Random News

The Headline News...
This was the big weekend at church for our kids. Dawn directed a children's musical/drama: Malice in the Palace (The story of Esther). There were about 48 kids involved. They performed it 3 times this weekend: once on Saturday night and twice on Sunday morning. They really did a bang-up job. I watched it all 3 times and each showing was as enjoyable as the others. Here are some pictures:

Queen Vashti (in braces)

Preparing the cast for the show

2 cute little "Israelite" girls
The King of Persia with his guards
Haman leading Mordecai
through the streets on the king's royal horse
Haman groveling at Queen Esther's feet

In other news...
Christian and Christy and family and Ricky and Amy and family came down to see the production at the 11:00 showing. Then everyone came to our house for lunch afterwards. We ordered panzarottis and pizzas.

We had a grand old time together.

In other, other news...
It has been pretty cold recently. This morning at 8:00 am, the temperature was 26. Brrrr. But my mums are still blooming away and I was able to have fresh flowers to brighten up my kitchen today.And it's finally cold enough for Andy and me to wear the sweaters we bought in Norway in May. They are 100% wool and cozy warm, as well as excellent quality and beautiful.

And finally...
I have a bad reputation with knives - a propensity to cut myself. My fingers have all kinds of scars and pieces missing! Consequently, I have always thought it best to keep dull knives in my drawers - less chance of getting seriously hurt. But about a year ago, a friend's son was selling Cutco Knives and we felt compelled to help him out and bought a set. I really should let other people use them because as I said, I am dangerous with a knife in my hand. So I was cutting up the lettuce today for our salad, and you guessed it! I took a slice off the end of my left pointer finger. I didn't realize at first how profusely I was bleeding. I had put a bandaid on the wound and thought that would take care of it, but it didn't stop bleeding and began oozing (no, make that gushing) off the end of my finger.

Dr. Christy fixed me up with her plantain concoction, which I happened to have some in the bathroom cupboard, and bandaged me up.

After I cut myself, Amy told me she had brought me a finger protector she had bought from Pampered Chef. Why, oh why did she wait to give it to me until after I cut myself!!

Anyway, typing this up with an injured finger has been interesting!

The Front Porch

Andy has had some time recently to work on the front porch and progress is being made. He worked on it Saturday afternoon and took some time off work on Monday afternoon. On Sunday a young man (15 years old) approached Andy and said he really liked the front porch and could he help work on it. So Andy told him to come over Tuesday morning and help. They got a lot done this morning.

This picture is before the weekend. Years ago someone gave the church this scaffolding. It comes in handy.

Siding is done!

Working on the ceiling.

Wrapping the beams

In other news...
My most used pot is kaput! The handle fell off.

I tried using it anyway, but that wasn't a good idea and I had a hard time stirring.

These pots have a story. When Andy and I were in our first year of marriage, living in Portland, he going to seminary, I working full time to pay the bills, we got this invitation in the mail for a demonstration of pots and pans. If we went and listened to the demonstration, we would receive a free gift. As C & C say: "if it's free, it's for me!" So we went and listened to the spiel. The problem was that they made these pots sound like they were the best things that were ever made. We were told that they were so well made that they would last a life time and we would even be able to pass them along to our children! Wow! And of course, they would cook all our food to perfection with a minimum of effort on my part. Etc. etc. etc. We were sold! But they cost $350.00 and we had to buy TODAY. As soon as we walked out the door, the deal would no longer be in effect.

Well, I still can't believe we did it because Andy doesn't fall for these lines, but we did buy them. I really have enjoyed using them. I think they were well worth the money we spent for them (even though we couldn't afford them at the time). They really didn't last a lifetime - since I'm still very much alive. And I don't think I'll be passing them along to my children. But what can I say? It makes a good story.

Sleep, Sleep

Sleep is a wonderful gift from God. It's even more wonderful when it eludes me. We usually don't even think about it until we lose it or don't get what we feel we need.

Last night I woke up at 2:22 am. Boing! My eyes were tired and I kept them shut, but my body and mind were wide awake! This happens every so often. I'll have a few nights of a good 8 hours, then one of waking up in the middle of the night and lying there for several hours.

Isn't it ironic that when we're kids, it's such a novelty and treat if we get to stay up late for a special occasion. And when we're teens, we make it a habit to stay up as late as we can as often as we can. I remember one time my family and some friends spent a couple of days at Pine Knot, a cabin my grandparents owned in the mountains of western Pa. The cabin had 2 large rooms: 1 was furnished with multiple beds, the other with kitchen and dining furniture. I was an older teen at the time, and my brother and sister, along with other teen friends decided to stay up all night. We played games and chatted at the dining room tables until daylight. Not one wink of sleep all night. This was pretty significant! And I bragged about it to my Grandpa. He told me then that once you lose sleep, you never make it up. Really? I had never thought about that and what kid does?

The college age young person stays up late to study for exams, write papers, or party into the wee hours.

Just about the time you get some common sense and decide you feel so much better with a good night's sleep, you get married and start a family. Most babies do not sleep through the night. None of mine did for a very long time.

As the children get older, there are many nights where they do sleep long hours. But there are those nights when they get sick or have nightmares or just can't sleep for whatever reason. One of our daughters (she knows who she is!) used to come into our room in the middle of the night and announce: "Mommy, Daddy, I can't sleep." Thanks for letting us know!

Then the cycle begins again as your own children hit their teen years and think you're so "old" and "out of it" for going to bed soooo early. I remember another daughter insisting to us one time: "Mom, no one - NO ONE - goes to bed as early as you guys." Well, what she didn't realize was that she didn't get up as early as we did. At the time, Andy needed to be at his job by 6:00 am.

So we get the kids all married and out of the house. Life is wonderful. We'll finally get a good night's sleep. Surprise! Now we're in our fifties and I've hit menopause. Aghghghghgh!

So long ago when I was up in the night with a nursing baby, I determined I would use the time constructively instead of complaining and wishing I could be back in my bed. What do I do with those precious night time hours when I happen to be awake:

1. I listen to the quiet and enjoy it. There's nothing as peaceful and restful as a house in the middle of the night.
2. I review Scriptures I've memorized. One verse I particularly like and it is very appropriate: "On my bed I remember You. I think of You through the watches of the night." (Psalm 63:6)
3. I take advantage of the time to pray: for my family, friends, enemies (!), my church, country, missionaries, the world, and anything else the Lord might bring to my mind.

Here are 2 quotes our pastor uses at times:

The first requirement for a Spirit filled life is 8 hours of sleep.~Lewis Sperry Chafer

Fatigue makes cowards of us all.~Vince Lombardi

I found this quote on the web:

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If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters. ~Author unknown, attributed to Jim Davis

One of my favorite children's books ends with a lullaby:

Sleep, sleep, my little fur child,

Out of the windiness, out of the wild,

Sleep, sleep, warm in your fur

All night long,

In your little fur family.

This is a song.

My point is that sleep is a gift, a wonderful gift from God - the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). And Psalm 127:2 says: "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat - for He grants sleep to those He loves."

O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.
~Thomas Hood, Miss Kilmansegg - Her Dream

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Andy was able to work all day on the front porch. He did some siding around the doors and got up some soffits and facia. There is still a lot to do and it will be a while before he finishes this project.

This morning

This afternoon

The trees in the front and side yards are completely bare now. Andy and I did some raking and leaf blowing, cleaning up the driveway and gardens to the right of the house. What to do with all those leaves? We raked them onto old sheets and dragged them back to Dad's garden. They can decompose all winter and hopefully, give good nutrients into the soil. We're thinking of expanding Dad's garden and planting quite a bit of stuff ourselves. Don't hold us to it...but we're thinking of it.

The elms and Bradford pear trees still have leaves so our work is not yet finished. But I think we'll use the mower on those when they finally come down. We'll probably have to mow one more time before winter.

I spent the day cleaning house. I also organized our closet and got rid of clothes I hadn't worn in a while, especially shoes and dresses. I hardly ever wear a dress anymore. And I've had to go to wearing shoes with lower heels, to keep my feet from hurting by the end of the day.

This afternoon I went shopping for new jeans. It was a fruitless effort. I know the style is low rise jeans, but I just can't bear to buy them. Don't they make jeans for "old" people anymore?

World Magazine

The new issue of World Magazine arrived in the mail today. There was an excellent article by John Piper on page 51, which included good reminders regarding last week's election result. The gist of it is to do politics as though you were not doing politics!

He explains that even though we live in this world, we anticipate a better one. I love everything he writes, his emphasis is always God-centered, not man-centered.

One Last Shot of Autumn Color

With the rain and wind today, the leaves are falling quickly. Not many are left on the trees, in fact, they're all in our driveway and gardens. They also seem to make their way into the house on the bottoms of shoes. So I have to vacuum nearly every day. And when the rain finally stops, there will be hours and hours of raking and hauling those leaves off. Something to look forward to!

But I did get one last picture of our Bradford pear trees yesterday when I got home from work. They are the first trees to flower in the spring and the last to color, then lose their leaves in the fall. The picture doesn't do justice to the scene as I saw it last night. The sky was dreary and gloomy, but the trees were vividly orange/yellow/red with those bright red burning bushes in front.One day last weekend when I turned on the kitchen light, it went poof! Then it wouldn't work. I changed a bulb, it still didn't work. So we thought something was wrong with the light, and we needed a new one. We bought one, Andy installed it, it still didn't work. Hmmm. Next idea was to replace the switch. Voila! So we spent money on a new light, when a few dollars would have solved the problem. And I liked the old light, too! Well, now we have 2 kitchen lights.

Out with the old!

In with the New!

This world is not my home.

I was feeling somewhat down yesterday after the election, but God has been ministering to me since. I remembered a verse in Isaiah 40: He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

Also, I have to believe God is sovereign and he places people in leadership to serve his purposes. Who knows what he has in mind for our nation? I certainly don't know. His ways are far above our ways and his thoughts above our thoughts. I have to trust in his plan for our nation and my life. I am tempted to worry about the future and what might be in store for our children and grandchildren, but the just shall live by faith. So, please God, increase my faith! Isn't it safer, anyway, to trust God than our politicians!?

And this morning I was reviewing 2 Peter 1:1-11 which I had memorized a couple of months ago and was struck with the message. I am hoping to receive a rich welcome into the ETERNAL kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;

and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,

and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.