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Since we have been justified through faith, we have faith with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)

Read Romans 5:1-5

Emily was only five.  She was dressed in her Sunday best She sat quietly in the first row in the front of the casket on one of the chairs placed there by the mortuary for her uncle's funeral. Quietly, she sat looking at the casket. Seeing her sitting there alone, her grandmother slipped over and sat down beside her. "Hi Honey"

"That's not really Uncle Neil, Grandma," said Emily with all the confidence of a childs simple faith. "He's really in Heaven.  That's where you go when you die."

"Yes," agreed her grandmother. "I know."

In a few simple moments and a few simple words, Emily and her grandmother gave voice to and claimed for themselves that hope which all Christians share and Scripture promises will never disappoint – the peace and assurance God made possible through His Son and available to all whose hope is in Jesus.

Our Father, most of the time we take the peace and joy that are Your gifts to us for granted. But in those moments when we come face to face with death, we remember and we are grateful for Your unspeakable gift of Hope.  In the name of Him who loved us so much He died for us.  Amen.


From "365 Devotionals

May we all pause today to give honor and respect to those men and women down through the years of our country's history who have given selflessly of their time, their strength, their fortunes and even their very lives, to preserve for us the freedoms we too often take for granted.  May God richly bless each one who is still with us today, and give them peace.

Darrel and I got up early to attend the Veterans breakfast given by the high school students.  What a lovely thing they do!  We were met outside the door by two lines of lovely girls to greet us, and there were dozens of young people to take care of every detail.  They played and sang patriotic songs, they did the Pledge, the National Anthem and the prayers, they served the food and drinks, they expressed gratitude to the veterans for their service.  Breakfast was very good:  orange juice, coffee, sausage gravy and biscuit, scrambled eggs, fruit, and huge home baked cinnamon rolls.  They gave away a number of lovely door prizes (we won the first one!) And after all was done, the kids filed past to shake hands with every attendee and say thanks.  I am proud of our young folks and their leadership today.  God bless them!

..........You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great........

We had some excitement last night, as we went to bed.  I saw some fluff behind our flight cage that holds our finches.  I reached around the cage pushing it away from the wall and out flies/drops a baby finch, a fledgling. I got it just as another baby tried to go through the bars.....This is crazy they are not supposed to fit between the bars!   Checking them this morning they are fine, the one that fledged last week and the two new ones.  Up to 12 finches.  I think I am ready to sell some pairs.

Here is the picture of the sweater I struggled with.  It is finally done, and I am starting the next project. 





Off to help a stressed out friend. Pray for her and her family as they go through these rough times.

Hi everyone on a beautiful sunny day here in Georgia.  We had a great time last night at the dinner theater.  The dinner was delicious and was served to us at the table, the play (with a very large cast of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) was excellent with great singers in the lead parts and a very good orchestra. The housekeepers have been here this morning and I will be heading out for my Monday Men's luncheon.  The friend with the brain cancer I wrote about a few days ago passed away yesterday morning. 

Ruth Ann, certainly hope your family escaped unharmed in the Philippines.  That is certainly a terrible tragedy.  They are predicting the possibility of snow here in Georgia but probably just in the mountains.

Judy, only God makes perfect things so no need to worry about one stitch not just right.  However, you sound like Pat with her quilting.  Thanks for the devotional thoughts for this week.  Your devotional reminds me of the Billy Graham special we watched Saturday night on the "Cross".  It was wonderful to hear his proclamation of the power of the cross. 

Janet, you have so many other skills and you are "good for a lot of things".  Janet, I agree with your comments and respect due to the men and women who have given so much to this country.  I just had coffee with three veterans this morning.  How nice that the high school hosted the Veteran's breakfast. 

Larry:  Thank heaven for your niece surviving her vehicle roll over.  Hard decision between veering off or hitting the deer! 

Judy B:  Fantastic sweater! 

Ruth Ann:  It sounds like communication is zero for parts of the Philippines - praying for the good people. 

Marilyn:  Knitting something very simple is calming but anything more is nerve-wracking. 

Janet:  You are good for tender loving care.

The oddest things happen sometimes.  This morning at Wal-Mart, I had parked a cart with a few items in the grocery section then we headed to buy toys for the Marines to pack - returned and an empty cart was there.  No one knew what happened.  Then, having to remember what was in the cart we retraced and found that someone has restocked everything from our cart.  Silly things still happen. 

We did have a very good sermon yesterday and Don could understand the new pastor although he still speaks so fast so some is missed - by me too.  We went to Krispie Kreme for free coffee & doughnut for Don's service and they gave me the same free - such a surprise.   A neighbor called and asked us over for dinner tonight. 

Thank you, Judy, for this week's devotional.  "A little child shall lead them" - how true.  And Judy, that sweater is lovely.  I love that color, and I admire you for tackling so many cables!   

I had a father, two uncles, two husbands, 7 brothers-in-law, a son-in-law, a grandson, a stepson and two step-grandsons who have served in the armed forces, all from WWII on.  I don't know about any earlier generations.

PLUS!  Today is #2 son's 58th birthday.

Wow, Jeanne!  We need to honor you as "Military relative" or something!  That is an impressive list of heroes!

Judy, that sweater is lovely!  And I love the color, too.

We joked about driving to Garden this afternoon and eating tonight at the Golden Corral, as they were serving a free meal to veterans from 5 to 8 this evening.  We did go to the American Legion bean feed at noon, it was for a donation.

Carol, that is strange, never thought they would restock items that fast!  Guess they thought the cart had been abandoned.  Yummy--I love Krispy Kremes, but it's probably good there isn't one anywhere near us.  They even closed the one in Amarillo (not that we go there often.)

I'm feeling lazy today as I really haven't done any work, and we didn't even go to the gym.  Well.....they did say it is a holiday! 

I was pleased to have several different people today come to me and tell me that they are enjoying the stories in the paper I'm writing.  Each of them said, "I read every one of them!"  Nice to hear!

Hi everyone.  It is a beautiful and sunny Tuesday morning here in Georgia with freezing weather due to arrive tonight.  This is going to be a busy day as we are headed to Atlanta around 10 am so I can get my routine pacemaker/defib check.  We had planned to meet Stacey for lunch but she just called and she had to go back to the hospital this morning with chest pain that the nitro wouldn't stop.  They are admitting her.  We  will go to her apartment to take her a number of things she needs.  She had a rough day yesterday with the phantom pain.  This evening we will go to the family visitation for the man who died on Sunday from the brain cancer.  I will not be able to attend the services tomorrow as Pat has plans and needs the car.  My niece had the surgery yesterday to fix the other break in her neck.  Pat talked with my sister last evening and my niece is doing as well as can be expected.

Before I forget a friend sent me a wonderful link for one of the Smithsonian Museums that is a virtual tour with beautiful photography.  When I have time I want to look at the overall Smithsonian website to see if there are similar virtual tours for any of the other museums.  http://www.mnh.si.edu/vtp/1-desktop/

Carol, that would be frustrating to have to reshop the groceries.  At least you hadn't paid for them at that point.  Nice of friends to invite you to dinner. 

Jeanne, I remember how active you were for years with the Auxiliary and now I understand why.  Our country owes a great deal to you and your family for devoted service to us.

Janet, we have several places around here that have free meals for the veterans and it sure isn't the place you want to go if you go out to eat on that night.  We don't have any Krispy Kremes close by although can buy them at the grocery stores (which we don't do).  Glad you could enjoy a "lazy" day.

Sun is shining, I think I heard that temperatures dropped almost 40 degrees yesterday & we were walking to neighbors when it was in the mid twentys.   Both of us really felt awful last night and not really good this morning; we are thinking it was something we ate.  Perhaps the lasagna?  I hope it wasn't my salad that I brought to the supper.  The lasagna just tasted different and not cooked enough.  It was probably just us!

Larry: Sorry about Stacey having chest pain.  Dear girl doesn't get a break from pain. 

We went to Applebee's for lunch & the veteran deal.  They were so gracious - lots of vets and I noticed that they had a lot of waiters for the crowd.  We didn't wait long and the food was so good.  Someone thanked me for being married to an Air Force vet.  Don was at a missile site - high pressure and unfortunately, too many suicides.  Lots and lots of calls in the middle of the night.  But - we have 4 WWII vets in our neighborhood & their stories are amazing. 

Time for    enjoy your day everyone. 

Hi, friends,

I'm here, wearing one of those fracture boots once again.  It seems this time I tore a ligament in my right ankle. No wonder it's been swollen and painful. Now, to await the appointment for an MRI.  Mh foot doctor told me he will let me know the results of the MRI and then we'll plan the treatment for this injury.

So, I drove to a fast foot restaurant and got a roast beef sandwich. Then, came home and took  a little nap.

Now it's time to have the daily chat with my son who moved away from Nashville. He seems to be happy and enjoying himself. After years of praying for his happiness and peace, it's wonderful to know he's doing well.

It was good to see my trucker son yesterday. He spent Sunday night in Nashville, then we did some errands together before he headed back out on the road. Now I wonder where he's been sent.

The day started out with sleet and snow and bitter cold after a high of 72 degrees yesterday. They predicted it would only reach 39 or 40 today with gusty winds. As I was exiting the car, a sharp gust of wind blew the car door shut!

Y'all have a wonderful rest of the day with our Lord.

Ruth Ann

hi my friends

Janet: Do not worry about what you cannot do as you are a beautiful writer and have the time to do so many other things as well.

Judy: The sweater is beautiful. What is the size?

Larry & Pat: So sorry to hear about Stacey.

Now about me yes I lost my post so now it is a new one. Today we went to Barrie to pick up a pair of shoes that I had ordered, we new there was a snow storm that had closed Hwy 400 .... we chose another route we had very little snow here but the closer we got to our destination the worse the storm.  I got my shoes had lunch at Mr. Sub and headed home , Mel had just had the snow tires but on both of our veh. which was a good thing.

I will finish watching the news and wait for diner to be done to one and all have a great evening

Ruth size 4

Ruth Ann the MRI is important. That will tell them how much damage has been done.  It is painful I know Pat and I have had the same thing with our shoulders.  The fracture boot will stabilize it for you but till they come up with a course of treatment you should stay off it as much as possible.  Praying.

John's truck is down again.....or maybe still.  Two more different problems along with the wiring harness have contributed to the whole mess of his truck being down.  I am so enjoying him being off.  Looking forward to retirement.

JudyB:  About when will John retire?  He looks young to retire but for sure that is a stressful and long day by day job. 

Well, it is real now for us to get a grip on the fact that an old friend is slowly going to heaven.  Their daughter set up a Caring Bridge site - that is a place to go and write messages to ones in hospice or long-term care.  We read the note tonight but won't be writing anything until tomorrow - too difficult right now. 

Both of us are feeling better so I do have bible study tomorrow morning and then a needle arts group in the afternoon.  Needing both groups of friends.   

Ruth Ann  Blessings on your sons in all they do. 

All I have to report this morning is that it's cold!  Not quite as cold overnight as had been expected, but cold enough to suit me!   

Hi everyone.  It was a cold 28º this morning but is suppose to get to 50º as a high and then another hard freeze tonight.  I will have the house to myself most of the day as Pat just left to visit a friend and go out to lunch and then has her massage this afternoon.  We both were exhausted by the time we got home yesterday from seeing Stacey at the hospital and then going to her apartment to leave some things.  They did another heart cath yesterday morning but it didn't show any new blockages.  However, she is still having chest pain.  They gave her a shot of Lasix to remove fluid which may have been accumulating around her heart.  They kept her overnight and she is still having pain this morning. I did go to the visitation last night as can't get to the funeral today. Our local bank was bought out by another bank and switched things over the weekend.  I had to stop by and activate my new ATM card.   

Carol, sure hope you didn't have a touch of food poisoning.  Glad you didn't have a long wait at Applebee's but glad to read your were feeling better.  The spouses of servicemen and women deserve our thanks as they made many sacrifices for our country as well. Sorry you had such sad news about your friend. 

Jeanne, it is cold here too.  I had to wear my leather coat and a cap when I went to coffee this morning.  However, the sun is out and the wind is not gusting as it was yesterday.

Ruth Ann, glad you found the problem with your ankle and will soon have a treatment plan.  Glad you can chat daily with your son.  Is your trucker son enjoying being a trucker?

Ruth, it sounds like the snow tires got put on just in time.  Glad you had a safe trip. 

Judy, doesn't John have a fairly new truck as I seem to remember that he got a new one in the recent past?     

It's a nice morning here, was 31 degrees when I went to the gym, but no wind, so it is pleasant.  The prediction is upper 60s as the day goes on.  Kristi just had me walk as fast as I could on the treadmill, trying to get my heart rate up into "my zone" for 25 minutes. I wasn't able to get it as high as she wanted without doing bursts of running, which she didn't want me to do.  But I got in over a mile and a half and burned off some of those pesky calories!    I couldn't stay as long this morning as we are going to Liberal for another of Darrel's doctor appointments.

Thanks, Ruth, for your kind words.  I appreciate them.  Glad you got home safely out of the storm.

Carol, so sorry about your friend.  The more years that pass, the more people we love move to 'the other side.'  Sad for us, but what a joyful day for those who know the Lord!  It is so hard to see them go, though.

Larry, I sure hope you get better news from Stacey SOON.

Ruth Ann, I will be watching for better news about your foot, too.  Try not to over use it.

Judy, I know you love having John home, but is he a little frustrated about the truck?  And the paycheck--will that be affected, too.?

Jeanne--hang in there!  Glad you have a warm "nest" to snuggle in while the storms howl! 

If you want to be a leader with a large following, just obey the speed limit on a winding, two-lane road.

Good Mornin' from a sunny, but chilly, Oregon coast!  I have been concerned over some situations in California regarding the mobile home there, and that my daughter is staying in it because she is jobless and homeless otherwise.  This morning I received a call from the owner of the mobilehome park.  He had met with the manager yesterday to "review" my letter, my attorney's letter, and the facts ..... He said he is okay with things as they are, and Dot is fine living there (as the second tenant over 40/under 55).  He will be writing me a letter stating this as well as a letter to my attorney. 

This is truly good news for us as we have been taking hit after hit lately, and fighting off depression.  Our family has been going through some really rough patches these past months and, with this latest, it seems we may be seeing a turnaround and an upward path.

Dot needs a job, and she and her girls have many financial problems facing them (weighing them down), there are other concerns for Bryan and his parents .... we need prayers answered and hope restored.  I think this may be happening.  I am grateful! 

My day is almost over and will fix only a light meal tonight as first was bible study with long tables filled with the weekly food.  Three tables of participants make brunch-like food every Wed. morning.  Much too good.  This afternoon was the sewing group and I received help with starting to put together sweater parts.  Don ordered dent guards to put on the car sides since there are no chrome guards anymore - these will match the silver paint. 

Larry:  It did feel like a touch of food poisoning to us but one other couple had no problem.  We had a day and a half of really not feeling well - then it was over.    I sure wish that someone could help Stacey with that phantom pain - it is real to her and because of that maybe sometimes it could be that there is a cause for real pain they could be missing.  Pain is pain no matter what.  Terrible accident for a woman at today's bible group - her relative, 35 years young, two children lost an arm and a leg in an auger accident on a farm.  He survived by driving to a house where thank the Lord, someone was home and heard him.  Such a shock to the system and such a change in his life and for his family. 

the church does support some missionaries in the Philippines and that is all I know.  There are thousands of islands so how do you ever get to check on everyone? 

I have been gone all day and came home to look for Cross stitch and other patterns to loan to a neighbor.  Found them.  Oh, happy day to find something.  This cleaning stuff out of the house is paying off.   

Jane  That is great on your hope restored to the family.  I pray all the time for anyone out of work because it is so basic to our living. 

Hi, friends,

Yes, my trucker son seems to be enjoying his job, especially with this employer. He mentioned getting a few little annoyances fixed on his rig when he's waiting tomorrow for a late delivery time.

Yes, it is truly such a blessing to talk with my son who is now living away from Nashville.  He's pretty far away, in fact - in a town about 4 hours drive north of Manila, Philippines! They're about 14 hours ahead of us, so yesterday evening when we spoke, I enjoyed giving him birthday wishes. Their area was not affected by the recent cyclone or by the recent earthquakes. He seems to be v ery happy.

The doctor changed his mind and will be having a CAT scan run on my ankle tomorrow at midday. Then, we'll decide on a course of treatment.  That fracture boot cost several $$$s. Sometimes little things really take the funds to fix.

Well, it's time for me to be going.

Y'all have a good rest of the day with our Lord.

Love to all, and most of all, gratitude and praise to our precious Lord,
Ruth Ann

John's truck is 3 years old.  He is thinking and (I tend to agree) that he got a load of bad fuel.  Either corrupted with water or dirt and all the trouble is a result of that.  It all started after he got fuel down south.  It all adds up with the trouble he is having.

We are praying that he will be able to retire the end of December....

Oh, Judy, what a great Christmas present that would be!   

We are home again.  Darrel's app't went well.  I sat in the waiting room and read this time(until I fell asleep.)  We went to the Squeaky Clean and washed the car, then took son-in-law Jeff with us to lunch.  We seldom have any time to visit with him, so that was nice.  When we got to Hugoton, Abby (granddaughter) was at the car wash across from their store, shoveling mud.  Her dad pays her well, so don't feel sorry for her!  Hard to believe our youngest grandchild has only two years of high school left!

Judy good to have you posting, and I will 'help' you pray about Dot and family.  God is able!

Ruth Ann, good you will get to start treatment sooner than expected.  We all know about those unexpected expenses.  Is the son now in the Philippines the one who had such terrible health problems and who lived in the building where you live?  If so, that's great that he is so much improved!

Carol, good to 'hear' from you, too!  God bless!

  I give up!  My post won't post! 

Janet, for some reason "beige" won't show up.  I changed the color to brown and voila!

   I changed the dolor three times (never intended it to be BEIGE)    Oh, the joys of technology!  Thanks so much, Jeanne.

If you have always wanted a large following, just drive the speed limit on a winding, two-lane road.

Joy - - -  A sure sign of the presence of the Lord.





I love watching these little kidletts sign this chorus.

Hi everyone.  I am using the iPad this morning as when I turned on the desktop monitor there is a strange background on the desktop.  I did a system restore to 12 days ago and still have that screen.  So am doing maintenance checks on it and sure hope I don' t have a virus.  Stacey was dismissed late yesterday afternoon and was taken home in an ambulance.  She was feeling better this morning and had already been out for breakfast with a friend.  Pat had a lunch out with a friend but the lady called this morning and is feeling bad so that is off.  So we will go out to lunch and return a flooring sample that we have had for a few days. 

I know I wrote a post yesterday but it seems to not be there.

Jane, glad you are getting some positive news. It seems so many families are facing terrible times with loss of jobs and illnesses.  I am so thankful my son has a decent job now although the pay is probably a third or less than what he had been making.

Ruth Ann, the son in the Phillipines isn't the one with the headaches is he?  Glad the doctor has moved up doing something for your ankle.

I have read all the postings but think we can get along without further comments from me today.

I lost my post when this machine decided to shut itself down. 

Don is out for the men's monthly breakfast.  He can only hear what someone next to him says as it must get fairly noisy with the guys all chatting at one time.  We were mentioning that we are in the best neighborhood ever from all of our moves because so many are able to stop and chat at the drop of a hat.  It is great!  And, we have couples or singles in some cases as joint friends.  Singles are always invited to our meals and I know they enjoy being included. 

Must keep up with my knitting after a little lesson yesterday.  I can't let down my precisely correct knitting friend.      

We were just about to leave for the gym when my friend called and asked if we could meet them for breakfast.  So clothes were changed and away we went and have just returned home.  This is the friend who is in very fragile health and on home dialysis.  We had been trying for over a month to make connections, so didn't dare pass up the opportunity.  She asked me to bring along pictures of our last two trips, so we ate, visited and looked at/talked about pictures for two hours!  We need more friends!

Larry, hope your machine doesn't have a virus!    And so glad Stacey is home and felt like meeting a friend.  Hope you have a good day today!

Carol, your new area sounds like a lovely place to live.

Must run, stuff to do!

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.
                                  Francis Bacon