I. Corinthians 13 Christmas

I CORINTHIANS 13 – A CHRISTMAS VERSION If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator. If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook. If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing. If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point. Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn'tenvy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful theyare there to be in the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but the gift of love will endure. Merry Christmas and lots of love to you and yours! Author Unknown

My Great-great-Aunt Mattie

I just spent some time with My Aunt Marge (my dad's sister) and we had a great time going through some old, old pictures and different keepsakes from our family.  It was an important time because we were able to put names to many different pictures which didn't have any i.d. and within this next generation no one will know who they are.  

On my father's side, I had a Great-Great-Great grandfather by the name of Major William Stegall - Major being his first name, not his rank.  But, he was an officer also in the Camila Calvary out of S. Georgia during the war of Northern agression.  We just went tromping out in the woods recently to the old abandoned cemetery where he and other old relatives are buried.  I took a picture of the headstone which I will post a copy of later - I am not at my computer at the moment.

Major Stegall was the father of 21 children which included set of twins and triplets.  My Aunt Mattie - Mattie M. Stegall was born in 1849.  She wrote many poems and enjoyed quilting, composing music and also teaching music.  The really astounding thing about her was that she was blind from the age of two weeks old.  My Aunt Marge had an old booklet of poems titled "My Heart's Work" which had been published many years ago and republished by a local firm in 1977.

She certainly writes in that old prosaic, early English way, but some of her poems really spoke to me.  She often wrote with the Scripture Reference where she created her poetry from.  Here are two of my favorites so far.

A Heart's Longing

I. Chronicles 28:30

Like Jesus on His way to Calvary,

I often sink beneath the load I bear;

I find so little here congenial.

The way to me so dark, so drear.

So few the hearts that do respond

to deep emotions that swell my breast;

So few tongues wherein I find the words

which will to me some joy impart.

I know, dear Lord, that Thou art ever willing

to give me all the help I need,

But is there on earth one willing listener,

to whom I could without reserve pour out my griefs?

No, I must keep them locked within my breast,

from all but Thee, for Thou alone dost know

what I endure, of what I've been bereft;

Thou knowest the wound and how to heal the sore.

I can not see Thee Lord, but I can trust

that Thou wilt always give the help I need,

until the work which Thou hast sent for me is done,

And I am anchored safe at home with Thee.

Love And Grace

Within the heart of saints a fire burns,

its brightness warms and radiates teh soul;

"tis the Indwelling of God's matchless love,

It's presence all pervades and gains control.

But near that heavenly fire there stands a foe,

tis he, alas, the enemy of souls;

and with his many wiles he seeks to quench

each spark, that he may gain the citadel at length.

He watches every weakness that he sees,

and never fails to try his fiendish schemes;

but all in vain, the flame more brightly glows,

he cannot understand why this is so.

But Look!  for near that fire our Saviour stands,

I see Him pouring, with His ever-loving hand,

upon that fire the oil of His grace,

and this is why, the brighter glows the flame

Mattie M. Stegall

A SWEET BONUS!!

As my sister and I left the Atlanta airport the other day I got the sweet surprise of the fall leaves still being here. I thought they would have mostly been gone by now, but they are not. This picture I took off the back deck of my sisters house this morning, and honestly, it does not hardly even begin to portray the beauty of the Lord's handiwork!! It is such a feast for the eyes!

As I landed in Detroit Friday and got out in the terminal I got the same feeling I get every time I come back - there are so many Americans here!! I know that sounds funny, but it's the feeling you get after being out of the country for a long time, seeing not very many Americans. Not everyone is short and brown with black hair!! And then I feel like about every fourth person I see looks familiar to me - I keep thinking, where do I know that person from, but I think it is just seeing so many facial characteristics that I don't normally see.

It is such a joy to be back home and I so look forward to getting with as many family members friends as I can!!

THE BUZZARD HAS LANDED!!

Well, you know how they always say for the president, "The Eagle has landed!" whenever he lands from his helicopter or Air Force 1. Well, I have a picture of an Eagle, but for my landing here in U.S. I will just be a buzzard! Anyway, can you tell I am dopey tired after 20 hours of trip!! I am sitting in Detroit waiting for my Atlanta connection. If anyone wants to talk to me my cell phone nunber while here in the states is: 229-413-3560.

SIXTEEN DAYS LEFT

SIXTEEN DAYS LEFT till I land in that beautiful state of GA where pictures like the above are all over!! HALLELUJAH!! I can't wait to be with my family, get down my favorite country road, worship with my church body, and hang out with friends - yakking, playing golf, fishin, and sharing with each other what the Lord has been up to in our respective lives! Lots to share about His grace in the midst of teaching me much about myself and about His faithfulness!! I arrive in Atlanta on Friday Nov. 7, head for T'Ville on 10th and then Dad's on 11th! Then will be back and forth from Atlanta to Ocala and places beyond for the next 10 weeks! Hope to see you there!!

Well, I know it might LOOK like I am preaching, but really I am only giving a "congratulatory message" to a PCP church at their 12th anniversary Worhip Service. It was a very encouraging day for me because it is a church that has really grown in many ways during those 12 years! It has purchased a lot and built a building, it commissioned its first missionary couple to Mindoro the day I was there, It has a Reformed Teaching Institute going on for training both lay leadership and pastors every Saturday, has planted a couple of daughter churches and is self-supporting!! In fact, after hearing the history of the church before the message, I completely changed my congratulatory address to one telling them how much just hearing how the Lord has been working had encouraged my heart. Sometimes we do get bogged down in seeing what we label as "failure" which is often just the Lord's working in our hearts and others, that we wonder if there is any work going on for the Kingdom. Seeing the Lord's presence and work with this body reminded me how often I choose to believe the lies of Satan that it is all for naught! It really is true that the Lord will build His church and the gates of hell WILL NOT prevail against it!

Old Hymn "If You Will"

Hey, as many of you know, I go to Bible Study Fellowship here in the Philippines. BSF is all over the world and we have 3 womens classes and 2 mens classes here. The Lord has used BSF greatly in my life to get me into His Word in a disciplined manner. I have so enjoyed and appreciated the friends that the Lord has given me through my years in BSF starting in Miami, FL, to Tallahassee, FL, to Manila, Philippines!!

One of the things that I do wish that BSF would do better is to update their music to at least the 20th Century! I know that there are some wonderful old hymns that have great words, but there are also some newer songs that have great messages also.

Saying that, there are some great, great, old hymns and we sang a new one for me today. It was written by Georg Neuhart, a German back in the 1600's. It spoke to me. Here it is.

If you will only let God guide you, And hope in Him through all your ways,

Whatever comes, He’ll stand beside you, To bear you through the evil days;

Who trusts in God’s unchanging love builds on the Rock that cannot move.

Only be still, and wait His leisure in cheerful hope, with heart content

to take whatever the Father’s pleasure and all discerning love have sent;

Nor doubt our inmost wants are known To Him Who chose us for His own.

Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways, but do your part in conscience true;

Trust His rich promises of grace, So shall they be fulfilled in you;

God hears the call of those in need, The souls that trust in Him indeed.

A good message for this sometimes too independant child!

MAJESTIC OLD LADY

I like this old lady! I actually took this picture off of my computer - it is a picture that is on an internet site that I have been going to for years - I wanted to put her on my blog so the only way I knew how to do that was to just take a picture of the picture on my computer! Those who are more savy are probably laughing, but hey, here she is!

I have no idea who she is, but doesn't she look like she has lived a lot, seen a lot and done a lot? I like the sparkle that I see in her eyes, that sense of engagement with whomever she is looking at. There seems to be a little twinkle still there - I bet she is a handful! I know she has no teeth, and certainly has a fair share of wrinkles, and.... you'll probably think I'm a little weird, but you know what? I wouldn't mind looking like her when I get old - really old!

WHERE DO I COME FROM?

I was just browsing through some old posts and some friends blogs and ran into one that some had answered regarding "Where do I come from?" As I saw an old black and white picture on my friend B's site it made me think of two pictures that I keep on top of my tv. I scanned them and there they are above. The top picture (I am the blond, sitting on the ground next to my mom) was taken just months before my mother's death. I was five years old. My little sister, Cindy was just six months old when my mom went to be with the Lord. The other picture was taken before that, I am not sure how old I am there, maybe around 3 or 4, but as you can tell, it looks like I am already excited about being outside and fishing! That is my older sister, Carolyn with me and Dad in the picture.

My mom was a tiny little woman, not even five foot tall, and never weighed over 100 lbs - well, maybe when she was pregnant. I can't imagine us with her today - I am definitely the largest of the three girls, and the tallest at almost 5'8", but even Carolyn at 5'2" would tower over her! I don't remember much about her, but all that I have heard about her from those who knew her has made me glad. I do know that she loved the Lord and desired to raise up her children in His ways. I know she was a faithful, loving friend, and that she had many friends. I know she loved my dad and I know she loved me. Another of those perks of eternity will be that I will get to really know her and to be able to make up the time we have missed, though not as mother/daughter, but as co-heirs and sisters in Christ. Another thing I know is that she LOVED to eat black-eyed peas and rice and all three of her girls have inherited that! She had brown hair, but blue eyes - and she is who I get my blue eyes from. Although I do not look anything like her, some older relatives tell me every once in a while that I will have a facial expression that reminds them of her. That brings me joy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK???

Sandra and I went to the beach this last weekend on a much needed quiet weekend! It was a very pretty resort about a 2 1/2 hour drive through beautiful green agricultural area. In fact, the same drive that I took last week when I was out on my antsy drive. We were sitting outside in this wonderful little hut they give you (need better word than hut as it was quite nice) so you can sit outside by the ocean with roof over your head and cushions behind your back! It had sheer cotton drapes which we definitely kept open to be able to both see and hear the water lapping on the shore! The only thing I am afraid to tell you is that I was there for three days and did not get in the water - am I getting old or what?!?!? I took a picture of the hut from the beach at night with the lights all around it - it is the top picture.

As we were talking together and looking through Genesis we found where it wasn't until after the flood that God gave us animals to eat - before the flood we were vegans! I didn't know that before. Then Sandra brought up that she was reading some book and it talked about the fact that Eve was not shocked or suprised that the serpent came up and talked to her! That had never dawned on me either. So, it could lead you maybe to surmise that animals used to be able to talk or communicate with us! How exciting for this animal lover!! You know, it talks about how on the New Earth the lion will lay down with the lamb and the snake won't bite. We will be back like in the garden - where we will be in total harmony again with the animals. I can't wait!! That is only one of the small joys we will have in eternity! Sandra said she was even more excited that we would be in total harmony with one another - no more strained relationships! And, of course, the big one, we will be perfectly united with Christ - able to worship Him perfectly and have unblemished relationship!! HALLELUJAH!!!!

By the way, that beautiful little boy is my nephew Bradon - I took that picture last Christmas when I was home - can't wait to get home in November to see how much he has grown!

Belonging?

These are just some pictures I took as I was roaming around the countryside yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure if you can tell it, but the sunset was over a large field of rice paddies which are beautifully green. I was half exploring, half heading down to a new beach area that I have found (it has been around forever, just my new discovery) to check out a resort that I had heard about.

I was wandering around because I was feeling antsy and alone, and I know it probably sounds weird, but my car has always been a place of refuge for me. It's funny, I just remembered that as I was writing this. I always head for nature and animals if I can find them. In Thomasville, I head down those beautiful red clay roads through the woods and here I head for the agricultural area and the beach - and it just so happens the agricultural area is on the way to the beach. My car is a place for me to talk out loud to the Lord, to listen to music and just look for all the many beautiful things the Lord has created and given to us to appreciate. Yesterday it was this beautiful "flower" in a tree, an old man working in a field with his carabou, and a gorgeous sunset over the mountains in the distance.

As I was listening to a Sarah Groves CD ("Conversations") The song titled "Going Home" seemed to really capture the way I am feeling these days.

I've been feeling kind of restless, I've been feeling out of place I can hear a distant singing, a song that I can't write, but it echoes in what I'm always trying to say.

There is a feeling I can't capture, it's always just a prayer away, I want to know the ending, things hoped for but not seen, But I guess thats the point of hoping anyway.

I'm confined by my senses to really know what You are like, You are more than I can fathom and more than I an guess, and more than I can see with human sight. But I have felt You with my spirit, I have felt You fill this room and is just an invitation, just a sample of the whole and I cannot wait to be going home.

Going Home, I'll meet you at the table. Going Home, I'll meet you in the air. And you are never too young to think about it. Oh, I cannot wait, I cannot wait to be going home! Face to face, how can it be? Face to face how can it be? Face to face how can it be????

Sometimes we think it is when we are "out of sorts" that we long for Home, but maybe we are just in the midst of being in this fallen world, tired of living in our frail, depraved bodies, constantly bouncing against other frail, depraved bodies, tired of being in the battle, tired of being where we don't belong - on this fallen earth. Maybe we are meant to long for that other place - where the battle is over, the world is no longer fallen, but totally as beautiful as God created it and "Face to face!!" I don't think I will ever hear those words, "well done," but I know that I will hear, "Well, Cheryl, you sure screwed it up, but precious daughter, I do love you!

Ocean Pics

I took this one sunset while I was at Beach Camp with 100 kids!! We have a church that comes from St. Louis; The Kirk of the Hills, every other year and takes all of the kids in our street childrens homes to a camp at the beach. This was our first year since we have opened ABP4 and have added 25 children - which now means 100 kids!! Yikes!! It was a crazy, but great week with all the kids and the team from The Kirk as well. By the way, this picture was taken in the puddles of the low tide as the sun was setting.

One of the most precious gifts the Lord gives us is our brothers and sisters in Christ! I have known this for a long time, but just reminded this past few weeks having some old friends close. The team leaders from the Kirk have been friends of mine for over 20 years and I have been a part of their family as their children were born and as they have been growing up. Michael is now 19 and a sophmore in college and Katie is starting school in a week or two as a senior. Boy, their parents are sure getting old! It was such a joy to see how the kids have grown - physically, emotionally and spiritually. The awesome thing is is that they love me and I love them, more and more as the years go on. I can't tell you how good it was to have old precious friends close - and how hard it was to let them go home! There were several on that team who have been here every trip since 2002 and it is amazing the bond that we now have. One great guy who I had never known before 2002 now prays for me every day - EVERY DAY!! What more can you ask for? It is amazing the relationships the Lord gives us that we will be able to enjoy through all the rest of eternity. Sometimes it is the pits being far away from home and trying to live and minister in another culture! But, the Lord has given me many great eternal relationships that I would have never had being here - both with Filipinos and many Americans I have met from teams coming in. Even in the midst of all the hard stuff there is the joy of being part of Christ' Bride!

Tagged

Meme Tag from Upsidedown Bee: 1. What were you doing 10 years ago? I was an ER nurse in Thomasville, GA, living the good life, working three days, off four! Playing lots of golf and tennis, surrounded by family and wonderful church! 2. Five Items on Your To Do List Today: Well, I just finished my day so I’ll tell you the five I had on it. 1. Drive to San Juan Batangas to check out camp for kids. 2. While there find resort of team coming in. 3. Finish a team budget 4. Work on BSF 5.Go Bowling with friends 3. Snacks I enjoy: cheese and crackers, fried okra, caramel popcorn, CHOCOLATE Heathbar blizzards from Dairy Queen (we match!) 4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Take care of parents and family, give wads to my church, give wads to Philippines street kids ministry, Go on photo safari – long safari!! Spend time in British Isles, go fishing a lot! 5. Places you would live. New Hope Road, Thomasville, GA., Brevard, NC., Seaside 6. Bloggers I am tagging. Well, if B wouldn’t tag so many I might have one to tag, but no, she has to tag them all!

TO BE KNOWN

Must be one word answers 1. Where is your cell phone? desk 2. Your significant other? none 3. Your hair? blond 4. Your mother? tiny 5. Your father? loveable 6. Your favorite thing? Percy 7. Your dream last night? stupid 8. Your favorite drink? tea 9. Your dream/goal? help 10. The room you’re in? bedroom 11. Your church? far 12. Your fear? alone 13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? wherever 14. Where were you last night? bedroom 15. What you’re not? stuffy 16. Muffins? bannana 17. One of your wish list items? Scotland 18. Where you grew up? Miami 19. The last thing you did? bowled 20. What are you wearing? nothing 21. Your TV? off 22. Your pets? pusa 23. Your computer? Sony 24. Your life? full 25. Your mood? content 26. Missing someone? Dad 27. Your car? Honda 28. Something you’re not wearing? clothes 29. Favorite store? BassPro 30. Your summer? HOT 31. Like(love) friends 32. Your favorite color? green 33. Last time you laughed? minutes 34. Last time you cried? yesterday 35. Who will re post this? ??

BALUT!!!!!

Well, aren't you glad I decided to share this wonderful picture with you!!! I know I haven't posted anything in a while; I have been busy and I think I am a "spurty" blogger. I do so much work on my computer, that sometimes it just feels like more work to sit down and post something.

But I am here now to tell you a little bit about one of the Philippines favorite food! It is a duck egg that has been allowed to grow for about 14 days (I am really not sure on the time line.) and then boiled. To be honest, not all Filipinos like them - I think it is an acquired taste. I took a bite out of one, but the feathers really got to me and I spit it out and did not go any further. We buy them for our teams that come over to see who is really a true cultural hero - or, you could put another word in there also.

Picture of the Day

This is my boy, Percy, who as you can tell, has about had it with the picture taking! Can't you just see it in his eyes, "Mom, if you take ONE more picture...." This is a picture I have taken for my photo class - trying to get indoor pictures without using the flash by setting my f.stop and aperature opening. At least I wasn't blinding the poor cat with the flash! Not good yet, but it is fun working on it.

Picture Post

No, this is not a picture that I have taken, it is a picture from the Scottish Moors! I talked to my friend Belinda the Blogger and she told me how to save pics from the internet!! So, come on, let's go to the Moors!

British Isles, Anyone???

I was going to put a beautiful picture of Ireland or Scotland here, but I don't know how to save them from the internet in picture form so that I can upload them - help me Belinda, help me!! Anyway, I have been desiring to go to the British Isles for some time now - was supposed to go back in 2006, but it fell through. So, I am planning on going in the spring of 2009 and wondered if any of the blogging crew wanted to go also. I thought it would be fun to get a group of girls to go. I really want to spend time more in the countryside and small towns then I do in museums and the big city. I am more of a "looking for the Loch Ness monster" type than traipsing through museums type! Anyway, would like to go for about two weeks in the spring of 2009. What say you? (Does that sound British?) I already have one yea from my sister Carolyn. I just want to go relax, be pampered (B&B type) and soak in the Lord's glorious, beautiful creation

Photo Class

Yesterday I went to my first photography class. I have been interested in photography for a long time, taking lots of pictures, but they have all been done on "auto!" Above is one of my first pictures taken with me actually in control of the camera. I was in my "artsy-fartsy" mode! My instructor liked it, his critque was that the left side of it was too bright - said I needed another aperature opening. Maybe by the time this course is over I will know what that means! I have a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera with many buttons that I have just ignored up until now. After learning the basics I am hoping to get lots of tips on taking wildlife pictures which are definitely my favorite. Anybody want to go on safari??

Lynn's Challenge -The Wakulla River

I was already out sitting in my canoe fly-casting for bass as the sun started to rise. There was a mist rising from the river that seemed to hang in the air like a gossamer cloud. Through it I could see the beautiful variations of pink and rose of the rising sun. As my canoe glided gently with the current, I could hear the “plop, plop” of wary turtles falling off their logs as I approached. I slowly passed by a great heron intent on his own hunting efforts. I sighed, knowing my days on this beautiful Florida river were numbered as I was soon to start a new journey thousands of miles away. I wondered what beauty the Lord would surround me with on that side of His creation?

The challenge: Describe sitting in a small boat out on the water, without mentioning the following words: water, blue, green, rocky, wavy, hot, cold, or fish.

Writerly Wednesday (One syllable story)

I met him for the first time when I was hurt. He drove me home the day I crashed my bike. I think I fell in love with him that day. We led an up and down life; We played much, we loved lots, we fought like cats and dogs. One day I went out of town and came home to find him gone. He left a huge hole in my heart. I go by his grave once in a great while but he is not there. I pray that he is in that place where I will get to spend a long, long time with him. They say you have one true love. He was mine.

FIVE WORD MONOLOGUE - Parasailing

I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day eating a 12” submarine sandwich when Jimmy, an old friend from my California days walked in. After many hugs and exclamations of joy at seeing one another after so many years, I invited him to sit and have lunch with me. It seems he was in town for a big parasailing event. Now, our small town had never been much of a place for parasailing, but some young, foolish men had discovered that it could be done on the high bluffs over the river. Now they were trying to make our little town the “Parasailing Capitol of the South.” Can you imagine! All the farmers were against it because it kept scaring the cows and they were running off their weight trying to get away from those big colorful predators flying around up in the air. It turned out that Jimmy now sells parasails and all the vast array of paraphernalia that goes with it. He offered to take me up for a ride in a tandem/teaching parasail. Well, my daddy didn’t raise no idiot so I kindly thanked him for his offer and told him I would be glad to come and watch him go flying through the air. Well, then he called me a chicken and started dancing around the dining room making chicken sounds – “buk, buk buk, buk buk buk, till he finally made me mad and so I told him to come on, if he was waiting on me he was backing up! Well, off we traipsed to the bluffs. On the outside I was cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside I was quaking in my sandals, thinking of all the horrible things that could happen way up there in the air. What if we get caught in a whirlpool of wind and dash onto the ground? What if the parasail rips and we plummet into the river or worse yet, into that copse of thorny trees by the river?? Yikes! You would think that by my age I would have learned that pride cometh before the fall – this time I was hoping that it would not be a literal translation. So after he strapped and gusseted me into this seemingly flimsy contraption with these tiny thin little metal bars, Jimmy commands me to start running toward the edge of the bluff. I start off at a hesitant little trot and he is yelling, “Faster, faster!” so off I go running and praying and feeling like my heart is going to literally explode in my chest. We get to the end and all of a sudden I am running in thin air. Here I am, dangling, not quite vertical, nor horizontal holding on to this bar with a grip that is about to bust my knuckles. And then I open my eyes – and after the initial bout of nausea, I begin to really get the hang of this parasailing – I find myself waving and yelling to people on the ground that I know – they look like little miniature toy people down there. I laugh at the cows running until I see my Uncle Jake shaking his fist at us. We had a marvelous time just soaring around in the thermals; I could have stayed up there all day. Then, just as we were landing, I saw my dad over at the side just shaking his head. I know this was just one more incident in a long line of others that have convinced him that he might have, after all, raised an idiot.

Be Still My Soul

Be still my soul; the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still my soul; Thy best, they heavenly Friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake to guide the future as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still my soul; the waves and wind still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. Be still my soul; when dearest friends depart, and all is darkened in the vale of tears, then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still my soul, thy Jesus can repay from His own fullness all He takes away. Be still my soul; the hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joy restored. Be still my soul, when changes and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Be still my soul; begin the song of praise on earth, believing, to thy Lord on high; acknowledge Him in all thy works and ways, so shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye. Be still my soul; the Sun of life divine through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine. by Katherine von Schlegel Thank you Father that we can rest in you in the midst of whatever the world may put before us.

SAY WHAT?!?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything." James 1:2-4.My Thursday night Bible Study has just started into the book of James and I was somehow elected to teach the first chapter - I think because the Lord has a great sense of humor! My life has been FULL of "trials of many kinds" lately. I have been robbed, my transmission went out in my car which is costing me a bundle and ministry has been VERY MESSY. I must confess that I have been, most of the time, not very joyful. To be truthful I have been whiney, resentful and pretty peevish. And, we won't even get into the matter of the tongue which I had to deal with later in this same chapter!But, I do want to just share with you this little tidbit that the Lord has impressed on me this past 10 days as I was studying this chapter. The first question we all ask is WHY should I be joyful in these circumstances?? Why be joyful when someone has accosted me and stole my money and my identification and my credit cards? What is there to be joyful about that I have to dip into my savings account to pay for a new transmission? And, what is there to rejoice about when people say untruths about you and question your motives and report "rumors" about what you have said and done??? Well, the answer to that is in v4 - because if you walk through them in faith the Lord uses them to "make you MATURE AND COMPLETE, LACKING IN NOTHING. Who wants that in their lives - everyone raise your hand!! It is when we can look at things with an eternal perspective of the outcome of God's refining work that we can have PURE JOY because we know that He is working in our lives to make us lacking in nothing!! But, so often we think of "something and nothing" in worldly terms meaning not lacking; comfort, ease, money, fun, power, etc., etc., etc.!! I don't think that is what the Lord has in mind. I think it is more; faith, patience, perseverance, humbleness, servant's heart, etc., etc., etc.!!! As it also talks about several times in this chapter, I think we become so polluted by the world's thinking that our views become very distorted.I have been trying to look at all of these things in my life with much more of an eternal perspective and I must admit that it is a little easier to see the good that the Lord will bring about through all those circumstances. This morning I found myself humming "Blessed Assurance," an old hymn. The third verse says: Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. I am so glad that He is Faithful and true to His Word and WILL finish the work that He has started in me!

TWO MONKEYS

This is not a theological statement!

Percy the Pusa

Hey, just wanted to introduce you to my buddy, Percy the Pusa! "Pusa" is Tagalog for cat. Not to be confused with Puso which is Tagalog for heart! I have had Percy since he was 5 months old. He was born on Valentines Day in 2003 which makes him a little over 5 years old! Although he is a typical cat, very much concerned only with his own comforts, he does bring me GREAT joy! He comes running when I come home and immediately runs to my bedroom, jumps on my bed for a "chat." And, of course, a little loving and scratching under the chin - for him, not me! For me, as a single, it is a great gift not to have to walk into an empty house, but to have ole Percy there to greet me at the door. When I sit in my recliner with my feet up reading a book you can usually find him sitting on my legs purring away. I love animals, will someday have a house and yard full of many and hopefully live backed up to woods out in the country where deer, racoons, foxes and other creatures can traipse through my backyard!

New Blog Post

One of my friends wrote and said they wanted to see a new blog post since my last one was on April 17th. Well, I haven't known what to write. I am going through a particularly hard time in ministry right now (sound familiar to anyone) and am afraid I will just spew if I get started. I am at a place where what seems very wrong to me seems right to others and where I see lack of integrity and spiritual wisdom they see as lack of cultural education on our part. There is an old saying, "while in Rome do as the Romans," (or something like that) but should that EVER take precedent over Biblical principles? When you question those actions you are told that you are insensitive to the culture. People are able to not use the Biblical formula for dealing with wrongs because it is not what their culture does. And these same people want more authority when they haven't been responsible with the jobs they have been given and we give it to them? Another friend just recently emailed me after I had shared some things with her and she encouraged me with this scripture: "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." Heb 6:10 I have printed it out and taped it to the back of my front door, right below my calligraphy frame that says, "Fret Not Thyself." As I leave my house, my refuge right now, I pray and thank the Lord for His goodness and His grace toward me, take a deep breath and go into the fray. Sounds kind of corney when I write it, doesn't it! But, that is how I feel. It seems that Satan is having a hey day right now with God's people in ministry - I guess that is always the way, we forget the battle sometimes, complacent in our comfortableness and trusting those around us when we know they are as depraved as we and there are bound to be hurts.

WOE IS ME!!

I thought I had used this title some time ago, but apparently did not. Maybe I just titled an email that way. This has been a hard year for me physically; I had a high blood pressure episode and I am now on my SECOND respiratory infection! I sound like an old lady with COPD! This is just a general call for prayer! I am on several meds and breathing treatments and need to be really up and going by next week as My Field Director, My International Director and MY BIG SISTER are all coming into town so should be a busy, busy week and I need to be at least able to talk and breathe! Fortunately my sister is not coming till the end of the week. So, I covet your prayers for me and for this next week! Even my favoritest little Nemo is asking you to pray! This little guy came up and tried to intidimate me as I got close to his house!

FIVE WORD MONOLOGUE

The Wedding Reception Do you believe that I once went to a wedding reception held at a Busy Bee Carwash! It’s true….and to make matters worse; it was the wedding of a guy I once dated. I can tell you that my dad breathed a sigh of relief when that ended. His name was Charlie Brown, again, no lie. He was from West Virginia and at the time of his marriage worked at the carwash. He was one of those “great” guys that my brother-in-law hooked me up with. The wedding had been held at a nearby park with the Wedding March played over a portable tape player that squelched during the whole song as they were trying to amp it through a karaoke system. They had put up this little platform right by the pond and the ducks kept coming up thinking they were going to get fed. The Bride’s father kept trying to shoo them away. I don’t know which made the more noise, the ducks or the horrible sound system. There were about 25 of us at the wedding, standing there as they had not provided any chairs. Fortunately it was a very short ceremony. Then we all proceeded over to the carwash for the lavish reception. They had the buffet table down the middle of the carwash. They had those buttery wedding mints, pizza rolls, little crustless tuna & chicken salad sandwiches and a two tier wedding cake with a big Busy Bee on the top of it. They had no plates, just these cocktail napkins with ducks on them left over from an annual Ducks Unlimited fundraiser. The best man kept joking that he was going to hit the button to start the carwash during the dancing. The bride’s father invited us over to his house after the reception for a taste testing of the different Boones Farm wines! As the couple was departing and we were throwing the rice my brother-in-law leaned over and said, “And this could have all been yours.” Thank you, Lord, for my singleness.

(testing, fundraiser, carwash, mint, pizza)

Belinda's Wednesday Writerly Challenge

New Hope Road I now live 10,000 miles away from the New Hope Road, but I still go there often in my mind. New Hope Road is a red clay road that wanders for miles through plantation land in a rural area of South Georgia. It has long been a place of refuge for me. As I drive very slowly down the road, with all my windows down, the sights and sounds that reach me are a balm to my spirit. The land is covered with many varieties of trees; the ubiquitous tall-standing pine tree, great spreading oak trees that call for you to climb up in them or picnic beneath their low hanging limbs, dogwoods that bloom each spring little white clumps of white showing through the woods and magnolia trees with their big flowers drooping down from the branches. At one point in the road, someone long ago planted oak trees in a row along each side of the road and now they arch over and give you a canopy to drive under. One day I would like to spend the whole day traveling down this road in a buckboard, pulled along by an ole floppy-eared mule. In the spring there is the most beautiful vibrant green of new leaves set against the backdrop of that dark red clay, a sight that always give me such sweet joy! I don't know why it touches me so deeply. Sometimes when I try to explain it to people they just look at me like I'm a little off. I grew up in Miami but spent every summer at my Granny's house which is near the New Hope Road. Every summer I would take home an empty Nehi Orange bottle that I had filled with red clay from that road and keep it on my bedside table until the next summer. Even as a child the road had a special hold on me. There are literally thousands of acres of woods, plantation and crop land along this road. If you get out of the car and walk along you will hear the "bob-white" call of quail and the "rat-a-tat-tat" of huge pileated woodpeckers. You can spot a big red-tailed hawk sitting on the lone dead limb of a lightening killed pine watching vigilantly for any small movement of a critter in the high grass below. If it is a really good day, you might catch sight of a bald eagle soaring effortlessly way up in the blue, blue sky! You can watch over-sized gray fox squirrels cavorting through the trees chattering away at each other. There is a swampy area where you will see much evidence of a family of busy beavers. One fall evening years ago, right at dusk, my nephew Daniel, and I were slowly tooling down the road and suddenly spotted a group of 15-20 deer way back in one of the fields. It was an amazing sight! We got out of the car and slowly and oh so quietly tried to sneak up on them, but did not get very far. They are so aware of everything around them, their heads popping up and down constantly as they graze. They scattered, running and jumping gracefully through the woods, their white tails flying at attention. Daniel and I still talk of that evening drive and the deer we encountered. Daniel now works on one of those plantations that border New Hope Road and I like to think that our many drives together down red clay roads generated some of his love for being outside on the land. Whenever I am able to get back to South Georgia, one of the first things I do is head for "my" road. If you are a friend who has ever visited me when I am there, you have been down New Hope Road. When I retire back to South Georgia I am praying that the Lord will somehow provide me with an acre somewhere down that road that so pulls at my heart. As you can see in the picture below, as I sit at my desk way over in the Philippines, I keep my road close - it is the wallpaper on my laptop. As I look at that picture, I can, with my mind's eye, slowly traverse that wonderful road and be comforted with the beauty and splendor my Lord has put there for me to enjoy.

The Horse Sale (Five Word Monologue)

I had so much to do and the rain would just not let up! The water was pouring in sheets off the roof of the barn and even running in rivulets down the aisle between the stalls. The horses were stamping and snorting at the noise that the rain made pounding on the tin roof above them. I had six horses left to curry and also the back breaking task of trying to sand and blacken their hooves and then clip the hair in their ears. All of this to do with yearling foals who like to jump around with every noise, pretending to be scared. To make matters worse, my younger sister and some of her friends were out in the paddock chasing “Elmer,” our young steer around trying to tie one of the girl’s tennis shoes to his horns. Needless to say Elmer was not a happy camper and kicking up quite a ruckus. I’m sure they could hear him bellowing and blowing at the farm down the road. The girls were soaked through to the skin and covered with mud. My dad was in the house trying to get the horses’ pedigree papers ready while an Atlanta Braves baseball game blared from the radio in the background. Grannie was in the kitchen making my very favorite caramel cake. My two sisters and I had once devoured a whole caramel cake at the wake of one of my great aunts! We were sitting by the dessert table and just kept slicing on that cake, “making it even” until we had evened it down to crumbs. My mom was sitting, as usual, at the big desk trying to figure out how we are going to pay this month’s training fees for the horses we had at the track. Tomorrow will tell us much of how the rest of our year is going to go financially! We have a group of 11 foals going into the yearling sale at the “OBS,” the Ocala Breeders Sale. The sales are great fun to go to as a spectator, but a lot of hard work and nail biting if you are counting on the sale of these foals to fund your breeding farm for the next year! Sure, you have grooms and walkers working for you, but when there is so much money at stake, there is lots of hands on supervision from the family! We are really a very small thoroughbred farm, surrounded by huge, palatial farms, but we have had good results so far with several different multiple stakes winners to come from our mares. My father is great with the animals and does the training work with them from the time they are foaled till they go for their last training before the track. Some people would say it is as much of a gamble to make a living off a breeding farm as it is to make that same money betting on horses at the track. And most people you see trying to do that are usually in the food stamp line! My father, who has been known to win a nice sum every now and then, says that he would give back ALL his winnings for 10% of what he has bet over the years! There is a lot of hard won wisdom in that statement! All in all, I’ll take the bumps and the bruises, the highs and the lows, the wins and the losses of horse breeding any day over the endless grind of trying to make a living sitting in an office forty hours a week, 50 weeks a year, 30 years of my life!

Five Words: Rain, curry, baseball, caramel, horns

Belinda's challenge

The huge orange orb of a moon spoke to me as it rose over the horizon, telling me of the Father's glory. I had hurried down the road, catching glimpses of it through the sparse spaces in the woods. I was finally able to pull into my sister's driveway and take out my camera to try and get a picture of it as it rose through the trees that were devoid of leaves in the cold winter air. I took picture after picture, balancing my camera on the top of the car to try to keep it from moving as the shutter speed had to be so slow to catch it without a flash. Why is it our pictures can never convey the specialness of God's creation; inadequate glimpses of the awesomeness of what He created with just a word!

FALL HIKING (a short story)

We have been backpacking in the North Carolina mountains for the last 12 days. My friend Toni and I have been doing this every October for the last several years. There is no more beautiful place on earth than the North Carolina mountains in October! The air is crisp, the smell rich with the loamy earth, the leaves beautiful hues of red, gold and yellow! We keep our hikes near the creeks as we love to hear the sounds of the rushing water. We often stop at different waterfalls to eat our lunch and revel in the sights and sounds of water cascading down the mountain wall. Sometimes we even get the courage to jump into the water, gasping as we come up, laughing at each others expressions because it is so shockingly cold! I can’t imagine doing this with anyone but Toni. She is super creative and a joy to be with. She gets up early in the mornings and heads out for a little private time with the Lord. She has brought her wooden recorder with her and I can hear the strains of “This Is My Father’s World” wafting through the trees. Toni has always been the one to take care of our backpacking menu. She has figured out how to take backpacking meals way beyond the usual freeze dried concoctions and beany-weanys!! In fact, last night for dinner we had chicken with artichoke hearts over egg noodles and strawberry Jello with fruit for dessert! She takes the Jello and puts it in a water bottle and submerges it in the creek for awhile and there you have it! She does the same with instant pudding. It is always fun to see what she is going to pull out of her backpack for the next meal. Last night we made our camp by an old homestead that had nothing left standing except an old brick chimney. You see many of those lonely sentinels scattered throughout the southern landscapes. As we sat around after dinner we invented stories of who lived here and of their loves and losses. Times change, seasons come and go, and yet, our hopes and our dreams are in most ways the same as the family that lived here on this mountain those many years ago: The desire to be loved and appreciated, to have a home where harmony rules and is a safe haven from the discord of the world. Unfortunately, this morning we left the mountains to head back to civilization, jobs and the every day world. As we came down into Brevard we had to stop by the mall to pick up some supplies for our long drive back home. In the midst of the cacaphony of too loud music, too many people and too many lights I felt that sense of peace that had come to me from two weeks of reveling in God’s beautiful creation start to sunder under the gaucheness of the world we live in. (Five Word Monologue: waterfall, mall, strawberry, sunder, brick)

Exercise???

Okay, Okay, I am really trying to do something about exercise. Two weeks ago I had one hike that gave me my hours for two weeks, but that isn't going to last forever! Today I downloaded two different exercise videos! One for "fat burning" and one for stretching. I got so tired just watching the fat burning one that I had to pause it in the middle and go eat some m&ms!!! I've gotten to the point where if I painted the front part of my wet suit white you would take me for an Orca! Well, actually, it would be more like keep it all black and you would think I was a walrus! It is pitiful. But, summer has hit here with a bang and it is HOT and HUMID outside, with the humid part there all the time! So, hopefully with these videos I can exercise in my air-conditioned bedroom. Here in the Philippines, I don't cool my whole house as it would cost me an arm and a leg - well, that would take care of some of the weight loss! Just kidding! So, please pray for me this next week as I try to rotate the videos doing one every day. The stretching one is just 10 minutes so will be my "off" day video, but still need your prayers that I will be disciplined!

GO EAT WORMS!!!!

You know that ole saying, something about "no one loves me, everyone hates me, I guess I'll just go eat worms!!" Did I get it right? That's what I feel like right now - just going home and sitting around eating worms! It doesn't help that I am in the middle of a study of a book; Cat and Dog Theology which we sort of thought was going to be a little fluffy, but has been really convicting. It's main premise is that the Lord's first and foremost concern is His glory, not our comfort, blessings or ease. I must admit that I am very much a cat (the one who is most concerned with his own comfort, blessing and ease) and am not thrilled at the place the Lord has me right now in ministry! I was recently told that on a certain psychological test that I ranked high in my desire for people to like me. My reply was, what's wrong with that, I think everyone wants people to like them. Well, I was informed that I needed to be careful that I didn't make decisions based on how people would perceive me in all of it, but to make wise decisions that were based on truth. Since I have learned this about myself, the Lord has pretty much put me in a position where I am constantly having to make decisions that are not popular and I am certainly not liked a whole lot. In fact, I am pretty much the "bad guy" right now and I must tell you that it is not fun. If I ever had thoughts that I wanted to be an administrator they are now totally out of my head! I want very much to go back to my little ministry corner and do my little thing and not even ever hear about the rest of it! In fact, I would pretty much like to go back to my little corner at home-home and sit on the deck and watch the blue birds and wait for the deer to come in and feed and see the squirrels running from tree to tree and thank the Lord for all His creation - except for the last one! Well, now you know my heart at the moment, but know also that I know that I have a mighty God and He is able to get me through this time and make me closer to His image and give me even a closer relationship with Him - and I pray that through it all His glory will be shown in a great and might way. As I look around me I see the Lord working really hard things in many of the lives of His servants and I know He does have a plan in it all.

THE GREAT FRUIT BAT ADVENTURE

I recently found out that in an area about 2 hours away from us there was a colony of fruit bats living out in a rain forest. Fruit bats are a very large species of bats that can have a wing span of up to six feet. Well, naturally, I wanted to go see the fruit bats. So I asked this person that I knew who lived in the area, Steve, a peace corp worker, if it was a hard hike to get in there and see them. His reply was, "no, easy hike. It is on fairly level ground, you do have to cross a stream a couple of times and at the very end there is a little bit of uphill climb." So, I thought, piece of cake, I can handle that. NEVER trust a 23 year old skinny peace corp worker!!! We did not have to just ford a stream, but we basically had to slog through the stream, upstream I might add for miles!! He was right, it was fairly level ground, but if you are following a stream UPstream, you are going up in elevation! AND, we were walking through 2 to 3 inches of water the whole time, also having to climb over rocks and holes in the stream. AND, the stream had a gravel bottom so the gravel was getting into my water sandles and chafing against the skin of my feet!

I was with a group of 8 and there was only one person there who was anywhere close to my age. I had at least 20, sometimes 30 years on most of them! I kept trying to be quiet and take it like a woman, but after about 40 minutes I said, "guys, can we please take 5?!?" It was killing my pride, but I figured that was better than killing my body!! Well, after another 10-15 minutes of walking I said that we should be real near, and the peace corp worker said that no, it is an hour and a half EACH WAY!!! Well, it was at that point I knew I was in deep doo-doo!! We finally got to the "little bit of a climb" part and it was the steepest trail I have ever seen! By this time I am mumbling to myself and in my mind casting nasty thoughts toward all peace corp workers in the whole world!

I asked Steve about how long was it up the mountain and he said about 20 minute walk. Well, yeah, if you are 23 and in shape! I told them to go ahead and I would catch up with them. They wanted to wait for me, but I finally convinced them to take off. Needless to say, I would have been perfectly content to wait for them there; at that point I didn't care if I ever saw a fruit bat! But, my pride prevailed, and this one Filipino guide came coming back and saying "mahirap" (difficult), but come on. He even at one point took off his t-shirt and wanted me to hold one end so he could help pull me up the mountain!! That wasn't going to happen! So I would take about 25 steps and then fall panting to the ground and he would laugh and I would cry and then get up and take another 25 steps. I FINALLY MADE IT TO THE TOP! And there were the fruit bats - across a valley, in trees on the other side of the valley! I could hardly see them in my telephoto lens!! Actually it wasn't that bad, it was great to see them and that is a photograph I took while at the top of the mountain.

I wish that was the end of the story, but of course now we have to get all the way back!! By the time we had gotten to the bottom of the "little bit of a climb" part of the walk my legs were shaking my muscles were so fatigued!! But, it was not like I could tell somebody to go get the car, we were in the middle of a rain forest!! After another grueling hour and a half we were back at the car with me swearing I would never again ask anyone under 50 to guage the severity of a hike for me. The photo below the one of the fruit bats is my feet the next morning! I am doing church at home today cause I can't get them in a pair of shoes or sandles yet! If any of you want to see the fruit bats when you come over, I will gladly send you out with Eddie, the guide, and be waiting to minister to you medically when you return! By the way, I got in my hours of exercise for the next two weeks all in one day!

SISTERS

How good and pleasant it is when brothers [sisters] live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head... Psalm 133:1 Here in Manila there is a massage that they do where they very slowly pour warm oil on the middle of your forehead and it runs down onto the side of your head and in your scalp. It is the most marvelous feeling. Then they very gently massage your head and your scalp. It is the most comforting, relaxing feeling, really seeming to wash away some of the cares of the world. Now I know a massage will only do that temporarily, that laying them at the feet of Jesus is the real "relaxer" for wordly cares, but I will tell you that a hot oil head massage does help in the stress of everyday living in the battle! You know, because of our depraved natures, we are not always going to live together in unity. In fact, it can sometimes be a lot of hard work to live together in unity. This week I had a bump in the road with one of my spiritual sisters. We definitely weren't unified and we had been hurtful to one another. Instead of feeling like there was warm oil dripping over my head I had more the feeling of a clanging gong that I couldn't get rid of; I was restless, anxious and just down right stricken. I was in my mind, busy defending my position and my rights. But the Lord is so good to us, He won't let us stay there if we are committed to Him and committed to one another. We were able to sit down this morning and talk through our differences and talk through our hurts and ask each other for forgiveness for our own sins in the matter. It wasn't always easy, but by God's grace He allowed us each to see our waywardness and to see the good in the other. Really, that is what sisterhood is all about - not that you will always be lovey-dovey, but that you are committed to one another through the good, the bad and the ugly!! Just as the Lord is committed to us through the bad and the ugly (I don't think there is ANY good on our part!) So now we can go on pushing forward in whatever comes up as we work together, knowing that we have weathered a storm and come out on the other side with our relationship even stronger because we have done the hard work (by God's grace) of being committed to love one another. God is good!!

Thought To Ponder

"I don't have a hard time believing the Gospel is true. For you. God loves you and accepts you and wants to do good for you. The problem is, I have such a hard time believing it's true for me. Luther nailed it when he said that we are born with an inborn suspicion that God is not for us. Like a base note in a terrific song, I battle almost daily the constant thumping that because of my failures, sins and selfishness, I do not have God's favor. He seems to be never satisfied. So what is the answer? How do I keep on keeping on? The life and death of Jesus tells me that the lie is just that, a lie. God is satisfied because He was satisfied with Jesus; and I am in Him and He is in me. That's the antidote to the inborn suspicion-The Father is for me, because of the cross of Jesus. So daily, it's a fight of faith; to believe the Gospel is true for me."
Tom Wood www.cmmnet.org

No Poet And I Know It!!!

My mom died when I was young (5) and my father's mother, my grandmother moved in with us. My grandmother had been a teacher in a one room schoolhouse when she was 18 years old and she never lost her passion for teaching. I can remember coming home from school and still spending an hour or two with her as she made sure that we were really strong in the three R's - reading, writing and arithmatic. I can remember one time having to choose between watching a movie or spending time on my times tables cause I had to have them memorized by that evening if I wanted to go shrimping with my dad. Every summer we left Miami the day after school was out to spend our summer out in the country in Thomasville, GA, where my grandmother had a house. It was a wonderful time for us; running around out in the country all day, lots and lots of cousins around, going fishing down at the pond, blackberry picking, going out in the field and busting open a big watermelon and eating the heart out of it. Such great memories!! Every day after lunch my grandmother made us come in and rest for a couple of hours in the heat of the day. My Aunt Willie Mae who had a house next door - across a big country yard filled with pear trees - always had the traveling library come in the summer so we had bookshelves full of books. I would use that time of rest in the afternoon for a couple of hours of reading. One summer my grandmother (the teacher at heart) decided that I should do a book report on each book that I read - before I could get another book. Well.....,I just decided that I was not reading any books, so there! After several days of being totally bored, I gave in and did my book report so I could get another book. To add insult to injury, there was one book report she made me do over twice before she would accept it - a biography I had read of George Washington. On my third try I just sort of cut up with it and "made it my own" as my grandmother would say. She accepted that one and it taught me a big lesson - it is okay to add a little humor and personality into a paper that you write. It is a lesson that has helped me a lot, both in school and now as I have to keep in touch with those who partner with me in ministry. One of my favorite books that my grandmother owned is "The World's Best-Loved Poems" published in 1927. Now, I have never been known as a poet, nor even one who enjoys it that much, but I have loved this book. I wrote out a little note, "This book goes to my wonderful,(?) literate & poetically sensitive grandaughter, Cheryl." (You can see that I had already begun using my sense of humor in writing!). I had her sign it and we kept the note in the book so there would be no question as to who got the book when she died. I was such a thoughtful granddaughter!! Anyway, I have enjoyed these poems through my life, seemingly always drawn to the really corney, hokey ones! I will sometimes get it out and read them to my friends and they never seem to have the same sense of enjoyment that I get out of them.....I guess they are just not as "poetically sensitive" as I am! Here is one of my favorites

DO IT NOW

If with pleasure you are viewing any work a man is doing,

If you like him or you love him, tell him now;

Don't withhold your approbation till the parson makes oration

as he lies with snowy lilies o'er his brow;

For no matter how you shout it, he won't really care about it;

He won't know how many teardrops you have shed;

If you think some praise is due him now's the time to pass it to him,

For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead!

More than fame and more than money is the comment kind and sunny,

And the hearty, warm approval of a friend,

For it gives to life a savor and it makes you stronger, braver,

And it gives you heart and spirit to the end;

If he earns your praise--bestow it, if you like him, let him know it;

Let the words of true encouragement be said;

Do not wait till life is over and he's underneath the clover,

For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead!

Berton Braley

May be corny wording, but the truths in it are really important! Here is just one verse of another of my favorites from that same theme. The poem is titled "Give To The Living"

If we offered to the living, as we heap upon the dead,

fragrant flowers of affection, blossoms of sweet recollection,

waiting not till hands are folded on the quiet, pulseless breast,

Then the passion of our pleading would not fall on ears unheeding,

Nor our tears fall, unavailing, on the weary form at rest.

Okay, I can hear your grumblings even now, but I love those old poems that actually rhyme! But they really do address an important truth - we so often don't say those words of encouragement and love to those we are close to, we just assume they already know that we feel that way, or our too insecure in our own selves, fearing rejection if we open our hearts up. But, we need to say them! Make your euologies to the living!

I just wanted to show you a picture of where I am sitting this morning playing with my blog. I guess my buddy boy, Percy, has missed me while I was gone cause he has slept right beside me the whole night the last couple of nights and has been here right beside my computer since I sat down. He loves his momma!

TIME FLYS!!

Wow, just looked at my blog and I haven't updated since the first of December!! I just have not had any time for blogging - hardly time to look at others' blogs, much less write on mine. It has been a little frantic here in Manila since the Scotts left to go home to transition from Short Term to Career Missionaries. Sandra and I have taken on their responsibilities as well as our own and that has certainly kept me running!! I also was able, through the gracious gift of an airplane ticket from a friend, to go home and be with family, church and friends for Christmas - what a joy that was! I was able to spend three weeks in the states, lots of good time with my dad and my sisters and wonderful worship with my church family. Needless to say, I also got in several rounds of golf - played horribly, but then what else is new! If I could have a mulligan on every hole I could play decent golf. I am back in the Philippines now, getting over jet lag and back into the groove of administrative duties - meetings, meetings, and more meetings!! I got home Wednesday night and spent Thursday and Friday all day catching up in the office. It is now Saturday morning and I am sitting at my dining room table with the windows open and the ceiling fan on listening to the rain as it comes gently down, the drops dripping off of the many green lush plants in my tiny little yard. I am praying that I will make the time to do this a little more often in the coming months. I was able to read several books on the flight back from the states - it is a 24 hour trip so there is much reading time - especially since I have a very hard time sleeping on the plane - there is just something about being able to sleep while feeling like a sardine in a very crowded can! So, I read and read! I had picked up a book by Karen Hughes who was a "Counselor to the President," President George W. Bush. The title of the book is "Ten Minutes From Normal." Karen Hughes started working on President Bush's staff when he was running for Governor of Texas. She is married and at the time of this book (2004) had a teenage son. A lot of her book is on the struggle she had between the demanding workload of the White House and at the same time trying to do her work as a mother and husband. She chose to leave the White House and move back to Austin, TX, with her family. She still remained as a counselor to the president, but was involved in a less hectic way. I was impressed with her witness throughout this book. She is very open about her relationship with the Lord and the work He has done in her life. I know that our President has made some choices that have put him in a horrible light and he is unpopular around the world right now. But, I see where he has surrounded himself with Believers who he goes to for counsel and input and I am encouraged. I wanted to quote several passages from her book that encouraged me. When I feel grumpy, or out of sorts, or worst of all, sorry for myself, I walk outside to the patio, a small space on an old weathered deck. The patio furniture is one of my favorite types: big, comfortable swivel chairs with sand-colored frames and the fabric a southwestern swirl of purple, green and beige. From the deck, I can see so many amazing things: the brilliant magenta of the flowering bougainvillea that blooms for months in the hot Texas sun; the stark darkness of a soaring hawk, wings fully spread, seemingly motionless even though I know it is flying through the crystal blue sky. The Lord of Life is the creator of them all-the God of the pale and fragile petunia flowering in the pot by the pool; of the sturdy, enduring oaks that fill the backyard; the God of the peaceful, still day I see before me and the powerful, roaring surf I see every summer at the beach. I cannot be grumpy here because God has so richly blessed us with the grandeur and beauty of His creation, with the freedom to live in this country, with the family and friends that I love. And most of all, God has given us a way back to Him. the enormity of that gift is hard to comprehend; that the God of creation would humble himself to become human; that Christ loved each one of us enough to die to atone for our sins. Doesn't that change everything: how we live, how we act, what we believe? I know the answer to that question, and I know I need to remind myself of it far more often. Later on in the book she says: I worry that Christians, myself included, give Christianity a bad name because we so often fail to model the love and humility displayed by the life of Jesus Christ. If I could debunk one myth about my faith, it would be the feeling that Christians are sanctimonious, holier than thou. Nothing could be further from Christ's message; he chastised the religious leaders of his time for putting on airs and placing themselves above other men. To the contrary, my faith instills in me a deep sense of humility and gratitude, reminding me how often I fall short and how much I need the Savior, and how thankful I am that God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. My faith calls me to try to live a life that is a joyful response to that good news. And whenever I get overwhelmed, or it seems too hard, I remember all that I am required to do: "Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). I was encouraged by her book, by her desire to serve the Lord and be true to Him even when it seems that in our country it is becoming more and more outside the norm for that to be a life choice. I used to love to read Biographies, I still do, but it gets harder and harder to find life stories that you want to read. I go to the Biography section of the bookstore and I see books by Actors, Fashion Designers and Society Icons - not pretty reading! In fact, the sad thing about the Karen Hughes book is that I found it relegated to the "Dollar Tree Store" where I paid $1 for it - I guess it wasn't a best seller! If you can find it, I do recommend it for a fresh outlook at the seat of power and the REAL seat of power!