Christian Photographers Community

Hi All

This is a full day for me, I need to take the car to be fixed and that will cost me.......Tie rod ends need replacing.  A bit of a giggle, John changed the break pads on the car in the evenning and because his visibility was poor, he put them on backwards!  Thankfully backwards did work!

Have a great day everyone

JudyB

Hi everyone.  It is a truly beautiful day here in Georgia.  We had over an inch of rain yesterday without storms.  Our Bradford pear trees are now leafing out and the blossoms are falling to the ground.  It was a short blooming season. 

Today the big NCAA basketball tournament begins and Georgia plays in about an hour and twenty minutes.  So I will be spending the afternoon in my easy chair watching that game and several others.  I did go to coffee and then we did walk a the church gym this morning. 

Judy, does that mean that you only have brakes when you backup?    Unfortunately any car repair we have done anymore is very expensive. 

Pat, I thought CP had been down.  Glad we are back in operation.  Hope you and Paul are having a great time as you do your planning.

Ruth Ann, having a housekeeper certainly isn't inexpensive but it is really nice to have your whole house cleaned at one time.  My wife decided that having the housekeeper here just once a month wouldn't do so now we are going to be on a schedule of every two weeks, which is what we had been used to. 

It is hard to believe that today is the first day of spring - a sign that the snow will soon be gone and grass cutting starts.

Today we have Sun along with snow a reminder that winter is not over yet.

Ruth Ann:  I know what you mean by not being decided about your retirement date  I had planned on either of 3 dates and they are behind me. I am thinking of a possible 2 more dates so I will see which comes first.  It is hard to let go and relax.

To the rest that I have missed have a great day. 

Larry ~ I pop my popcorn the old-fashion way...on the stove in a pan with oil and corn.  I spray a brown grocery sack with PAM and put the corn in it.  Then you fix the gooey stuff in the microwave and pour it on the popped corn...in the sack.  Fold the top down, microwave...three times.  Done.  Best caramel corn ever.  Better than State Fair Caramel Corn! 

Well, today was eye exam day.  My eyes didn't change that much but he did say he could help my reading vision.  But....I never thought I would have to pay that much for eye glasses.  Let's see.  Almost a third of what my parents paid for this brick house built back in 1960!!  But the glasses I am wearing lasted 4 years.  I guess when you have progressive (no line bifocal) lenses and photochromic   (darkens when you get in sunlight) lenses that makes them a little bit costly...said with tongue in cheek.  Oh, well!  What is money anyway?

I called Ivalou early this morning and asked her what that yellow thing was when you look out an east window.  The SUN!!  Funny, how the sun is sooo welcoming after a few days of rain and cloudiness.  It sure does look nice out today...and almost springlike.  Ali and Inky were watching Kitty TV while I was reading my devotions.  Ali does the clicking sound when she spots a bird.  Inky looks at Ali like 'what are you doing that for?'  49°F and sunny right now!!

Hi Everyone. I have been home from work for about an hour and have done my mowing already, got to get it done before the rain starts again. I am trying to get my housework done a little at a time (I don't think that is going to work).

Saturday night we have our first Saturday service and I have to be at the church at 5:15 for prayer before the service, than again on Sunday morning at 9:30 for prayer before the service. The pastor has put up signs all over town advertising the service and a $300. gift card to K-mart as a prize to those who come to church for a whole month, New people that is not us regulars.

Personally I think it is bribery, the Pastor calls it motivation, compelling the people to come to church. I am surprised the board when along with him on that. It is going to be a drawing. each time someone or a family comes to church they will get a ticket or if a family each member of the family gets a ticket. The winning ticket will be drawn after 4 weeks of attendance.

Anyone have an opinion on Is it bribery or not to offer money or prizes to compel the people to come to church?

Marilyn - it doesn't "coimpel" anyone - they still don't have to come.  It's just simple bribery.  It shouldn't be needed.  The Holy Spirit is still alive, and He can move people.  We ought to pray, and we ought to be examples, etc., but it is God's job to draw people into the Kingdom.  You asked for opinions, so here's one.

  I lost my post again!!  Grrrr!  Now I don't have time to retype it before I have to go to the care home to practice for the Good Friday service.  I am reading one of Colin's poem for it!

Abby is here, she went to work with me today, then we went swimming.  Lots going on in my life, tell you more later!

Hi everyone! 

May the love and presence of Jesus refresh and touch each one of you over the Easter Season.

I do apologize for not dropping in more often but my family, writing and photography take up a lot of my time. Glad to see you all going strong and enjoy each other's love and fellowship.

My last 6 months have been dominated with the writing and producing of my church's dramatic/musical productions. I'm posting some of the photos from the Easter Production dress rehearsal in the gallery for you all to see.   Hope you enjoy them.

In the next few weeks I'll be starting a script writing course as well, however it is always exciting to see what God has for us next!  LOL!  My husband George will be returning to India for 2-3 months later this year so we would appreciate your prayers as it is a huge job to look after my 6 sons alone. 

God bless you all, hope I can drop in more often this year.

In His unfailing love, 

Hi, friends,

It's REALLY late, so I'll just peek in the door. Inspired Gal, it truly does seem that you're inspired with the creative work you do.

May God richly bless you and your family, both now and while your husband is away.

Y'all have a great evening.

Hi everyone on this Good Friday. I pray you will all have a blessed Easter.

Marilyn......I agree entirely with Al. I believe it is bribery and should not be done.

God bless everyone.

 





   

Marilyn, you asked for opinions....

I agree with you and Al Moak and  Colin.  It's bribery.  It's wrong.

Hi everyone.  It is another beautiful day here in Georgia.  We had coffee at the senior center with about 10 men present and then one of the men and I went walking at the gym.  I then had to stop at the post office to send back something Pat ordered but they sent the wrong thing.  I am looking forward to watching more basketball games today.  Unfortunately, after playing a really good game and leading for most of the game the University of Georgia team was defeated by a higher ranked team. 

Colin, thanks for the poem. 

Inspired Gal, nice to see your posting.  It sounds like you stay very busy.  You must be quite a writer.

Marilyn, I agree with Al's comments on the gift card. 

Etta Sue, thanks for the info on preparing caramel corn.  My wife has a wonderful recipe that she makes every year that uses microwave popcorn and a syrup and then bakes it for an hour in the oven at 250 degrees.  It is also very good.  Glad you are seeing the sun up your way.

Marilyn: I sure agree with the others about it being bribery.
Janet: Try to relax
Larry:  You tried to kick me out.   Have a great day


I have laundry and to get done along with the usual tiding and yes we have have a sunny day.

Marilyn ~ And the bribery leads to gambling.  Not good! 

I received a call from Nancy...Nancy and Walter that I used to drive to Grand Rapids and to Indiana University.  I haven't heard from her since before Christmas.  I really thought I might have offended her by not working with Walter on the computer.  But she said she has not enough hours in her day and was so sorry that she hasn't contacted me.  So we are planning to go out to eat NEXT Sunday, the 30th, after I attend church.  Wish I could get them to go to church with me but she wants nothing to do with it. 

I have a telephone appointment with the Social Security division at 2pm.  I want to start drawing my own SS instead of Survivor Benefits in July.  A telephone appointment is cheaper than driving to the SS office. 

And tonight I am going with Ivalou to her church for Good Friday services.

Sunny in Indiana.  Solar heat is running....hurray!  42°F and to get to 52°F before the day is out.

Strange weather, here on the island.  This morning it actually started to snow....and 45 deg. F.....top that one.  Lots of rain and sometimes we even see the sun!  At least we get lots of variety and snow surely doesn't stick around!

I also agree about the bribery, Marilyn.  It really is a sort of gambling.  Guess I will leave it to Pastor Al to expound on the matter.  Could be your church could do with a visit from him....

The updating continues and everything reeks of paint, is in a mess, and so are all of us.  Kind of like being in Hades without dying!!  We all look forward to May, when it will simply be a bad memory and the place will look gorgeous.

Squeek is surviving being downstairs with Misty.  Barely.  She tries to stay on my bed at night, then when I wake up, she is gone and Misty has taken her place.  They both get a break and she is upstairs until Monday.   

Wish I could get to church for Easter.  Not looking that way with Amanda being ill and the rest of us tired.  Amanda has a number of health problems at the moment and on medications.  Can only trust that things will improve...a little prayer would be appreciated.  She is going to work, tho' feeling terrible.

Not much of interest to post, so here is a little smile:

Q: What do you call rabbits that marched in a long sweltering Easter parade?
A: Hot, cross bunnies.     

Well, it made me smile!

I am going to go and watch a movie the kids got...Michael Clayton, with George Clooney.  Hope it isn't a sad one....

Pleasant Day/Evening and God Bless.

Liz
                                             

Just stopping in to say Happy Easter this Sunday to all.  Don has had a deep chest cold since Palm Sunday and he has been miserable - not sleeping well and I have been sleep deprived as well, even though I went to the basement bedroom. 

Marilyn:  What kind of a person is a scammer?  Just evil!  So glad that you are safe. 

Ruth Ann:  Just loved the story about your shopping with your granddaughter! 

Pastor Al:  This is a busy time of the year for you.  My prayers for good results on your hip tests - I wasn't able to read everything in here. 

Jeannine:  Good news that Michael is back home with you! 

I am cutting fabric for next week of a whole weekend of quilting.  Also, baking and bring food for Sunday with most of the children, Don has to stay home as he still is coughing but he is better so I can leave him.  I think he would like a little time alone and I will be with daughter as her husband is out of town - two of our sons & wives as well. 

Have a blessed Easter! 

Thank you, Carol, for your prayers & good wishes.  The doc seems fairly confident that the shot he gave me  (Cortizone) will do a lot of good.  So far, it seems to be getting better.  Please keep praying.  I certainly pray for your busy weekend with the quilting, etc.  And I pray for Dons' improvement as  well.

I pray also for you Liz.  May our Father give you grace and comfort during all that's going on in your place, and may He give you joy in what finally comes of it.

Thank you, Pastor Al.  I tried about five minutes of the movie 'Michael Clayton' that the kids had rented....it was nothing but filthy language, etc.  My daughter said it would only get worse, so I am going to wait until they watch 'Enchanted Garden' and then view that.  At least that will be more fitting for a Christian.  Blah!

Liz

Hi, friends,

I have an entire day to myself tomorrow - the groceries have been bought (and mostly put away - I work at it until I tire, then come sit at the computer, catch my breath, and go back to the groceries again)    And, I have no where to go, so tomorrow I think I'll concentrate on some housework, and maybe some next-week cooking.

I've caught up on the reading here, and emptied my overflowing email inbox, and am now rested enough to put the rest of those groceries away!

Y'all have a great rest of the day.

Hi everyone.  Another beautiful day here and suppose to get up to 72 degrees this afternoon.  I noticed someone in the neighborhood had mowed their yard yesterday and it looks like a beautiful green carpet.  Our yard is still brown as we have bermuda grass.  After coffee this morning we went to walk at the church but it was locked so did a lap around the large parking lot.  It is reasonable flat but not as nice a place to walk as in the gym.  I have a meeting to attend this morning.

Ruth, sorry as it was purely unintentional.    You just never know who may be posting while you are writing.  It is a nice feature of the software to see those intervening messages or they could easily be overlooked.

LIz, I don't understand why the film makers feel they must use such terrible language in some of the movies.  It is nice when you watch a movie and when it is over realize that your ears haven't been assaulted with such language.  Pat rented the movie Amazing Grace and I am looking forward to watching it later today. 

Ruth Ann, enjoy your day off. 

Al, sure glad you are feeling better.

Carol, are you like most quilters and have lots of fabric in reserve?  Sometimes I think the fabric grows when it is cut into.  The quilting guild my wife attends have a fabric exchange often where they take a certain number of pieces and bring home the same number but of different fabric.

Etta Sue, how did your appointment with Social Security go?  I have heard several people comment about it being a pleasant experience.

I decided to put my Easter animation on today since it will be afternoon tomorrow before I get online. 

Larry ~ I was pleasantly surprised how well the telephone discussion went with the Social Security division.  Even though she was 35 minutes late, she was very apologetic and got right on with the conversation.  She asked a lot of questions...ex-husband's birthday, when we got married, when we got divorced, second husband's birthday, marriage, death...parents names...deaths...I guess she wanted to make sure I was who I said I was since I was the one initiating the call originally.  Anyway the reason for changing to my own SS is that my IRA will be depleted in a little over a year.  And I knew I would draw more on my own SS if I waited until over 65.  But I thought I would be getting less money total when I will be getting more money.  Halleluia!!  I am breathing much calmer since hearing that news.

I went with Ivalou to her church last evening for Good Friday Service.  Very nice.  Then Ivalou, Marge, Betty, nephew Aaron and I all went to Steak 'n' Shake.  We had a good visit with good food.  I didn't get home until almost 10pm!

Liz.....while I was walking around the house today, I noticed it was raining...but on the next pass through...it wasn't raining...it was snowing!!!  And it is only to get to 40°F today!  The Easter Bunny would be a cold, cross bunnie if he were marching in Indiana.

This was too good not to share.  I hadn't heard it before that I remember:

Subject: What the Bible means ...

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, "I know what the Bible means!"

His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means?"

The son replied, "I do know!"

"Okay,"said his father. "What does the Bible mean?"

"That's easy, Daddy..." the young boy replied excitedly, "It stands for .. Basic Information Before Leaving Earth."

I guess it is about time I checked in for today. I cleaned out my PC tower, cleaned my living room did some dishes showered, shampooed and set my hair. Got to go to church at 5 for prayer service is at 5:55. I must tell you that I sure do not like the idea of giving away the $300 gift card to K-mart. That has worried me  so much, I even sent pastor an email about that, Ok enuf said about that.

L8er

Okay, here I am to try again to post!

I had said to Marilyn that our church (or someone in it) got the idea to make invitation cards for Easter morning services, and on the card it states that if you come and bring the card, it is good for a gift.  I have no idea what the gifts are, but it is supposed to be an incentive for folks to visit church, at least. And pastor plans to preach the plan of salvation, making a strong point of that.  We were told NOT to give them to friends or others who already attend church, as he wants to reach the lost of our community with the message of the Gospel.  I have mixed feelings about the gifts---yes, it's good to encourage people to attend church, but why should they be rewarded with a material gift for doing so?  The best reward possible is to accept Jesus and then your reward is eternity in heaven!  So, here is my opinion.  Now, a $300 gift card?  I sure think that is over the top!

Abby is home, now we have more guests.  My foster brother and his wife from Grand Island Nebraska are here.  Right now they are in town visiting Mom and Beth.  I would love to convince them to stay and attend church in the morning, but they say they must leave early for the 7 hour drive back home.

I am very happy to not be working now for some days, next time is next Saturday, then they put me on for Sunday morning, as well.  I do NOT plan to be working on Sunday mornings unless absolutely necessary.  I can see that I'm going to have to stand up for myself if I don't want to work nearly every day!  Most of the other dietary people work two or three days per week.

I think I hear a car, so better post this and get off the computer and be a hostess. 

HAVE A BLESSED RESURRECTION DAY, EVERYONE!

   

Thanks, Pat ... And may His blessings be yours in abundance this glorious Resurrection Day!

Good Resurrection Morning to  everyone.

The music  was all new except for 1 song.  Pastor Danny was in his comfort zone last night as the lead singer with the worship team. He was a worship leader/youth Pastor for  many years before he came to us 3 years ago. I am sure there will be  more than the usual number of people there today as there are always those who only come on Christmas and Easter. We had 5 new people at church last night, There were 2 salvations. Praise the Lord.

We even had a very nice homeless man join us, he brought with him his little flatbed cart with all his belongings . He was very nice and very respectful, his Bible was well worn.


I don't have any special plans for after church, I was supposed to have dinner/lunch with a former client but he had to have an epidural on Friday and  the doctor told him to stay down for 2-3 days, he was not feeling up to going sow e called it off until another time. He is the one that I meet for Biscuits and gray every now and then at the Chalet.

Jane it used to be the Pantry where we had lunch with Al and Marbeth the day we went to Trinidad. When we met for the first time.

All y-all have a wonderful day.

A beautiful Easter morning here in Georgia.  It was a bit cool this morning as I went by McDonald's for sausage burritos  since Pat isn't feeling very good, just aching all over.  She is going to go to church but know it is a struggle for her.  Our choir is singing three times this morning with a prelude from the back of the church before the processional and then the anthem and finally during the offertory.  One of the pieces is from the Messiah, which I love to sing.  It is a joyous day in knowing that Christ is risen and lives so that we may have eternal life. 

Marilyn, it is always a good thing to clean out the inside of the computer case once-in-a-while as the fans draw in dust particles and they soon accumulate.  That was why I had to have my laptop serviced the other day as it isn't a simple thing to clean out a laptop. 

Janet, be true to yourself in terms of working when you want to work.  We are only taken advantage of if we allow it.  That is easy to say and hard to put into practice.  Hope you had a nice visit with your company.

Pat, that is a beautiful graphic of the Easter lily.

I am starting a new thread early today.  Click on RED to find next weeks discussion.