in Virginia Beach
so today they are probably unpacking. I think that
Dylan will be glad that the movers brought his bed.

Ainsley is from Virginia Beach, and she so loves her
beach town. My header today shows Ben taking a
video of Wyatt walking the beach.

Ainsley is expecting their next baby boy
in July. This summer is full of some exciting events
for them. I am sure that a picnic on the beach will be one.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BEN AND AINSLEY!

THE JOHN STUMBO STORY

Remember a while back I asked you to pray for
Pastor John Stumbo.

You can go here to listen to his story.

BACKYARD SANCTUARY

I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
I was sitting at the table reading Colossians this morning,
when I noticed some movement outside my window.
I glanced up and there waltzing across my yard in the rain
was a beautiful male mallard!

I jumped up thinking,
where is my camera?

When I finally found it,
I could not see the mallard.
I put on my shoes and quietly opened the sliding door.
I peaked around the corner of the house to look
towards the fish pond. Sure enough, that was where
he was heading for a drink of water.
I had to wait a moment for him to come out where I could
get a good look at him.

The rabbits do not want to be left out of the photo shoot.
I knew that it would not be long before one of them
would be in the picture too.




I was dressed ready to go to the Farmer's Market
but it kept raining harder. I decided that I would skip
the market today. I would stay home, wash clothes,
do the ironing and pay bills. That is what I did.
Rainy days aren't too bad!

MEMORIAL DAY FLEA MARKETS

Every Memorial Day our neighborhood has garage sales.
I had been up since 5 AM making scalloped potatoes
and strawberry pie when I looked out the window
before 7 AM and saw these ladies. Then I knew
the garage sales had begun because these people
do not live in my neighborhood.

After walking around to some garage sales,
Alan and I went to the park to the Flea Market.

Alan is in the yellow shirt.
I followed him through the crowds.

I had no intention of buying anything today,
but when I saw this doll, I just had to have her.

When I was a little girl my mother's friend
had a doll like this one laying on her bed.
It had a circle skirt that rounded above her head.
The lady would tell me this,
"Now, Cheryl, you may look at her, but you may not touch her!"

When the lady left the room, I had to see what this dolls legs
looked like and I had to feel her hair. Her dress was the
most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Every time I went to Marie Lawhorn's house,
I had to go look at the doll on her bed.

I have never seen a doll like this one again.
I look at every Flea Market, but I have never seen one
until today. Alan kept talking to the man till he got the man
to say that he would take less for the doll than he was asking.
Needless to say, I was a happy girl!

Another thing I have been looking for is one of these.
They start at $85. No way in the world would I ever
pay $85 for one of these. My grandmother had one
sitting on her dresser when I was a child and I loved it!
When she died and they divided up her things, I did not get
any thing but I would love to have had the little girl
and the porcelain hands that sat on her dresser.

When I saw this one at the Flea Market today and
it had $10.00 on it, I thought, WHAT?
Then, I looked closer.
It has a broken finger.
The man took $3. for her.
I think I can make a finger for her.

The cute little dusty clock was free.
It might be cute somewhere.
If not, it will be free to someone next year.

Also, our Hen and Chicken plants died over the winter
so we bought these for $1.

Someone said to plant the little white plant to keep the bunnies
away. I will try ANYTHING!

We had a fun day!

MEMORIAL DAY LUNCH

We had a great meal today, and it didn't take long at all
to put together to eat. As soon as we came home from
the Flea Markets, we put some chicken on the grill
and opened up the other food.

I had made green bean salad yesterday so that was ready.

Melon was ripe and tasted good!

Grapes are always a refreshing fruit on a hot day.

We can not have a holiday without scallop potatoes!
I put these in the oven at 6 AM this morning.

Just pass the whipped cream!
I made this pie in the wee hours of the morning.

Believe it or not, we are going to have left overs
for supper!
YUM!

MEMORIAL DAY 2009

This is the day that's set aside to remember
with gratitude and pride all those who served and died
for country and for our freedom.

May your day be filled with memories and peace.

MOVING ON

Our son, Ben and wife, Ainsley, are moving to Virginia Beach today.
I talked to him a little while ago and they had about two more
hours of driving before they would arrive. The moving van
picked up their stuff on Friday so it is enroute.

Dylan woke up this morning and wanted to sleep in his own bed.
Ainsley told him that the movers took his bed.
He said, "Bad movers!"
Ainsley said, "No, they are taking your bed to Virginia Beach
for you to sleep in there." Dylan said, "Oh, Okay!"
They will live in the same town as their grandmother
so I think he and Wyatt will adjust to this move just fine.

SUNDAY MORNING SPIREA

Before heading out to church this morning
I noticed down in the corner of the yard
that the spirea bush was in full bloom.
I put on my garden shoes, grabbed my
point and shoot and took a picture.

I think that if we leave this bush alone,
it will cascade. I would rather have it point
to the clouds. It looks so artistic.

I am looking forward to going to church again this morning.
We will be greeting people as they come into the main
doors. Alan will be selling tickets at a table
after the morning service for a Father and Son Breakfast.
Chad will be going to the house of the leader of the Aspens
for dinner after church.

I hope that you assemble yourselves with other believers
this morning. We also need to pray for ourselves and our
country.

THE VINEYARD

FAMILY

(My sister and brother-in-law)
We were so excited when my sister called and said that she and her husband
were going to come out to visit us. We had not seen them for five years.
I only have one sister and she really took care of me when I was little
and she has taken care of me even after I grew up.

They had to drive eight hours to get here, and they had beautiful
weather coming out and going back. They stayed over night
and went home today.

When my sister walks in the door, so does Christmas, because
she brings along so much stuff. She brought coffee for Alan,
food for Chad, and Avon for me. She brought along one of the
best banana cakes I have ever eaten. (I only tasted it!)
She makes up her own recipes. She couldn't tell me
how she made it because she looks at the consistency of the
batter and adds accordingly. She has a gift in cooking.
I think the Chad inherited her gift.
Chad made Delmonico Steaks for them and they absolutely loved them.

My brother-in-law is a great guy too!
There isn't anything he wouldn't do for you.
There isn't much of anything he doesn't know about.
He can talk on any subject and especially politics.
He knows every senator and governor and who their father was! =)
He has an outstanding mind.

We had a good time with them and hope they come back again
soon!

PINK BEARED IRIS IN THE CIRCLE GARDEN AT NIGHT

While Alan was gone last night, I sneaked out to the circle
garden in the dark to get a picture of my pink bearded iris.
It seems like they appear in the garden and are gone
so quickly. They don't even seem to have a shelf life.
The one I cut lasted only one day.
They are so beautiful!

My sister and brother-in-law are here to visit us for a few days.
We haven't seen them for about five years.
We are so excited that they are here.
I am not sure what we will be doing, but
Chad has some Delmonico steaks he wants to fix.

The weather is just beautiful!
They couldn't have come at a better time.

BEARDED IRIS AND STUFF

There are a couple of things that have happened.

• On Monday I had an appointment with Dr. Fromuth, the doctor who did my hysterectomy. He said that it looks like I have another month or so to heal yet, but that he was dismissing me.
  

• Our grandson, Dylan, had a tooth capped and several teeth filled yesterday. Dylan is only 2 1/2 years old so this was pretty traumatic. After a four hour nap, he has bounced right back and is doing well.

• My sister called and said they would be driving out to see us. They will be driving all day today. They have a beautiful day in which to travel.

• Alan's big yearly event is tonight. ABC's graduation of the apprentices is tonight. Alan came home at noon, at lunch, put on his suit, and returned to work for an hour or two. He will be home late tonight.

• I want to show you these iris that are in my flower garden.
  

I thought I would show you one of my bearded irises.
I cut one this week and put it on our table.
As I ate I looked at it!
Marvelous!
Simply marvelous!

Have you ever looked at one of them up close and personal?
They are so uniquely designed!
I believe they were designed.
I don't think that anything this beautiful could
have come from an explosion.

Horticulturalists see a certain color they like
and pollinate it with another to get one
they particularly like. I have seen some
beautiful irises like these. Now if they could only
breed them with something that would make them last all
SUMMER!

CLOTHING GIVE-A-WAY

On May 30 our church is having a clothing give-a-way.
I went through all my tubs of clothing and pulled out
what I couldn't wear anymore.

While I was waiting for some of it to come out of the
dryer, I thought I would quickly put a cake in the oven.
I say quickly because you can tell by the picture
that something dreadful happened.

I moved the oven rack to the center position,
but I had not noticed that the rack was not level!
YIKES!
This is what happened.
One end of the cake was too dry,
and the other end was not done.
My solution was to throw it out and start over.

Our church is also giving away food at this give-a-way.
I knew that I had plenty of food that I could donate.
They suggested that we check the expiration dates on all the cans.
I am so glad that I did. Some of these cans were expired in 2006.
These two bags of can goods had to go in the trash.

It reminds me of a verse that says,
"Know the state of your flocks."

Well, today I know the state of my cupboards.
They are a little bare!

DEVOTIONS BY SPURGEON

"I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as
servants upon the earth."
-- Ecclesiastes 10:7

Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places,
while the truly great pine in obscurity.
This is a riddle in providence whose solution will
one day gladden the hearts of the upright;
but it is so common a fact,
that none of us should murmur if it should fall to our own lot.
When our Lord was upon earth,
although he is the Prince of the kings of the earth,
yet he walked the footpath of weariness
and service as the Servant of servants:
what wonder is it if his followers,
who are princes of the blood,
should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible persons?
The world is upside down, and therefore,
the first are last and the last first.
See how the servile sons of Satan lord it in the earth!
What a high horse they ride!
How they lift up their horn on high!
Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate;
David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state;
Elijah is complaining in the cave while Jezebel is boasting in the palace;
yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels?
and who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints?
When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink.
Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time.

http://www.heartlight.org/spurgeon/

HEATHER'S DOCUMENTARY

Our daughter, Heather, is a videographer
for World Vision, but she does free lance
for other people too.

She just finished a video for someone, and it
is a video that warns kids about the effects of using
Methamphetamine.

Here is the promo.

"Saving Carren" promo from Heather Arment on Vimeo.

ANOTHER LORD'S DAY

We worked so hard in the yard yesterday that we went to bed
very early last night. That meant that we woke up at 4 AM.
That is early, people!

We had our morning prayers and Bible readings
then we ate breakfast. My breakfast was simple.
I had only a bowl of Rice Krispies.
Alan had big scrambled eggs,
big toast, a big cup of coffee,
and a big banana.
Every day of the week he has a simple bowl of cereal,
but on Sundays he celebrates and why not?

The pastor had a wonderful message this morning
that I am sure still has the youth wondering what
on earth he was talking about. He is starting a series
on the book of Ecclesiastes so now you understand.

The beginning video asked the question,
What is God like?
The answers of the people in the video were too funny.

Dr. Bob said that trying to figure God out is like
trying to nail jello to a tree! You just cannot do it.
Eccl. 11:5 says
"As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things."

The pastor said that the important question should be,
What has God said?

Dr. Bob said we all long for a purpose for which to live our lives.
Solomon investigated life and its mysteries.
He found that apart from God, nothing matters.
Eccl. 12:8
"Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher,
Everything is meaningless!"

The only fulfillment in life is to
know God's will and do it.

Solomon said,
"Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see
but know that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment." 11:9

"Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man." 12:13

Dr. Bob said, "Wisdom is God's instructed conscience."
I liked that phrase because it is the Holy Spirit who
instructs us and teaches us if we would only listen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Bob had an interesting hobby
when he was younger.
He restored two VW bugs.
You can tell from the photos
that he did a really great job restoring them!

When Dr. Bob was growing up,
his family owned a florist business.
He loves flowers so much
that last Sunday on Mother's Day
he personally purchased carnations
for all of the ladies in the church.
A fragrant gift of love!
I call Dr. Bob, our gentle shepherd
for he truly is. He is a servant leader!

WORK DAY IN THE GARDENS

We woke up at the crack of dawn this morning.
It looked like it might rain, but we put on our yard clothes anyway.
We thought we could at least get one flower bed done before the rain.
We finished two beds and that took us all day.

To prepare the beds for mulching we had to first
pull the weeds then trim the bushes.
There was a lot of preparation to get the beds looking good.

The Boxwood had to be trimmed and shaped.
The birdbath had to be cleaned.
The Snow on the Mountain was all but pulled out.
The suckers on the Lilac Trees had to be pulled out.
I told Alan that as many suckers that these Lilac trees
produce, it is a wonder that the world isn't filled with
Lilac trees.

This bed nearly got out of control.
We were waiting for the rains to stop and
while we were waiting, the Clematis were
strangling the Boxwood.
With scissors in hand we cut them back drastically and tied them
to the railing making them go in a different direction.
We think we conquered them.
We also cut back the Barbary and the Boxwood hedge.

I potted up the hanging baskets and the large containers
that sit on the patio and in the gardens.

It was a beautiful overcast day!
It couldn't have been a better day for working in the
flower beds.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WYATT

Today Wyatt is five years old!
This has been a big week for Wyatt.
He graduated from Pre-K, had a field day,
and had to say "Goodbye" to his teachers and
classmates whom he loved.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WYATT!
You are a sweet boy!

SUMMER HAIRCUTS

Our grandsons live in Georgia this week.
They have new haircuts to begin the summer.
This is Wyatt's last week of school.
Doesn't he look handsome?

Dylan has a new haircut too!
The haircut makes him look so spiffy!
Isn't he the cutest?

DEVOTIONS BY CHARLES SPURGEON

"He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his
bosom."
-- Isaiah 40:11

Who is he of whom such gracious words are spoken? He is THE GOOD
SHEPHERD. Why doth he carry the lambs in his bosom? Because He hath a
tender heart, and any weakness at once melts his heart. The sighs, the
ignorance, the feebleness of the little ones of his flock draw forth
his compassion. It is his office, as a faithful High Priest, to
consider the weak. Besides, he purchased them with blood, they are his
property: he must and will care for that which cost him so dear. Then
he is responsible for each lamb, bound by covenant engagements not to
lose one. Moreover, they are all a part of his glory and reward.

But how may we understand the expression, "He will carry them"?
Sometimes he carries them by not permitting them to endure much trial.
Providence deals tenderly with them. Often they are "carried" by being
filled with an unusual degree of love, so that they bear up and stand
fast. Though their knowledge may not be deep, they have great sweetness
in what they do know. Frequently he "carries" them by giving them a
very simple faith, which takes the promise just as it stands, and
believingly runs with every trouble straight to Jesus. The simplicity
of their faith gives them an unusual degree of confidence, which
carries them above the world.

"He carries the lambs in his bosom." Here is boundless affection. Would
he put them in his bosom if he did not love them much? Here is tender
nearness: so near are they, that they could not possibly be nearer.
Here is hallowed familiarity: there are precious love-passages between
Christ and his weak ones. Here is perfect safety: in his bosom who can
hurt them? They must hurt the Shepherd first. Here is perfect rest and
sweetest comfort. Surely we are not sufficiently sensible of the
infinite tenderness of Jesus!

TOO FUNNY

As you know last Sunday was the first time I had been to church
for two months. Since many of the people had been following
my blog during my hospital stay, and they saw how bad I looked,
I decided that I should look my best for last Sunday so they
could see how much better I am.

So, I spent a lot of time getting ready for Sunday.
One of the things I did for getting ready was
I bought some fake nails and put them on for my
first time back to church. I think I did it mostly for me
because when I was in the hospital, they checked my nails
every day and every day I felt badly because they looked
so bad. Well, as you know, they are glued on and stay on for a while.

Yesterday I made four gluten free meatloaves and put three of
them in the freezer. I baked one of them for dinner last night.

Around 7 PM last night I realized that one of my fake nails
was missing! Oh dear! "I wondered if it was in a meatloaf!"
YIKES!

I told Alan that when eating the meatloaves, please be on
the look out for a fake nail.

I was so glad this morning when I looked in my cleaning bucket
and THERE WAS A FAKE NAIL!

Now Alan can eat his meatloaf in peace!

DAYBOOK 2

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW
At any given time I can see three rabbits in our yard.
One just finished eating a marigold and the other
rabbits was nibbling the blue salvia.
The third rabbit was keeping watch!

I AM THINKING
I wish I had a gun!
Calm down!
I mean a squirt gun!

I AM THANKFUL FOR
the rabbits because if it were not for the rabbits,
there would be no baby rabbits.
There is a nest behind the arborvitae and they
are so cute!

FROM THE KITCHEN
I am trying to find a recipe for rabbit stew. Hee! Hee!

I AM WEARING
.......never mind.

I AM CREATING
a "to do list."

I AM GOING
to dream about chasing rabbits again tonight.

I AM READING
ideas from the internet as to how to keep
rabbits from eating your flowers.

I AM HOPING
that all my marigolds are still there in the morning.

I AM HEARING
the little boy next door chasing the rabbits out of his yard.

AROUND THE HOUSE
Rabbits are making nests everywhere.
I even saw one digging on top of the mulch pile.
We watched one making a nest in the middle of the blue salvia.
They are taking over. They are everywhere!

I saw a neighbor down the road building a fence around his garden
that was ten feet high. I wonder if he is trying to keep out high
jumping rabbits. I saw these rabbits jump three feet high. If
they can jump that high when they see me looking, I wonder
how high they can jump when I am NOT looking!
Just a thought!

The idea of Daybook originated with Peggy

SEGWAYS ARE THE WAY TO GO

Heather was telling me yesterday that the police
patrol her street while riding Segways.
She said that it is pretty funny seeing them go by.
I did not know what Segways were so I had to Google them.

One can even take a tour while riding the Segways.

This might be the way to go now that gas prices are on the rise again!

BEN'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Ben made a big announcement today!

He is starting a new production company.
It is a first-of-its-kind experience for communicators of the Gospel –
the greatest story ever told.
It is called STORY.

Brace yourself for a theatrical, multi-sensory experience.
It is coming October 28 at the beautiful Paramount Theater in Aurora, IL
and will feature Donald Miller, Ed Young, Nancy Beach, Dave Gibbons,
Chris Seay, Stacy Spencer, and many more.
Even better, there's an optional day of Workshops on Oct 29
with scores of amazing authors, artists, and thinkers.

Ben says that for 11 years, he has had the dream
of starting a production company that would create
mind-blowing live experiences and film projects.
In fact, he incorporated this non-profit organization back in 1998.
God gave him the dream long before he had the experience
or the means to achieve it until now.

So, Ben and Ainsley are moving their family to Virginia Beach
on May 22 to start a new adventure.
He has no net, no plan B, and no capital.
It's all very scary and uncertain, but he couldn't be more excited

You can access his site here.

~~~~~~~~~

The second part of this excitement is that
World Vision will be one of Ben's sponsors.
Our daughter, Heather, works for World Vision
and will be making the World Vision video for this event.

MOTHER'S DAY 2009

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree;
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

To show that the Lord is upright:
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."
Psalm 92:12-15


Finally after over two months
I will be able to go to church this morning,
and what a morning! MOTHER'S DAY!

~~~~~~~~

We had a wonderful time at church this morning!
The music was good and the sermon was good!
That new piano sounded glorious!

I enjoyed being reunited with friends.
Here is my look-a-like friend.
They just got home from Thailand!
She is telling me that we will be getting together soon.

This is my new friend. We are birthday girls.
Our birthdays are on the same day. She is a tad younger.
She is the one who came and cleaned my oven and bathroom last week.
She is the Womens' Bible study teacher.
What a lovely person she is!!!!

Fred is in the background. He is a neighbor
and wonderful friend. They were over last Thursday for ice cream.

New people are coming to our church every Sunday.
This Sunday we met some old friends, Tom and Joan Erb.
They are wonderful people whom we knew many years ago.
They introduced us to people whom we didn't know that have
been visiting our church too.

There was not near enough time to talk to everyone.
Dale Weller was there and looking very well after his surgery
on Wednesday. Randy Tiedeman was there who had a very
serious surgery. He was telling me about his experience with
the Lord right before his surgery. The Lord gave him wonderful
peace! He was praising the Lord for the faith building experience
he had. As a young Christian it was encouraging to him.
Randy's parents were professional skaters so he was raised by an
aunt. He was drawn into alcohol and lost his family.
He came through our church's Discovery/Recovery Program
and is now experiencing a freedom he never knew before.

Many, many people came up to me this morning, people I didn't
know and told me they had been praying for me. I was
overwhelmed with gratitude!
The Lord does amazing things!
It was a great day!

Now, I have got to get this posted.
Heather is going to call me today.
Ben is going to call me with some very important news!

I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day!

A MOTHERS' DAY BRUNCH

This morning I attended a Mother's Day Brunch at our church.
It was wonderful to be back at church with the ladies and
to be a part of their fellowship.

Kendra, the president of the Womens Ministries, announced
that the caterer had not come. That made everyone a little
nervous, but as only Kendra can do, she just smoothly changed
the order of the morning. She had the special singers sing first,
then the special speakers would begin. Maybe by that time
the caterers would be there. All of that worked out well for
me because I left after the program and I didn't have to stay
to eat. That is the reason I didn't get pictures.

The speakers were a mother/daughter team from our church.
They called their talk, "The Scarlet Thread."

The Scarlet Thread represents the Blood of
Jesus Christ that was shed for our sin. That thread is
woven all down through history even when there are
generational gaps.

The daughter began her part first. We all knew that she had
been a very rebellious daughter, but she never really said that.
She said that she grew up in the 1960's when lifestyles began to
change. There was an attitude change, and that of rebellion.
The only way we knew she was part of it was that she held up
a picture of a hippie, and she told us that she married a guy
that looked just like that!

The daughter did a very good job of describing the music of that era
and how it influenced her generation.
The video at the bottom of this post is the song she used
to illustrate her point.
She said that the music was beautiful and the words seem
so peaceful and nice, but in reality, they were preaching
immorality, socialism and anti-religion.

The mother gave her talk. She is very old and feeble but a very
able communicator. She told about her era and how she ran her home
after she was married. She had three little girls and every day at
3 o'clock, she and the girls would bathe, put on their blue satin
dresses and wait for daddy to come home for dinner. She
said that she must have had a June Cleaver mentality.

She always thought that it was nice for little girls to grow up
and want to be just like their mother. None of her daughters
had that desire. Her daughter was
nothing like her. They are not alike even today.
She held up two pieces of fabric.
One was blue satin.
One was blue denim.
They were nothing alike.
But when they were sewn together with the scarlet thread,
they were fitted together. She explained that even though
her daughter is nothing like her, they both know the Lord now
and are working together to raise a grandson for the Lord.

FRIENDLY'S

Several neighbors had birthdays this spring and because I was in the
hospital, we missed having our birthday celebration together.

Tonight we all went to Friendly's for supper and Sundaes.
I remembered to take all the birthday cards,
but I forgot my camera!
UGH!

TODAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY

Today was my birthday!
By 9 o'clock this morning I had already received wonderful birthday blessings.

The first blessings I had was that I woke up with NO PAIN!
That is the first time since surgery that I had not been awakened by pain.
I have suddenly healed in that area.
That was a birthday present from the Lord.

I was rejoicing about that when I went downstairs to fix my coffee.
As I passed the windows I saw the big yellow cat waiting for me.
I had not seen him for months. This morning he got a special treat.


I went upstairs to turn on the computers when the doorbell rang.
Who could be coming this early, I wondered.
A lady was delivering flowers.
They were from my precious daughter, Heather.
I don't know how Heather knew it, but I absolutely LOVE
a bouquet that has a lily! This bouquet is gorgeous!
Thank you, Heather. I love it!


Betty, my good friend, called me early. She had taken a
personal day to spend with her family, but she called to
wish me a happy birthday.

Alan sent me three E-cards through out the day even though
he was not in his office all day. He wanted me to know that
he was thinking about me. He told me to go to the mall and
buy myself something nice.

I did go the mall for about an hour.
I did find some summer tops and I was pleased with that,
but Alan says we will go again this weekend and get
something nice.


I received a lot of birthday cards from family and friends.
Also, my niece sent me pictures of my brother and his family.
I loved looking at the new babies and children that I haven't
seen for a very long time. My brother and his wife have been
married for 50 years and this was their celebration pictures.

Thank you to everyone who sent Get Well cards and
birthday cards. I appreciated every one!
I received this very touching email from my sister this morning.

Cheryl,

We trust you are feeling great today, and this day will be a wonderful

birthday for you. I am very thankful to the Lord that you have seen

this come. There was a few days there - I was on my knees praying

three times a day and more, like Daniel. Thank the Lord for hearing

my prayer as well as many, many others.

I am thankful to the Lord for sparing my life during this most recent
illness. This evening we had some friends visiting us from church.
Since they had seen me while I was in the hospital, they knew
just how bad I was. Tonight they remarked over and over how
they were not sure I was going to make it through. They
were amazed how well I looked this evening.

I received more phone calls in the evening.
When I answered the phone, a little voice on the other end said,
"Happy birthday, Grandma!" It was Wyatt and Dylan.
It was so good to talk to and Ben and Ainsley too.
Two ladies from my church called to wish me a happy birthday.

Then my special friend from Florida called.
Patty and I have been friends since the early 80's.
It was so good to hear her voice and to know that she is
doing much better because she has had some health issues too.

My neighbors stopped in to make plans for our celebration tomorrow.

This has been one very full day.
I am one blessed person, and my heart is happy tonight!

PHONE CALL

Pastor Marv Reich called me this morning.
He is the pastor of Adult Ministries at our church.
He said that he had been praying for me and wondered how I
was doing. Pastor Marv visited me several times while I was
in the hospital and always brought a lot of humor along with him.

He wanted to know when I would be coming back to church.
I assured him that I was getting ready today to come back.
I colored my hair this morning.
I was at that moment trying to find something from
my closet to wear.
I had eaten my liver for the day to build strength.
The Lord willing, I plan to be there this Sunday.

LOOKEY LOOKEY!

I received a nice surprise in the mail yesterday.
For my birthday my sister sent me a box of neat stuff.
There were two scarves, a necklace, perfume, a foot file,
foot cream, instant face lift, (I really need that),
Moisture Therapy, Protecting Day Lotion, and a calendar.
I will have fun today putting all of these good smelling
creams and perfumes on. Thank you, Sis, for the
beautiful card too. You are the BEST!

Also, yesterday a friend called from my church and
wanted to come and clean something for me.
She is a teacher for IU 13, but had this week off.
Her birthday and my birthday are on the same day
so we have become good friends.

Connie came and cleaned my oven, a bathroom
and she vacuumed for me. We had a good time
chatting away as she cleaned. We had lunch together
and even though it was raining cats and dogs outside,
it was such a cheery time for me. I found that she
likes flowers every bit as much as we do. So, I
think we have found a home for two of our hydrangea bushes.

A CHILDHOOD MEMORY

While Alan was mowing yesterday
I was taking pictures of the flowers in the back yard.
These yellow iris are the first of the irises to bloom.
I took a few pictures then I stepped around behind
the garden shed to look at the ground cover along the path.

Shock and Awe! Right along the path were three
huge Sponge Mushrooms! I remember my brothers
picking these when I was a child. They would bring
them in by the dishpans full. My mother would fry
them for us. I have never tasted anything like them in my life!!!
They do not taste like the mushroom you buy in the grocery.
They are not even close.

I didn't fry it because I wasn't sure just how close in looks
the poisonous ones looked, but as I did a search on the
internet, I believe it would be okay to eat. However,
I chose not to. You can go here to look at a site about them.

THE SWINE FLU

After a week of headlines about the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, many emergency rooms are crammed with people who don't need to be there. "We are spending significant time in the emergency department, calming people down," says a doctor whose company oversees 18 emergency rooms in Southern California. " There is a little sense of hysteria."

I awoke at my usual time this Sunday morning at 4:23 AM.
I brewed my Country Table coffee, warmed my juice,
and turned on my computer only to read the
above headlines.

People all over the country are scared to death.
The people who live in the southwest are especially afraid.


I woke up this morning with what I thought was a cold.
I was sure I was coming down with something.
I had great plans for today.
I knew they would have to change.

Even though I felt weak, I fried up some liver and onions
for dinner because I could tell that I needed them.
They can cure anything.
Sure enough, by 1 PM my cold was gone!
I have good strength.

My conclusion:
If you feel like you have the swine flu,
instead of going to the ER,
just fry up some liver and onions.
They can't hurt you!

GROUND COVER

This is my favorite ground cover.
I do not know what the name is, and if you know, please comment.

I don't think it can be killed.
It will grow anywhere and takes abuse well.

When we first moved here, we found it growing
on a rock in our front flower bed.
Since then we moved some of it to shadier places
and it really took off.

I brought some of it in to our back porch over the winter.
I never watered it. It came alive and is now thriving.
I love it!

THIS IS GREAT!

Shonda had this on her blog.
I think it is one of the funniest videos I have seen for a while.
Maybe it is because I studied these temperament long ago.

Shonda had this on her blog that may help you understand the video.
Shonda has a great blog. Go over and tell her that I sent you.

Sanguine--the talkative, funny person who thinks everything is fun
Choleric--natural leaders, serious, desires control
Melancholy--organizers, deep thinkers
Phlegmatic--desires peace, avoids work

MAY DAY

This is the first day of May.
I thought I would show you my door wreath.
We have planned to go with green this summer.
We will be planting less flowers than we ever have before.
We are going GREEN!

MAY FLOWERS

(The above picture was taken last year.)

Some of these pictures were takes a few days ago.
This morning after the rain, the Lilacs are popping!
The grass is wet or I would go take another picture.

This morning after the rains everything looks lush and green.
How I wish it would stay this way all summer.

DYLAN AND HIS SHADES

"Dad, PaaaaaLeassssse, let me wear your sunglasses!!!"

Everything his daddy wears, Dylan wants to wear.

Ben came home last week from being gone for seven days.
Ben was wearing a black T-shirt when he got home.
Dylan ran to his bedroom, pulled open a drawer,
and put on his black T-shirt.

I think he likes his dad!!