As unto the LORD (via Mowser)

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW...

This blog is just to let you know that if any of you want to purchase one of my books you can email me and let me know. My email address is audclay@gmail.com. I will be happy to see that you get as many as you want. I did recieve on comment on the blog announcing the books and I couldn't find out who it was...so maybe you can let me know if you are the one.
Thank you so much...
Audrey

Sunday, May 18, 2008

OUR BOOK IS FINISHED

"Oh happy day!" After almost two years, our book is finished and printed. It has been an exciting, wonderful journey. You will need to read the book to understand how this all came about. Over 55 years ago, while pastoring the church in Adrian, my husband was driving Madison School bus to supplement our income. He came home and told me about three little girls who rode his bus that were not going to Sunday School. We visited them and invited them to come. They accepted the Lord. They grew up, went to college, married, had children and we lost contact with them. Two years ago God directed us to come together and write this book. These were stories that I had written over a 10 year period of time. Actually they were letters of encouragement that had been sent out while I was in pastoral care. One dear lady, Lois Hymes, kept the letters and literally "bugged" me constantly to have them printed in book form. With the help of Greg Shiparo and the H.O.C. printing company in Toledo, Sheila Bowering, her mother Helen Waggoner (proof readers), Gail Palpant, Jill Breckel, my sister Nonie who did all my housework, I am happy to announce that THE BOOK IS FINISHED!!! In reality there are many people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. It would be impossible to name them all. But most of all to the Lord Jesus Christ who has helped me through the years to see His story written every day in my life.

Pictured above are...Top: Audrey, Gail, and Jill; Next: Barb Leik and Judy Ackley who came early before we had unpacked the books and bought 10 each. My prayer, "Keep them coming Lord, we need to sell them."

Friday, May 16, 2008

Mother's Day/Baby Dedication

This blog will not be wordy. I flew down to Springfield, MO. to spend time with Debbie and her family. Doug was there and took me out for a lovely Mother's Day dinner and bought me some special gifts. On Friday Debbie, Bethany, and I drove over to Amy and Jeremy's home in Memphis TN. John flew in from Toronto. Jonathan and Heather drove in for the special family get together. Jeremy and Amy's little baby, Grant Andrew was dedicated to the Lord in the service on Sunday. John was able to officiate at his grandson's dedication. It was a beautiful service. Jeremy's family live in Memphis and we were royally entertained in their homes.

On Saturday evening John made a presentation and we were all teary eyed. As most of you know, one year ago in April, Amy and Jeremy had a little son, Andrew Nicholas. Andrew was born early and went home to be with Jesus. Two families from the DesMoines church each gave $10,000.00 to build a beautiful church in Peru. This church was built in memory of Andrew Nicholas. John had pictures of the church and congregation to give to us. Who knows? Perhaps little Andrew will reach more in his short term than he would have in a life time.

My friend Carol Bleich stopped by and told me she reads this blog all the time and she really likes the pictures...sooo without further adieu...here are some pics.

Keep reading my blog...I have some great news!!!

Friday, May 09, 2008

FIRST MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION IN 90 YEARS!

Upon arriving at the Springfield, MO airport on Monday evening, I was greeted by my son-in-law. He held up a large invisible sign which said, "Welcome, Mom!" He had missed his flight to Toronto and was getting ready to board on the flight that I came in on.

I walked a few more feet on my way to baggage claim and there was my wonderful sister waiting.

Debbie was waiting in the car with our dear friend Donna Liebler. Debbie had planned a surprise "Mother's Day" dinner. Donna knew she was coming to dinner but did not know that it was in her honor. We had a hard time convincing her that even though she had never given birth to a child, she had been a mother to many. She said, "I am 90 years old and have never been honored at a special dinner for mother's day." She kept saying she was overwhelmed. I think she was just as surprised as Abraham's wife Sara was when she found out that she was going to have a baby at age 90.

We had a wonderful evening. Debbie had set the "you are special" red plate for her. We gave her gifts and cards. We sat around the piano, played hymns and sang. Donna has a beautiful voice and it certainly hasn't changed much after all these years. She shared a lot of beautiful memories. Her last words were, "I just can't believe you did this."

Donna was in delivery room with me when my two older children were born. (She worked at the hospital.) She was our baby sitter in the early years of our ministry. She had great wisdom and I learned so much from her. I am thankful for the special people that God has placed in my life through the years. He always seems to know the right time, the right place and the right people for the right circumstances. Thank you reading this blog and being a special person in my life. I love you! Happy Mother's Day!!

Nonie's, husband Roy, helped preserve the evening for us by taking pictures.

Pictures are of Donna, Me, Nonie, Debbie, Bethany and Roy.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

WHAT A GREAT BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Ivan Parker, who is featured regularly on the Gaither Net, sings a song I love. In fact I have it on my ipod. It says, "I'm going to have the time of my life when the time of my life is over, I'm going to get carried away when I get carried away...." It's really a foot stompin', hand clappin' song. But I am going on record to say, "we had the time of our life at Marilynn Leach's surprise birthday party last night. Betsy and Leah (daughter and daughter-in-law) planned a most beautiful surprise party for Marilynn's 60th. Ken and Fay Martin drove their van and 7 of us were able to go and help celebrate. It was so much fun! All of us who came from Adrian had been privileged to work with Marilynn in ministry when they served as pastors in Adrian. LOTS AND LOTS OF GOOD MEMORIES! All through the evening I noticed a common thread of conversation. We were all sharing about good times in the past. There is an old Japanese Haiku that says, "A memory is never a pleasure until it is full grown." It was an evening filled with full-grown pleasured, treasured memories. Of course my own memory of Marilynn is very special. We worked side by side for 17 years. We both loved ministry and shared in many, many ministry events. We cried together, laughed together, cooked together, cleaned the church together, decorated for Christmas together and on and on the list goes. We had a very special friendship and it was 17 years of pure pleasure. As I pondered this my heart rejoiced in realizing, that these kinds of friendships will go on and on all through eternity. And we are going to "have the time of our life when the time of our life is over." PRAISE THE LORD....I sure hope you will all be partying with me then. (Make sure you RSVP by accepting Jesus as your Savior.) THANKS BETSY AND LEAH FOR A GREAT EVENING AND THANKS MARILYNN FOR TURNING 60!

PS The third picture from top is Leah, Betsy, Betsy's mother-in-law and Marilynn. The fourth picture down is our Adrian group and of course the party would not have been complete without Marilynn's grandson Robert William King! (Betsy and Rob's son.)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

A LESSON FROM BOB

Every Wednesday morning several women from the church and myself go to a nursing home and have a gospel sing along. There are about 45 people who come to this service. We have both men and women. They love singing. We sing fast songs slow songs...choruses. We also have a little 9 year old home schooled gal that comes and helps direct the singing. They love Sophia!
There is a man named Bob, that comes each week. He loves to keep time with the music by clapping. AND AMAZINGLY ENOUGH he is always manages to have the right beat. It doesn't matter whether the song is fast or slow...he keeps perfect time by clapping. Today he wheeled right up by the piano and stayed there the whole. This is unusual because he usually wheels all over the area. We had been singing for about 25 minutes. He looked up at me and shouted out..."You are a good woman, you are good lady, a good woman." I looked over and before I could say, "thank you," he had
hung his head over and went promptly to sleep. The girls and I had a good laugh.

On the way home I was thinking...'how easy it is to say, "God you're a good God," and then promptly go to sleep spiritually. We sometimes fail to understand that God wants us to share His good-ness with others. We come into contact with people every day that need to see how "good" God is. Bob had a good excuse. He is on medication. He had been clapping hard for 25 minutes and he has dementia. I had to ask myself..."Audrey, what is your excuse for telling God how good He is and then falling asleep on the job of sharing Him with the world I live in?"

Sunday, April 20, 2008

GIFTS FROM GOD

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A GREAT REUNION!!!

I had the privilege of riding to Springfield with Dan and Betty Gilleylen, friends of mine from church. Their son and family have just moved to Branson. I was able spend a whole fun-filled week with my Debbie and her family. We had a special tea-party for Donna Liebler and two other ladies from Maranatha. Donna is one of the co-founders of Bethany...When the tea party ended, Debbie and I hopped in the car and drove to Memphis, TN. I got to see my wonderful, marvelous, precious great grand-son for the first time. What a sweetie! I have included a couple pictures of him. We drove back to Springfield the next day and planned a big reunion. Debbie thought it would be a great idea to invite all the people who had ever been connected to Bethany Assembly and were now living in the Springfield area to come for a reunion. Of course Donna Liebler was our special guest for the evening. What a turnout...we had 24 adults and 5 children. The David Boyds and the William Campbells could not be there because of previous engagements. It was certainly an evening to remember. We gathered in a big circle and each person told about their connection to Bethany. Then we asked Donna pray. It was was so beautiful to hear her express thanks to the Lord for how God had blessed Bethany. She told about how when they first came to Adrian to establish the church, the city fathers told them Adrian did not need any more churches. God had His own plan. Bethany is still growing and thriving. On Easter Sunday 21 more people accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and each Sunday there are those who come in with hungry hearts and accept the wonderful gift of Salvation. I am enclosing a few pictures...see if you can recognize any of them. Everybody had a great time visiting and catching up on the news of families. In fact our last guest did not leave until 11:30.

That night as I lay in bed I couldn't help but think about the great reunion we will have in heaven. I am sure after we spend a few thousand years worshiping Jesus...we will stroll all over heaven, renewing acquaintances and catching up on all the good news of our eternal rewards. I can't even begin to imagine the joy we will experience. If you are reading this blog...please, please, make sure you have made your reservation for this party. You don't have to be in a church, you don't have to be kneeling down...you just have to invite Jesus into your heart. Hope to see you at the great Heavenly Reunion!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

BLESSING HIS EYE

Yesterday was a great day! As most of you know I have written a devotional based on letters of encouragement that I have written to people over the last 20 years of my life. This book would have never been completed without the the help and inspiration of several people but especially two dear dear friends that God sent back into my life after 50 years. (That story is in the book.) Jill Breckel and Gail Palpant (sisters) did all the lay out, the graphics and a multitude of other things that go along with writing a book.
Yesterday we met at my home for a conference call with our printer...a wonderful Christian man who owns and operates a large printing corporation in Toledo. He also serves on the board of Calvary Assembly of God. Since our phone conference was at 11:00, I asked the girls to come for lunch. Realizing that they are both very gifted artist, I decided to make the table look a little special. No paper plates, no bare table, etc. I really wanted to bless them, even though we ate in the kitchen at my small table. (I had taken the leaf out.) It really didn't take me long...I used crystal (glass) plates from the dollar store along with place mats from the dollar store. And with just a few added touches it looked pretty nice.

When Gail came to the table she said, "Oooh, this really blesses my eye!"

I just couldn't get that phrase out of my mind...all day long I kept thinking, "Dear God, when you look in my heart each day are you able to say, 'O what I see really blesses my eye?'" I am reminded that the Lord isn't looking for a lot of "expensive adornment" but because I represent Him, He wants me to be attractive to those who do not know Him in a personal way.

As we were enjoying the chicken salad and the fresh baked crescent rolls, Jill spoke up and said, "Wow, this blesses my stomach!" And again I was reminded of the Scripture in Psalms that says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." YES THAT'S THE REASON WE NEED TO PREPARE OUR HEARTS WITH THE EXTRA TOUCHES OF THE LORD'S BEAUTY..SO WE WILL BE PLEASING IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD AND IN PLEASING HIM WE WILL INSPIRE OTHERS TO TASTE OF THE LORD'S GOODNESS AND SEE THAT HE IS REALLY GOOD!

I hope this makes sense to you. It spoke volumes to me. (No more spiritual paper plates...With God's help, I will make sure each day my heart's table is spread with God's best!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

BE READY WHEN THE CALL COMES!

Who says old age is boring! Yesterday at 6:30 AM my grand son called me from North Central University just to share the good things that God has been doing in his life. It didn't matter to him that I am 76 and he is 21. There was no generation gap when we talked. I love you Jonathan for taking time to call me. I was still in bed and rolled over smiling and feeling young in spirit when the phone rang again. It was my 76 year old friend and these were her words; "Get up....come over to my house immediately...I am hosting a "come as you are" breakfast. Don't get dressed...don't comb your hair, don't brush your teeth, just come as you are!" So I did, wearing fuchsia flowered pajamas that my grand daughter, Bethany, had made for me 4 years ago, an aqua chenille robe that Debbie had given me and a pair of purple with red polka dots slipper socks. On the way I picked up my 84 year old friend Curl, and we picked up our 87 year old friend Berniece. What a sight we were. I'm sure our senior citizen friends, living in the neighborhood, were looking out their windows saying, "what in the world are those crazy women doing now?"

Eight of us showed up for the wonderful breakfast prepared by Helen Mitchell. We had a time of sharing and fun. Then we all left to drive home and get ready for the day.

All day long I kept thinking about that fun adventure and how it related to the coming of the Lord. The Bible says that Jesus is coming in an hour that we think not. When that trumpet sounds there will be no time for a spiritual shower, for cleaning up our act. It won't matter what we are wearing on the outside, if our hair is in curlers, or if we haven't brushed our teeth, The Bible says it's what is on the inside that counts. I always want to be sure my heart is clean before Him.

P.S. The picture is a little blurry...but that was "on purpose." The ladies didn't want to be seen too clearly in their "come as you are" garments.

Friday, February 29, 2008

RINGS, WRINKLES & SONGS IN THE HEART

Two weeks ago my friend Curl Lawler and I went to visit a sweet lady in a nursing home who was celebrating her 90th birthday. Ruby Jordan and her husband had attended our church for years. Her husband has been in heaven for several years. The nursing home is a beautiful facility. As we were walking through the hall to Ruby's room, we passed through a beautifully furnished living room where the residents could entertain family members. There in the middle of the room was a large Baby Grand piano. After visiting with Ruby for a short time I asked her if she would like to go to the living room and sing hymns. She readily agreed. Both Curl and I were amazed at what happened. This 90 year old saint of God sat on the piano bench beside me and for one half hour we sang dozens of old hymns. Her voice was clear as a bell and she knew every word. When I complimented her on how well she sang her reply was, "I never learned to read notes so I had to learn how to sing." WOW! That was a new theory I had never heard...and she sang those hymns from her heart.

When we finished singing she said something that made both my friend and I laugh. She looked down at my hands and said, "you don't have any rings on!" Then looked up at my face and said, "and you don't have any wrinkles!" (The wrinkles were there, she just didn't see them.)

Have you ever heard comments that just seem to play over and over in your head. For several days after our visit I kept thinking about Ruby's statements, "no rings, no wrinkles." But the truth that gripped my heart was this; If I live to be 90, I don't give a hoot about whether I have any rings or how many wrinkles I have but "Dear Lord, please let me have your songs in my heart like Ruby." Rings get lost and tarnish, wrinkles don't matter but it would be a gloomy and sad world without God's songs in our hearts!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

G G's First Conversation with Grant Andrew

As you all know, I have a brand new great grand-son. If you get on Baker's Blog you will understand why I am so excited. We Praise the Lord for Grant Andrew. He is going to grow up to be a "mighty man of God." HOWEVER, he is still a little (barely over 6 lb) baby. I don't care what the experts say, this GG believes in talking baby talk and I had the prvilege of doing that 20 minutes ago when Jeremy and Amy called me on our Web Cam set up. I got excited seeing and hearing Grant. He got excited hearing his GG! We had a wonderful conversation. I knew most of you would not believe me so as we (Grant and I) were talking to each other, I was snapping pictures. (I love my Web Cam.)

To prove my point, here are the pictures. If you understand baby talk, you will be able to know what he is saying to me. Just in case you don't, I will interpret.

In the first picture he said, "Hi GG, thanks for calling!" The next picture he said , "GG...I think you're funny." The third picture he said, "You are talking too much and I am getting sleepy." And..the last picture..."Bye for now GG, I'll catch you later."

Just think, he wasn't due to arrive until today, the 24th, and he is already communicating with his GG. I am a blessed Great Gramma and look forward to lots and lots of fun times with Grant Andrew either in person or by Web Cam. I LOVE YOU GRANT ANDREW BAKER!

I am so thankful that our Heavenly Father is able to understand us even when our communication skills don't always express exactly what we are trying to say. He reads our hearts, calls us by name and tells us He loves us!

Monday, February 04, 2008

KANGAROO LOVE....

If you read my last blog you will realize that the world of preemie's have opened up to me in a new way. My great grandson arrived three weeks early. Yesterday I was invited to my friend's home for dinner, Stan and Jill Plate. As we talked "baby talk," they reminded me of their twin grand sons who were born three years ago and came 2 1/2 months early. The weiged in at 2 lbs and 12 oz each. They were in a hospital that specialized in the care of pre-mature babies. Their mother had to drive 30 miles each day to spend time with her babies. One of the interesting things Jill shared with me was the "kangaroo love" proceedure. When the parents would hold the babies, they would hold the babies on the left side of their chest, skin to skin. The theory was that growth and healing came much faster when the babies felt the warmth of the skin of their parents and could hear the heart beat. I was amazed at this but could really see the value. This practice is called "Kangaroo Love." You could probably google it and find out more.

This morning in my devotions a thought hit me. I believe our Lord wants us to have Kangaroo Love with Him. There is an old hymn of the church that says, "Nothing between my soul and my Saviour, So that His blessed face may be seen; Nothing preventing the least of His favor; Keep the way clear! Let nothing between. What if we all could be "skin to skin" with Jesus and hear His heartbeat, realizing how much He loves us. I believe there would be a lot more "mature" Christans. I believe spiritual growth and healing would come more quickly. I am praying and asking God to let me be involved in a "Kangaroo Love" relationship with him.

The picture is of Dawn holding one of her 2 lb 12 oz twins. The other picture is of the boys 2 years later. Clay and Cole were the recipients of Kangaroo Love.

Friday, February 01, 2008

GREAT GRAMMA, GRAMMA GREAT OR GIGI?

What an exciting day it was for me yesterday. I got a call from my granddaughter telling me she was in the hospital. Later they called saying that GRANT ANDREW had arrived...all 5 pounds.

I didn't get the whole story until later...and here it is!

Debbie (her mom) had arrived on Tuesday to attend a baby shower for Amy that was held at the church. They had a wonderful time. On Wednesday they spent the day organizing the nursery and other things that you do to prepare for baby's arrival. Debbie was planning to drive the 5 hours back to Springfield from Memphis. She told me that she felt impressed to stay at least until after the doctor's appointment on Friday.

On Friday morning they arrived at her regurlar doctor's office. He examined her and told her that the baby probably would be full term or later. (Fev. 21.) Not conincedentally, she had another appointment with her high risk specialist the same day. In his office they did another ultrasound and he told her "we're going to have a birthday today; get to the hospital." Due to the fact that the baby was footling breach, they prepared her for a c-section. All in God's divine plan for the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck 4 times. I praise the Lord for how He orchestrated all of the above. Jeremy, Amy, baby all doing well. Both grammas and gramps are rejoicing and well those who know me know I am literally on cloud nine. I went out and bought a Web Cam and am going to buy Amy and Jeremy one so I can watch Grant grow and teach him to talk to Great Gramma.

As some of you know, Amy had begun to have contractions early on and had to be put on bed rest. When this first happened I asked the girls in my prayer group if they would pray for Amy and the baby. Our leader, Linda, said to me, "I will pray for Amy and the baby 4 times a day until he arrives safe and sound." She never missed a day. So many times people ask us to pray for them and it can easily slip our mind. A number of years ago, I made a committment to the Lord. Whenever anyone asks me to pray for them, if possible, I pray right then on the spot. I've prayed at the mall, in the grocery store, in parking lots, in the church foyer or wherever we may be. And then I try to pray when the Holy Spirit brings them to mind. I haven't always succeeded but through my life's experience I have learned the importance of keeping my committment to pray. How I appreciate Linda's faithfulness in praying and God has answered prayer. Now a new generation has started and he is already on my prayer list. I hope to be around to see him grow up (whoa I better get back on my tread mill) to become a man of Godly character and PRAYER!

Why don't you help me decide..should I be Great Gramma, Gramma Great, or G.G?

Love to all of you

Saturday, December 29, 2007

A TENNESSE CHRISTMAS

We were to spend Christmas in Springfield, MO with John, Debbie, Bethany, Jonathan, Amy, and Jeremy. However my great grand son who is coming into this world around Feb. 24th had a different idea. He decided to create his own celebration at the Baptist Memorial hospital in Memphis, TN.

Amy and Jeremy live in Memphis. After Amy was admitted to the hospital twice having early contractions, God provided some great intervention in the form of prayer, a monitor, and a tributilin pump however she still has to be on bed rest and can't travel. In very gentle but firm tones I spoke to Grant and told him to "settle down, relax and stay put for the next few weeks."

After recieving the news of Amy's situation,we loaded up the cars, left Springfield drove to Tennessee. We arrived on Friday and brought Amy home from the hospital on Sunday. We all had awonderful time of cooking, eating, playing games, laughing, singing, sharing, enjoying the presence of the Lord.

When we first entered the hospital I was thrilled to see the beautiful nativity set in the foyer. The sign they had in front of the scene made my heart rejoice. I was drawn to it, literally. (Pictures above)

Hundreds of Christmas cards with hundreds of messages have been sent out. One in particular had a great impact on me...It mentioned Jesus' birth and then three lines..

HIS DESTINY...THE CROSS

HIS PURPOSE...LOVE

HIS REASON...YOU

As I read this and put my name where it said "you," the truth of how much He loves me rose to a whole new dimension. The greatest hope we have for the New Year is Jesus. The greatest desire of my heart for the New Year is to serve Him. The greatest confidence in walking into the year 2008 is knowing that He, Jesus, will be faithful to guide us and walk beside us because His reason for coming into the world was us!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Ohio State Comes Through Again

This blog is dedicated to my grand son Jonathan who is an avid Ohio State fan!!

I once heard that the definition of "mixed emotions" was watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new car. I have mixed emotions...I was born in Ohio, lived in Michigan all my life and am not always sure whether I am a Wolverine or a Buckeye. However, after today it's Ohio State all the way. I spent this last week in Springfield, MO with my grand daughter Bethany. Her parents were attending a meeting for the Assemblies of God Superintendents. Debbie dropped me off at the Spgfld. airport in time for me to catch my 10:40 flight. My flight was going into Chicago and then a connecting flight bringing me back to Detroit. When I arrived at the Spgfld. airport...found that my flight was delayed 1/2 hour which meant that I would only have about 20 minutes in Chicago to get to my Detroit flight. I wasn't too concerned until the ticket agent in Spgfld. looked at me and said, "You are really going to have to hoof it to catch your connecting flight." He checked the gates and told me that I would arrive on F12 and have to get to C23. I did not want to miss my flight because Ken and Fay Martin were picking me up in Detroit. When we finally boarded the plane in Spgfld., I was in seat 2B and told the stewardess my concern. I saw this fine looking young man in 1A with an Ohio State Hat on. He heard our conversation and turned around and said to me, "Are you catching the flight into Detroit?" My spirits started to lift and "Ohio State" was starting to look better and better. (I have kind of been on the fence between Ohio and Mich.) I told him yes that I was hoping to catch the connecting flight but had some concerns. He very confidently said to me, "I'm catching that flight also...don't worry, we'll get there on time." My response was.."Thank you...I'm going to hang with you and I'm keeping my eye on that red Ohio State hat." The plane landed...fortunately Mr. Ohio State flys a lot and knew exactly where to go...I didn't have to strain my eyes to see the signs leading to the "C" concourse, I simply followed the Red Ohio State Hat!! We arrived at the gate and were almost the last ones in the plane. Yeah! I felt like singing the Ohio State song. I said to him, "Thank you, thank you...we made it, we made it!" He turned to me and said, "Yes we made it but I don't think our luggage did!" At this point I really didn't care...however Mr. Ohio State was correct. I met him at the luggage claim office in Detroit. He was filling out the form for his luggage to be delivered and I followed suit again. I am now home, typing this blog hoping my baggage arrives at least by tomorrow morning. This morning in my devotions I read a neat article on how we can trust God for every detail of our life. I may not understand everything that happens, but I do know and have experienced that I can depend on Him to be there for me.

PS The airlines just called and my luggage will be delivered at 12 midnight. (that's tonight)

PS GO BUCKEYES!!!!

Friday, November 30, 2007

Five Blogs in One

Wow! I can't believe that it has been two months since I have blogged. Several people have reminded so here goes a "5 in one" blog.

BLOG NUMBER ONE...Our wonderful trip to the Grand Hotel up in Mackinaw Island. My sister and I, along with two of friends attended a "Winsome Women's" conference. It was a two day conference. The speaker's were Billy Graham's two daughters. Outside of getting "sea sick" on the ferry ride over it truly was a "Grand" experience. The real thrill for me was being able to spend time in the beautiful hotel. It would be too costly to spend a night there but by attending the conference it was very reasonable. The rooms are breathtaking, the food was indescribably delicious, the Jamaican waiters treated us like royalty. As long as we wore our name tags that associated us with the conference, we could go anywhere in the hotel that a high paying guest could have gone. HOWEVER, when the conference was officially over and we had to turn in our name tags we were out of there and there was no way to be able to get back in. I couldn't help but think about heaven. I am so glad that according to Scripture my name has been recorded, not on a name tag but in God's Book of Life. My name was recorded there at age 3 when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour and His Blood cleansed me from all my sin and the debt was paid. (My reservation for heaven was signed and sealed and will last for all eternity.)

BLOG NUMBER TWO...The Move...Most of you know already that my son-in-law was elected to be the General Secretary for the Assemblies of God. Of course this required a move to Springfield, Missouri. I had the privilege of flying down to help Debbie unpack. John had an extremely busy fall due to many speaking commitments all over the world. When I arrived there were boxes and boxes that needed to be unpacked. Debbie and I had so much fun opening the boxes, sorting, throwing away, and organizing. My goal was to not leave one box unpacked with the exception of John's books but that may take all of this life and part of the next. And...we did it! I even had time to set up their computer, fax, printer and DSL. I got so inspired, I came home and did some sorting, throwing away and organizing of my own. How easy it is to let "things" pile up to the point of being unorganized clutter. This reminded me of my spiritual life. I have been trying to take the time every day, all during the day to get quiet before the Lord and with His help get rid of the things that clutter my spiritual life. Things like, fear of the future, being too busy to take the time to pray and read God's Word, worrying about things that I have no control over etc. Getting rid of that kind of clutter helps me to sense the presence of Jesus and experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

BLOG NUMBER THREE... Another miracle! Many of you know that last April my grand daughter and her husband were expecting a little boy. He came early and was immediately ushered to his heavenly home. Now the Lord has blessed them with another gift..Grant Andrew who will be arriving at his Memphis, Tennessee home on February 24th. I am amazed at modern technology. This picture of my Great Grandson was taken while still in the womb. I can see clearly he has Amy's chin and Jeremy's eyes. (Yes I can!!!) It reminds me of the Scripture that tells us that "God knew us and knit us together in our mother's womb." Technology is a great thing. I am a Techie gram, but God had a jump start on all of the great technical minds of this world and knew us before we were formed.

BLOG NUMBER FOUR ...I was arrested on my birthday! My sis and several girls took me out for my birthday. While we were in the restaurant, a police man walked in. As we were eating, he walked over to our table, pulled out hand cuffs and proceeded to arrest me for having a birthday. Of course it was all a joke! My friend Curl Lawler had seen the police officer come in and asked him to participate in the fun. No spiritual application here...except maybe "quit having birthday."

BLOG NUMBER FIVE..."The Main Ingredient" My friend, and I won't mention her name or she won't be my friend any more, called me to tell me something. She was laughing so hard she couldn't talk. It took her five minutes to finally get her story told. She had gone into the Speedway Gas Station to buy gas. The sell hot dogs but it is a do it yourself. She picked up the bun and proceeded to fix the hot dog with all the trimmings, mustard, relish, onions etc. Then you slide the hot dog into a paper sleeve, then go to the counter and pay. She got into to her car, drove home, took the hot dog in the house, poured a glass of Sprite and sat down to eat. She bit into her hot dog and thought, this taste different, something is wrong. Upon opening the bun, discovered that she had forgotten the "main ingredient." She had forgotten to put the hot dog in the bun. We laughed and laughed! She swore me to secrecy so I can't tell you who did this but her initials are CL. Anyway I kept thinking how we sometimes leave the main ingredient out of our every day lives. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He makes life delightful; He gives us everything we need to satisfy the hunger in our hearts and yet so many times at the end of the day we look back and realize that we have left Jesus out of our life. That incident confirmed in my heart once again to make sure I don't forget "the main ingredient of prayer and Bible reading" in my life every day.

Hey...it's been great to be back blogging....hope you can wade through all of this. Have a wonderful blessed Christmas and don't forget the Main Person, JESUS IS REALLY THE ONLY REASON FOR THE SEASON.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

BEAUTIFUL BETSY'S BABY SHOWER

As grandpa William Leach would say WOW! What a wonderful day we enjoyed at Betsy Leach King's baby shower. My sister, Nonie, drove all six of us into Farmington Hills. Some of the girls from the district had prepared a lovely dinner served in a beautifully decorated room. You did not have to guess that you were at a boy baby shower. It truly was a grand celebration of a blessed "coming event." Betsy was beautiful and glowing! We all had so much fun meeting with old friends and new ones. (not old in age...just from times past.) For those of you that were unable to attend, I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the pictures.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

FAINTING GOATS, FAINTING KIDS AND FAINTING SAINTS!

Last week my sister asked me if I had ever heard of a "fainting goat?" She and her husband had just come from a farm where they had seen "fainting goats. " I got on Google and learned about this animal. The bottom line is that if they are startled or something out of the ordinary happens to them, they faint. After a few seconds they revive.
This incident reminded me of my three youngest "grand kids." Christmas has always been an exciting time in our family especially a few years ago when the seven grand kids were younger. Palmer family from Iowa would drive all night after their Christmas eve service so they could be here with the other family on Christmas day. The three youngest grand kids, Bethany, Wesley, and Kaylee were born the same year. These three could think of any number of fun activities such as, play acting, singing through the Christmas carol song book, and a variety of other childlike made up games...even a wheel chair race one time at Uncle Doug's church. My house is over 50 years old and there is a clothes chute off of the upstairs bedroom, another on the main floor, and one in the basement. They loved playing the game where one stood at the top, one in the middle, and the third one in the basement. The one at the top would throw a ball or any other unbreakable object down while the one in the middle tried to catch it. They would play for hours, ignoring all their Christmas presents.

One year the ring leader of the three, Kaylee, thought up a fun thing to do. When anyone said anything to them, or when they would open their presents they would pretend to faint. They would make a swoon like sound and than fall over. We had a lot of fun with our "fainting kids" that Christmas. When I heard about the "fainting goats," it reminded me of the Christmas we had "fainting kids."

Isaiah 40:31 gives great advice about how we can avoid being "fainting saints. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, AND NOT FAINT."
I don't have a remedy for fainting goats or fainting grand kids but I can declare to you positively, and from my own experience, no matter what you are going through, you can depend and rely on the power and strength of the Lord to sustain you and hold you steady through any situation. You don't have to be a "fainting saint," you need only to "wait on the Lord!" PS I didn't have a picture of the fainting grand kids...but I did have one of the wheel chair race. The other is of a fainted goat. (No picture of "fainting saints.")