Memories...

Ten years ago today, I was getting ready to Marry the Love of my Life...my Best Friend and the Person I was going to Live the Rest of My Life with.  Today though, we are not celebrating an Anniversary.  We aren't even together anymore.  And that breaks my heart.  That's not the way things were supposed to work out.  After all, we had a plan for our lives.  We felt certain that God had brought us together and we made a commitment to each other.  We had a home built for us...that we called our last earthly home, which we would share forever.  After years of Alzheimer's Symptoms, he decided he was going to...
abandon me on April 3, this year...2015.

I just couldn't let today pass by without marking this date with a post.  The hardest part is dealing with the fact that the dream has died.  I know he won't be coming back to me.  He's been gone nearly 3 months and won't even talk to me.  Oh, I know that God could work a miracle - one for both of us...a great change in our hearts and minds.  That I know.  And if He does, that would be wonderful.

But, I have been moving on with my life.  I've had to.  I have a house {1650 square feet} a garden with a courtyard, 3 Pups and everything else to look after and take care of.  I have to once again do everything myself.  Now...that's not all bad!  I can do everything my way and there is no one to grumble about it!!  LOL!

Now...don't go feeling sorry for me.  I really am doing just fine.  I've gotten so many things done around here...and have taken care of so many things!  I've been feeling better than ever and the PuppyKids are doing great now too!

We don't sit around and feel sorry for ourselves.  We have our own fun.  And I've been out and about a bit more...made a few friends, found a new church {about 3 months ago} and I even was able to locate a dear friend of mine who I'd lost contact with.  She doesn't have internet...and she doesn't even live near me.  We don't talk often and we certainly don't see each other very often - as a matter of fact, I haven't seen her in over 10 years!  But, we've always been able to "pick up" right where we left off last time.  We've always been that way.  And when I found her phone number after doing a huge internet hunt for her...we picked right up where we were 7 or 8 years ago.  We're ♥ friends.  I'm sure you know what I mean.  It's great to have someone like that.  

So...I'm off to hang a couple of replacement pleated shades, hang a few valances, maybe sweep and wash the garage floor...and oh yeah, make my Strawberry Fields Salad for dinner.  

Father's Day Tribute

MY DAD

"It doesn't matter who my father was it matters
who I remember he was."  Anne Sexton, poet 

In the center of this collage is my Dad (from about 1964 or 1965) - on the right is my youngest son Jeffrey (41 yrs old) and on the left is my oldest son Stephen (42 yrs old) and myself.  I think...
you can clearly see the family resemblance. 

I want to share a few things about my dad and the 3 things I remember most about my dad are:

April 16, 1922 - April 27, 1993

1 - His crazy sense of humor, especially when his older brother, Ralph was around.  :)  They would pour my grandma (their mom) a very full cup of coffee and then proceed to shake the dining table so the coffee would slosh around and splash out onto the saucer.  Grandma liked the cookies that have a chocolate cookie base, with marshmallow, covered with chocolate on top.  She'd put one of those on a small plate and inevitably, my dad or my uncle would say,"Ma, is that soft?" as they were poking their finger in the middle of it.  Take the 2 of them (dad and uncle) to a grocery store - you'd have to make sure they didn't have filled squirt guns!!  Yes...grown men!!  One would go down the aisle and the other would stand looking down the next aisle.  The one would direct the other to a spot NEAR a customer in the other aisle...and thumbs up, meant fire away with the squirt gun!!  Then off they went again.

Wonder where I get my sense of humor?  Blame it on them!!!  Although I've never taken a loaded squirt gun into any store!!

2 - Dad loved driving and taking us on vacations - especially to New York.  We lived in Wisconsin and dad's brother lived in New York...so we made pretty regular trips.  Dad had a great sense of direction - I don't ever remember him getting lost!  Since I got car-sick relatively easy, he devised a plan where I would study the map, using a marker to map our route (with his help).  Then, while driving, he's ask me where we were and what he needed to look for next (town's name, something).  Not only did this keep my mind off becoming sick, it help him stay awake.  We drove mostly through the night...while my sister and mother slept.  Worked great.

As a side bonus:  I have a GREAT sense of direction...and never get lost.  I think I have a built-in compass.

Mom & Dad on their Wedding Day -  September, 1947

(they divorced in 1979)

3 - Dad loved cars.  He loved everything about cars.  He knew year, make and model of nearly every car that passed us going anywhere.  Since I was the oldest - and there were no boys in our family, I began playing the game with him.  To this day...I can still tell the difference between a 1928-29 and 1930-31 Model A Ford!  That's right.  Not only did he like cars, he worked on cars and a hobby...and side business.  When I was a junior in high school, I helped my dad tow the frame of his old car home, so that he could restore the Model A Ford.  

Dad with His 1928 Model A Ford

I learned alot about cars - I knew I heard a noise, something that hadn't been there before...and I'd tell him.  He and I would figure out what the problem was and then he'd show me how to fix it.  I've changed my tires, changed my oil, replaced radiator hoses (upper & lower), air filter and other things.  I've even helped out men who were having car problems.  They thought it was kind of odd that I knew more than they did!  That was just my dad - he wanted me to know, in case I ever had a problem - so that I could take care of myself.

I still miss my dad - after all these years.  Especially, when I hear something in my car that could be a problem.  (Hubby knows nothing about cars and is one of those men who thinks it's odd that I could possibly know more about a car than him!  HA!)  I miss him on Holidays, on his Birthday and on My Birthday.  I think I always will.

One more thing...I'll never forget the smile on his face when he walked me down the aisle on my Wedding Day in 1969.  It was the softest smile I'd ever seen on his face - perhaps a balance of smile and almost crying...although he never cried that day.

Memories!  Love you Dad!!

Old Ladder - New Ladder Storage

This old, rickety olden ladder is the only item I have left after holding
 my Garage Sale last weekend.  A few other items got posted on my Church's Facebook page and sold quickly!  What a success!

When I saw this Storage Idea Tutorial for a Bathroom Organizer
using an old ladder...it peeked my interest.  

The Tutorial is from...

CarlaatHammers and High Heels 

I immediately thought of just how that old ladder could be transformed!  I have just the spot in my Master Bathroom that it could live in.  I also thought that some of my Readers would enjoy this Tutorial too, so click on the Link or the Photo below to see the entire Tutorial.

Garage Sale

After taking my car out of the garage in the morning...I set up one table and loaded it with my Old Country Roses China and Platters and Accessory Pieces.  Then I took the Patio Swing pieces out to the driveway...pulled 2 huge rugs over to one spot on the floor where I could display them partially...swept a few spots...put a Garage Sale sign on the roof of my car and parked a few houses closer to the main road...hauled my old wooden ladder out to the end of the driveway with a Garage Sale sign and Red flags on it, so people could see...
that I was having a sale...and then I sat and waited!

It was a lovely day - 69 to 72 degrees and mostly sunny!

But, I sat and waited some more.  OK, I didn't sit and wait...I gardened and waited.

I waited a total of 3 1/2 hours and absolutely no one came!  There were very few cars even driving through my subdivision...and the entire place was having Garage Sales.

After I moved the items outside, back into the garage and pulled my car in...I began walking up the steps to my door...and I stepped wrong...so for most of the day, I've been limping around.  Just wonderful!

I know I shared these items that I had on my sale - and they're still there.  Maybe I'll try tomorrow, early.  I don't like doing sales on Sunday, but there won't be a time for Garage Sales here until next Spring and I certainly don't want to be sitting here for a year with all of this stuff.  Tomorrow is supposed to be 87 degrees - not at all my kind of weather!

Collapsible Picnic Table - Heavy Duty Plastic and Metal

Vintage Kromex Lazy Susan

Vintage Pyrex

Royal Albert Old Country Roses Serving Piece

Royal Albert Old Country Roses China Service for 8 + other pieces

Hydrangeas

Do You Love Hydrangeas?  Have You Cut Them so You Could Have a Vase Full of them In the House - only to Have Them Wilt?  She shares Tips On How To Keep Your Freshly Cut Hydrangeas Looking Their Best and How To Revive Wilted Hydrangeas!  Check Out Her

HYDRANGEA

TUTORIAL

HERE

Resist the Temptation to Go Back

Transition looks ahead, faith pushes us forward...Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.  -Picasso

   Grab the caps and gowns, pomp and circumstance and shredded chicken sandwiches…it’s graduation season! Perhaps, recently, someone you know has graduated from high school or college. It’s an exciting time where you are...
likely to hear people say, “lots of changes going on right now” or “it’s going to be a big transition”.

The words CHANGE and TRANSITION are often used interchangeably but they are really quite different. The moment a student receives their diploma, something has CHANGED: they are now a graduate. But TRANSITION is a process that takes time and can be more difficult to manage than change. The real transition for a graduate is shifting from dependence on parents to independent decision-making.

   Transition really begins with an ending—with people letting go of their old reality and their old identity. Unless people can make a real ending, they will be unable to make a successful beginning. The second phase of transition is the neutral zone. It’s the time when old behaviors die and the heart is preparing for a new reality. Only after this time of neutrality can we enter the last phase: new beginnings. We emerge on the other side of the transition with a renewed energy, passion and purpose for our new life.

   Few leaders can manage transition well, but in the book of Numbers we find Moses, a leader who was patient during his wilderness (transition) time. A journey that should have taken just eleven days ended up taking decades as Moses’ people felt the consequences of their lack of faith and trust in God’s plan by being stuck in the wilderness. When the people felt nostalgic about their past, Moses kept reminding them that their past included slavery and that their future included so much more. Never go back!

READ and THINK… What does the Bible say?

1. In this first passage, the community is devastated by the news brought back by the men that Moses sent to explore the land God had promised them. Although the land had great blessings, there were giants and powerful cities that would need to be conquered before the Israelites could leave the wilderness and make a new home.

Question: Why did the Israelites consider going back to Egypt, rather than pressing on to the land God had promised them?

Numbers 14:3-4 (New International Version)

³Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? ⁴…We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.



Answer:
Later on in Numbers 14, God spoke to Moses and shares the consequences for those who incited panic and suggested the tribe go back to Egypt, including the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

Question:  All of the Israelites had to change their locations and wander through the desert, yet many Israelites failed to transition their thinking and rebelled against God. As a result, what was their punishment?

Numbers 14:35 (New International Version)

…They will meet their end in this wilderness…

Answer:

LIVE… What will you do now?
Did you realize there is a difference between change and transition? Change is physical (something tangible) and a transition is mental (thinking).

What is changing in your life right now? (Example: job, health, home, friendship)

Where are you undergoing transition? (Meaning, where do you need to re-vamp your thinking in order to move forward?)

Transitions are tough! Yet, we get stuck in life when we don’t complete transition. When was a time you had to trust God’s plan and go through a transition in your life? What did you feel once you were on the other side of the transition?

Sometimes, we get discouraged and we stop including God in our transition, believing that He has abandoned or disappointed us. Have you ever been through that kind of transition and how did you change your course?

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Thank God for the changes and transitions He has placed in your life. Let Him know you trust His plan for your life and ask Him to show you ways to stay on course. Pray for the discipline and patience to transition through difficult times and changes you are facing.

The Wilderness

The [wilderness] is where God transforms us from people of slavery, to people of God.   Jeff Manion, pastor and author

   Summertime brings dreams of pool parties, tan lines and outdoor activities. Unfortunately, summer also brings headlines like “Two found after getting lost while hiking” or “Fifteen rescued after stepping off the mountain trail.” In parks and wilderness areas across the nation, inexperienced and unprepared hikers get so lost each year that they end up needing to be rescued. They are found after...
massive searches, or a “help text” with 1% left on their cell phone battery giving a signal to their whereabouts before shutting off. How do those individuals get in such a pickle? The thing is, most people don’t prepare to be lost in the wilderness.

   Last weekend Lee left us at the Garden of Eden where he answered the question of “what is wrong with the human race?” The answer was simple. Sin. As Tim Keller says, “…the Bible is a single story. A story that tells us what is wrong with the human race, what God is doing about it, and how history will end…”, and ultimately, it is a story of mercy, grace and redemption.

As we heard this weekend, a tremendous series of events have unfolded between the Garden of Eden and our next stopping point with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. As Lee re-capped this weekend, these 2500 years have included:

Noah and the flood

Abram (later Abraham) called and the beginning of the nation of Israel

Jacob who had 12 sons, each becoming a tribe in the nation of Israel

Jacob’s son, Joseph, who God used to save his family from famine

Israelites endure 400 years of slavery

God raises up a man named Moses, who told the Pharaoh, “Let my people go.”

After leaving Egypt, God parts the Red Sea to give the Israelites final victory over the Egyptians.

 Now, the Israelites are on their way to the promised land God has said He would give them. What a time of thankfulness and praise, right?Wrong. The Israelites’ gratitude quickly turns as they hit difficulty and hardship in what they thought would be an easy passage. Even as God provided for them, like water from a rock after days of thirst, and manna (sweet wafer) every morning for food, what starts out as praise turns to complaints and bitterness. Yet, how often do we receive a wonderful blessing from God, but quickly forget and begin complaining?

   The Israelites’ repeated disobedience and lack of trust, including an attempt to enter the Promised Land their way, cost them 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Since the Israelites wandered from one place to the next under God’s hand, the wilderness came to represent a place of constant transition.

   Maybe the transition you are experiencing is because of a discouragement, graduation after college, an empty nest, a health change or diagnosis. We don’t like change—and we don’t like uncertainty, yet God does amazing work during those times. How will you wait while in the wilderness? Will you trust God to lead you through the perfect plan He has for your life in His timing? Time in the wilderness will tell.

His Story Can Be Your Story

Your journey is a part of God’s story!  Your current circumstances are part of your redemption story He is writing.  Evinda Lepins, writer

Our great adventure has just begun. Remember not to think of the Bible as disconnected individual stories, but as one great story, God’s story of love, rescue and redemption. Sin does not have the final say; Christ has won!

The exciting part is that He is not done yet. As Christ-followers, everything that we experience in our lifelong journey will be a part of God’s story. Andy Stanley says it best, “God brings you into His family, making His...
story your story.”

God’s story for the Christian is one that shows how this world is fallen and there are things that need to be fixed, but God is all-powerful and is the only One who can make things right and can use us, His “change agents”.

So, we invite everyone to the table, no matter their race, religious background or where they are from. God wants every single person to take this journey where we come to have a relationship with Him through His son, Jesus Christ. Once we begin our walk with Jesus, our story is in God’s book. We find hope, joy and peace even in the sad, heart-wrenching parts of the story. There is a peace on our voyage because we know that the Holy Spirit is with us every step of the way.

READ, THINK and LIVE… Read and apply the Bible.

Paul was explaining the differences in those who believe and those who do not. He explains that the sin in our lives can be cut off with Christ, and uses the following analogy to illustrate his point.

Question: What does Paul compare the Word of God to? How does His Word handle our sinful nature?

Answer:

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Try this prayer: Thank you, Lord for this journey called life. I ask that You reveal Your Word to me so that I can see the seamless story of Your love and redemption, and to help reveal anything in my life that needs to be changed.