News!!!

This past few weeks have been packed with much activity. I hardly know where to start, so I'll just.....start. As you can see by the pictures, we now have another grand-child. Tuesday,May 13, 2008 was a very eventful day, full of anticipation. I was scheduled to work at Hobby Lobby, but before I would even think of going in, I called Seth to see if we were going to be welcoming a new baby soon or not. He informed me that it would probably be awhile. Needless to say, I was a bit distracted while working that day. At 6:56 p.m. (I think that's the right time) our grandson made his entrance. We had a feeling that he would be a big boy, but were shocked to hear that he weighed 9 lbs. 14 oz. and measured 22 inches long. Of course, he looked perfect. What a wonderful time we all had (Jordana's family were there, as well as my father and sister and Uncle Mike and Aunt Ruth Anne). It was such a joy to hold him and view the miracle of life.

Thursday was my last day at Hobby Lobby (I'll tell you about that in a minute). Then, on Friday we headed for Cincinnati, Ohio to pack Becky up and move her back home. God's Bible School was in revival and we were able to enjoy God's presence. The messages delivered by Bro. Blake Jones and Bro. Knox Bullock were tremendous. It was, as always, good to hear the choir, and the different groups sing. We came away feeling refreshed.

I had to be back by 3:00 p.m. Monday, as it was my first day of training on my NEW JOB. Yes, I have a new job. I'm am already liking it. I am working at the Centre Cafe, which is located at the Christian Family Center in Adrian. It is brand new and not even open to the public yet. Today I learned how to make the sandwiches. It's sooo much fun making those beautiful sandwiches. The salads are even fun! Tomorrow I get to make the specialty drinks, you know.....the espressos, lattes, etc. (I hope I get to sample every one of them........maybe that's not such a good idea).

Now, in my spare time, we need to find somewhere to put all of Becky's "dorm room". We carried everything in from the van, then we decided to sort everything that is currently in Becky's room first. Needless to say, some areas of our house look a little "un-tidy". I put it this way, "This house looks like it threw up!!" That may be exagerating a bit.....but not much.

Ok....enough! Maybe if I would update a little more often, the post wouldn't be so long!

Bye for now!

Tag, I'm it!

Here we go. As if you don't know enough about me. I've been tagged!

1) What was I doing 10 years ago today?
Iwas frantically preparing for my son Michael's graduation open-house. Can you believe it has been that long?

2)5 things on my to-do list.
Get the laundry done. Clean the house. Wash the bedding in Becky's room. Make Peanut Butter Pie. Go for a walk.

3)Snacks that I enjoy.
Anything chocolate. Popcorn.

4)Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Pay off our house. Buy Phil a pick-up truck. Cook a huge meal everyday and invite lots of people over.

5)3 of my bad habits
Talking too much. Eating too much junk food. Drinking too much coffee.

6)5 places I have lived.
Tecumseh, Mi. Adrian, Mi. Caro, Mi. Tecumseh and Tecumseh

7)5 jobs that I have had
Babysitter. Data Entry Operator (Bohn Aluminum and EDS). Receptionist (Airport/Flight School). Monitor at ACE School. Cashier (Hobby Lobby) But the best job of all is "Wife" and "Mother"

I tag: Beth Williams, Becky Arnold, Ryan Watters, Hannah Avery and Michael Arnold

Let's take a walk!

"C'mon, Emma, let's go for a walk! It's a beautiful day!" I didn't have to say it twice. She was ready to go. "Do you want to take the baby doll?" That sounded like a good idea. So, she put her baby in the cart, along with a lid to one of her dishes, a spoon, two horses, a plastic cup, three plastic fish and a rubber ducky (evidently all necessary when going for a walk). Then, just before walking out the door, she grabbed a hard hat. This is serious stuff! Down the driveway we went , took a left and began our trip around the small city block that "gramma" lives on. Oops! We took that turn a little too sharp (it's hard to steer with one hand), spilling the contents of the cart all over. Frustration!! Starting to get angry even!! "Gramma" comes to the rescue. Everything now back in the cart. "Do you want to go back?" "Nope". Oh look, there's a lady across the street. We must stop and wave. She doesn't see us, so we must yell, "Hi"! She not only sees us, but comes across the street to visit. This is fun! We show her the doll, and everything that's in the cart. Let's keep going! We turn the corner, this guy has some Bear Statuary in his garden. We stop to talk to them. But, not for long. What's that noise? It's a couple of teen-aged boys going down the middle of the street on their skate-boards. Oh, look! A flower! Cute! We must get down there and smell them! Let's keep going... didn't see that crack, but....it's ok. We'll just brush the knee off and keep going. Oh, wait! We've been so distracted with everything going on around us. Where's "gramma's" house? "I tan't see it!" Look!! A kitty in that window! "Can I hold it?" "Peeze?" There it is! I see "gramma's". C'mon, "gramma". We turn up the front walk,push the cart to the side and sit on the front stoop. That was quite the "walk". "Was that fun, Emma?" "Dat was fun!"

As I related this little story to Phil (every little detail, because just talking about Emma makes him happy), this thought came to mind:

I'm taking a little "walk" down the "sidewalk" of life. My destination: HEAVEN (my Father's House) You may think that I've taken some "silly" things along with me in my cart, but HE understands that they give me comfort. I've had some frustrating situations when it seems that everything is out of control. But my Father was there to pick up the pieces. I've fallen and skinned my knee, but look at the friends that I have made along the way. There have been some distractions and I thought I had lost my way, but, no.. I'm still going in the right direction. What about the "kitty" and the "bears"? I've even stopped to smell the flowers!!! C'mon! Let's keep going! Isn't this "walk" fun!? You may want to grab a hard hat. You just might need it!!

Let's Party!

Hello again! Now, before you start thinking all those things about me....just let me explain. I say that a lot, don't I? I was asked to speak at our Mother-Daughter Banquet next month. I'm very excited!! We have been using Emilie Barnes' book "The Spirit of Loveliness" in our monthly meetings this year and had a different speaker each time take a chapter of her book and give their perspective on it. In glancing through the titles of the chapters....I started feeling like maybe, just maybe, Cheryl had asked the wrong person to speak at this event. Some of the titles are as follows: "The Spirit of Welcome" (I think I could handle that), "The Spirit of Creativity" (oops...that reminds me of the knitting loom), "The Spirit of Femininity" (we won't even go there..), "The Spirit of Stillness" (ummm....me?) and on and on......until I came to the last chapter and......there it was. The perfect thing for a Banquet!!!! "The Spirit of Celebration". I think I can do this!!!

Here is a quote from the book. "We should be led to God by the joy of our lives as well as by the sorrow, by the light as well as by the darkness, by human fellowship as well as by human loneliness." I love it!!

So.....that's why I say, "Let's party". Not to loudness (although I do contribute to this type of thing sometimes), not to "disorderly conduct" so to speak, but to a "spirit" of celebration that brightens everyday of our life. We ought to live our lives EXPLODING with joy---like we really believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

As we prepare to "celebrate" another day in which to worship God, let's open our lives and hearts to Him and let his Spirit fill our lives. Let's "celebrate" HIM.

Just thought that I would share some photos with you. They are not in the order that I wanted them to be in. I seem to be having trouble with my blog lately. I'm convinced that it's the computer (it can't be me). Some of these were taken Easter Sunday. Little "Miss Emma" kept us entertained all afternoon. The others were taken Friday. Emma insisted on "helping" Grandma do the dishes. We had quite a mess, but much fun!!! Call me "Grandma" anytime!!! It's an honor to bear that title!!! Have a great week!

Ok! I'm going to jump out on a limb here and share something that has been on my mind lately. That is REST and QUIET. I already touched on REST a few days ago. Lately, it seems that God has been allowing circumstances in my life that demand the need for rest. The details are not important, but the things that I have been learning are. I am by nature a "noisy" person. I enjoy being noisy and I love having lots of noise around me. Noise means people, and I love having people around. But, since Phil and I have entered the "empty nest" era of our life, we seem to have a lot more "quiet" going on around here than "noise".

It seems, lately, that it was being impressed on me that this "quiet" is intentional. I come from a hard-working family. Some things that I heard as a child were: "Hard work never hurt anyone." "The early bird catches the worm." "Idleness is the devil's workshop." "Are you working hard...or hardly working?". Don't get me wrong, I believe in hard work. God expects us to put everything into what we are doing. He doesn't want us to do anything half-way. But do we make our "hard work" and idol? Is the appearance of "working hard" more important than what we are really doing? When we are asked, "How are you doing?" do we answer, proudly, "Busier than ever!"?

After years of "working hard" I am realizing that along with a strong work ethic (that is definately taught in the Bible) is something that some of us often miss. It's a strong rest ethic. I'm beginning to see that, maybe, the secret to a healthy soul is not to stop working hard, but along with that, take a regular "pause". I'm afraid that one of the biggest hinderences to "revival" could be our "busyness".

Now, I'm not saying that we need to set aside all of our activities and programs, that seem to be working to bring people in, but that we need to push the pause button now and then. It seems that we choose more activities to fill our "time off"; such as shopping, watching a good movie, reading a book or just "go out and doing something". There's nothing wrong with these things, but let's not forget to slow down long enough to take "spiritual inventory". "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8).

More than ever, we not only need a quiet place and a quiet time.....we also need a quiet heart. We need to listen. To pray. To hear. If He would speak in a "still small voice" would we be able to hear? I'm afraid that I might not. Why? I may have too much noice going on around me.

So here's the conclusion that I have come up with. Maybe it's not so much what WE seem to be doing for HIM that brings results, but what HE IS and DOES FOR US. Let's not stop "working hard" let's just remember to push the pause button on a regular basis. Turn off the noise, even for just a few hours. Spend time "listening" to God. It's time to seek Him until He comes and rains righteousness on us (Hosea 10:12).

I guess that I had better start thanking God for the quiet place (our home), the quiet time (my days off of work), and start preparing my heart to be quiet. I think I'll turn off the radio, I really don't need to watch that movie again, and do I really need to check my blog three or four times a day? Instead, I think I'll open my Bible and maybe even fast and pray more.

I don't know about you, but I have prayers that need answered. Do I really believe that He can do what He said He would? I need to work harder, but I also need to "pause" more often with a "quiet" heart, so that I can hear Him when He speaks.

How was your week?

What a week! I have the most amazing children ever! As some of you may know, Tuesday Phil and I celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Thirty years that man has put up with me! Can you believe it? Don't answer that question! Michael and Ruth Anne had invited us to their house for dinner Tuesday. We were excited and really looking forward to it. But, what we didn't know was that they had a surprise party planned. All our children (except Becky, of course, she was at college and couldn't make the trip since she was coming home on the week-end) and my father and his friend were all there. They had parked their cars where we wouldn't notice them. We had a wonderful evening and felt very special and loved. Friday, Good Friday, we had the most amazing Good Friday Service that I have ever attended. Then later, in spite of the foot of snow, we had a special time for the children (big and small). There was an Easter egg relay, followed by snacks. We had a good time. Easter Sunday was a very special day. It was the first in a very, very long time that Phil and I had ALL our children in church at once. Our oldest son hasn't been to church in quite awhile, and we were all excited and very grateful to see him walk in. And then, of course, there were 17 of us at our house for a fantastic time of eating, and fun. Our grand-daughter entertained us as usual. Well, I hope that your week was as good as mine, but I very much doubt it!