Christian Photographers Community

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Welcome to our weekly topic entitled, "Thoughts for the Week"!


Each week we start a new topic which begins with a short devotional and/or a hymn and then we share all week with other, our comings and goings in our daily life.

If you wish to share a scripture verse, tell us about an outing that was special, talk about your problems with your car, or whatever it might be, please feel free to join us.



See you in the coming week!

• Prayer and Praise     Thanks for visiting this area of our site to share prayer requests and items for praise!

And the government will be upon His shoulder.
Isaiah 9:6

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 9:1-7


War is the final proof of humanity's overwhelming sinfulness. Some wars are necessary; some are justified; but all are tragic, involving youth who under other circumstances might be the best of friends, facing each other in a life-or-death struggle. Dwight Eisenhower summed it up saying, "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."

Jesus predicted that "wars and rumors of wars" would persist till the end of time, but a day is coming when war will be no more. There will be a final battle at Armageddon, and in victory Jesus will bring an end to earth's cycle of violence.

[And] of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever (Isaiah 9:7).

We may grow discouraged in the face of world events, but reassurance comes in keeping our eyes on the face of our Prince of Peace.

In reading our newspapers today, we can see how God is setting the table, getting everything in order, preparing the way for Christ to return.

David Jeremiah

Hi everyone.  As usual now another overcast morning with rain a good probability before the day is out.  We did have a short shower last evening.  Pat and I did or to a local pizza place and had a good pizza and salad for our dinner last night.  We are planning on attending church this morning.  I don't know what we will do for lunch as it will likely depend on whether I have enough energy to tackle going out with the group. 

John, Happy Birthday.  I know Judy has put a lot of work into it and we all have tried to be careful not to give it away so it would be a surprise.  Enjoy your week even though it sounds like you are going to be busy. 

Judy, congrats on carrying it off and am sure John will never forget your thoughtfulness. 

Janet, it sounds like you were challenged by your class.  Drawing stick figures is a task for me.  I sure don't know why louder is suppose to make music better, it doesn't in my book.  That is one reason I haven't been to a movie in a long time as the sound is usually cranked up a lot even with an excellent sound system.  I read yesterday that Mr. Bose, the man who invented the Bose sound systems had died.  He was in his 80s and a billionaire.  He kept his business private as wanted to be able to do what he wanted and not what a board of directors wanted.  It obviously paid off for him.  Abby can't be 16 already! 

Jeanne, a very meaningful devotional today.  It sure does seem that things are coming together for those last days before Christ returns.

Our message this morning was all about confession. Glad to hear that it is still part of the good message.  Something was wrong with Don's hearing aid and he missed so much so I told him to wait until next week and he can listen to the web cast.  Soon, the church is going to have two pastors visit and speak to the congregation and then one will be chosen to head up the church. 

We had our coffee at Panera's and then headed to a store that we use a lot as it had a special 20% off only today and at the same time really dislike the thought of shopping on a Sunday.  Then, I spent the afternoon sewing and my mother never sewed on Sundays.     All around there are threats of flooding especially in the burned areas but it doesn't look like much for our spot.  Daughter is keeping us updated with news on her two children - one did not pass her driver's test.  She was speeding 3 miles over the limit.  We said, "What does LIMIT mean?".  Especially in a test.    

Janet:  That is so sweet to hear about John coming to visit and taking Beth to church.  They have known each other quite a while now.  Abby is 16 - can't be possible.  What happened to our babies? 

Jeanne:  Thank you for devotions! 

I celebrated a near milestone birthday today.  One year from now I will be 60 years old.

I went with three of my dearest friends to Elmira's Crossroads Restaurant for their Sunday brunch.  Delicious and plentiful food, good company, good service and, all in all, a fantastic day.   

My meal was free as long as I had photo id proving that it was my birthday. 

I loved the weather over the previous two days.   Virtually no humidity, light breeze and sunshine.  Today started out that way, but by dinner time was very hot and humid.

Thank you to all who posted birthday wishes over on Facebook.

I am truly blessed to be part of this wonderful group of fellow believers.

Happy Birthday Bonnie.  Love you sis.  We have had a busy weekend as well.  May you have a blessed year coming and may God really bless you, as you go on in the coming year.

Thank you Judy. Love you too. 

Did John enjoy his surprise party? 


Happy Birthday to you.  I hope you have an awesome day and a year filled with blessings.

He is still talking about the surprise and the fact that I was able to pull it off. Also he was surprised that RuthV's husband was so able to keep the surprise going once we got John out of the house!  HE is quite the gentleman!

Another day And more to do. I have shopping to do and then back at it.  I have a ton of laundry to do a day like this I wish I had a clothes line up!

I am off will be back later!

This is lovely to start the day!  I know I'm still "learning".

Hi everyone.  It is a repeat overcast morning with more rain likely before the day is through.  We did have rain again yesterday afternoon.  I am happy to say that I am feeling better this morning and am going to tackle Pat's desktop computer problems once again.  I am about ready to abandon these efforts and simply get a new computer for her as this one is well over 5 years old.  I won't be going to Athens again today and probably for several days.  I just spoke to the heart center and learned that it is the computers that run the EECP machines that have failed and they have had to ship them back to the company in California for repair.  I just hope this delay in continuing the treatments doesn't destroy any benefit that I may have received from the first 7 treatments.  However, there is nothing I can do about the situation so will just standby.  I will get a call from them when the machines are back in operation.  So I will be able to attend my men's Monday luncheon today.  It is going to be Mexican at a place that has really good Mexican food.  I am looking forward to it. 

Carol, sure hope you miss any flooding.  Too bad about your granddaughter not passing her driving test but expect she will do better the next time and go more slowly. 

Bonnie, a belated Happy Birthday.  Hope you had a delightful day and having a free meal with good friends is a nice way to celebrate. 

Judy, Happy Birthday to you.  You and John have birthdays close together.  Nice that John is home to help you celebrate.

Happy Birthdays to Judy and Bonnie!

It is cool enough to have every window open in the afternoon today.  Loving it!  Breezy.  On my walk this morning, the path had dirt on it left over from the creek overflowing at the lowest points.  Cat tails were laying flat from the force of water but nothing happened here - it is mainly a huge mudslide in the burnt areas in the foot hills and also near Colorado Springs.  We just had a phone call that friends will be in town one day early so we will meet with them tonight.  They have had car problems and their van is quite new. 

Larry:  I too hope that the machine problem doesn't set your regime back. 

Pat:  I will check again on your video - cannot get the voice right now. 

JudyB:  How are the children?  Have not seen anything about them for a long time.  Take care.  Are you stacking wood for winter time? 

Thank you for the Birthday Greetings!  Heather was here till about 2:30 and we had a great time shopping together.  I have JC and Kim with us this week and kim will be staying the balance of the summer.

We went out to din ner tonight, at Swiss Chalet.  Showing proof that today was my birthday I received my entree free.  Our favourite server Andrew was great, as is usual, chatting with us and keeping us supplied in Soda Water!

I will close off for now and be back tomorrow.

Hi everyone.  I had a great day yesterday as I felt better than I have for quite awhile.  I had some energy and enjoyed what I was doing.  I plan another one like it today.  We had a very nice men's luncheon yesterday and one of the men is a gardener and he brought a big supply of tomatoes, zucchini, and sweet peppers and bag to divide it up into five bags for the other five of us in attendance.  Today I plan on attending a morning meeting as won't be having my treatment today and then will be home the rest of the day.  Pat has a dental appointment at 1 pm but she will drive herself and I don't need to go with her.   

Carol, it is frustration when you have a fairly new car and it is unreliable. I went through that with the last Saturn I had as was never sure if it was going to start or lock up the starter for 10 minutes.  It was security run amok and they couldn't do anything about it. 

Judy, sounds like you had a lot of fun on your birthday topped off by a good free dinner with family.

Hi Everyone!

It's a nice temperature outside right now but it's going to be very high again today as the day goes on so Paul is going to cut the lawn while it's still cooler.

So happy you had a good day Larry.  May you have more and more just like it in the future. 

Glad you had a nice meal, Judy.  Wish I had thought of that for my birthday. 

I'm about ready to head out for some grocery shopping before it gets much warmer hotter.  Then the rest of the day, and the rest of the week,  a whole lot of doing nothing with six or seven fans running full blast.    

I had a wonderful visit with Ken, my oldest son, and his wife over the weekend.  They've just purchased a new RV and made their first weekend trip here.  He's planning on retiring a year from now and they hope then to be be able to visit my daughter in North Carolina and  my other son and his family in Arizona.  Can't believe I have a son who will be retirement age in one more year!   

My email notifications failed again.  But I was away all day yesterday to attend the funeral of our dear friend.  It was a lovely celebration of his life, a testimony to the influence a godly man has on his family and his community.  I shared some things and they appreciated my comments.  His dear wife Bonnie thanked us over and over for coming.  The entire service was done by friends from here in Ulysses.

Today I have to start working at our county fair.  So I must get busy, go shower and dress and frame my latest paintings to enter.  I had a terrible night, aching all over and awake for hours. Phooey.  Not good when you have a busy day the next day.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAYS TO BONNIE AND JUDY

I'd better get going.

Hi, friends,

Well, I took a few moments of rest to come fellowship with loved ones here. So sorry I didn't get here to send birthday greetings to Bonnie and Judy. Hope y'all know it was an error, not a snub.

I'm about to run out of energy, but have as the poet said, "Miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep [tomorrow night, that is].

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

Ruth Ann

Hi Pat, I was hopeful that today would be another good day but it hasn't turned out that way.  Just not feeling up to par.  Hope Paul didn't get too hot mowing the yard.

Jeanne, I bet that was a joy having your son and DIL in your area and being able to spend time with them.  Are they the ones that live around Ashville, NC ?

Janet, never good to read that you have had a bad night as you have too many of those.  It doesn't sound like being at the fair will help you rest up although I am sure from what you have said in the past that you really enjoy it.  Are you judging at this fair?

Ruth Ann, I understand your "running out of energy" comment.  It sure gets in the way of what we would like to be doing doesn't it?

Larry, the time spent with any of my children happens so seldom it's always a great joy.  This was my oldest, the son who lives in northern New Jersey.  It's my daughter who is in Ashville, NC.  The third (and middle child) is my son who lives in Phoenix.  Sure is good to have computers, email and cell phones!   

It is approaching 8:30 and I am about to head to bed.  Just got home from the fair a little while ago.  No, Larry, I am not judging here;  I am the superintendent of the Art Department.  Today we took in the entries, got them tagged and sorted, and tomorrow we begin at 8:45 and assist the judge, putting the ribbons on the winners, hanging the show, etc.  I am so grateful I have a very competent assistant.  She's wonderful!  I will be judging at the fair in Hugoton later this month.

Larry, sorry you didn't feel up to par today.  Hope tomorrow will find you feeling stronger and with more energy.

I think maybe my pain last night (aching all over) was caused by a weather front that came in from a different direction than is normal here.  Our high today was only 79*---Amazing for July 16!  And we got a little bit of rain, too!  Wonderful!

Beth and John were at the fairgrounds before I left.  They had hoped to watch the turtle races and a juggler that was entertaining after the turtle races.  But there were so many people they couldn't get near the arena where it was all taking place, so don't know what they decided to do.

Jeanne, so happy for you getting to spend time with your son!

Night, all! 

Hi everyone.  We have an usual beginning of the day as there are clear skies and the sun, of course, is shining.  We are suppose to get above 90 degrees later today with the possibility of late afternoon or evening thundershowers.  I just got back from going to Kaiser for my 4th blood test in the last 6 weeks.  My sodium is below the bottom line number and the doctor wanted to keep a close watch on it.  After a great day on Monday, yesterday was the pits in terms of how I felt and having continual arm and chest pain.  However, so far today I feel fine but will try to avoid doing anything that will stress me.  Pat will go after while to get her hair cut and I will go with her and we will look at laptop computers to replace her desktop computer.  There are three stores over in that area that we can checkout.  If it is around lunch time I expect we will get something to eat before coming home although it may be after lunch before she is ready to leave.  That will be it for today. 

Jeanne, thanks for the info on your children. 

Janet, it almost sounds like judging would have been easier than being the superintendent of the Art Department but sure you enjoy working with all the art. I do think changes in the weather do cause aches and pains.  I know that is true with Stacey.  Stacey fell again yesterday in her apartment was was not hurt and was able to get herself up again with only her pride hurt. 

Larry, good to see you are feeling better today and will take it easy so you keep that way! Yes, I do enjoy working with the art, meeting all those who bring their art to enter, and especially seeing their faces when they spot those winning ribbons!  I browsed through the commercial booths and then went out to the area where the concession trailers are to get something for lunch before I came home.  I plan to go back out this evening for a show at 6 and stay for the local talent contest at 7.  I hadn't planned to get anything else done today anyway, might as well enjoy it.

John called a while ago and said he and Beth were out there again, looking at the commercial booths.  They do enjoy the fair!  She will likely sleep for a week after John goes back home!

We are having another beautiful day of weather.  Warmer than yesterday but still very pleasant.  I'm thankful.

Hi everyone on another sunny Georgia morning.  We also got to 93 here yesterday and last night had heavy rain and a lot of thunder heard for a couple of hours or more.  The chances for any significant rain today are small.  I got the results of the blood test I had taken again yesterday and my sodium is back down to match the lowest it has ever been at 128.  If I remember correctly, the lowest end of the normal scale is 138. 

I did have another good day yesterday and Pat and I went out computer shopping, then ate at Ruby Tuesday's and then she got her hair cut.  The only one that she liked the keyboard on was the lowest priced one, which was a Lenova.  It has 4 gigs of RAM and 320 gigs of hard disk storage and had been manufactured about 3 or 4 months ago.  It is not the most powerful computer but should serve her needs well.  It is basically the same as the laptop I now use at my easy chair.  This is the third or fourth Lenova I have bought.  It does have Windows 8 but I am fairly conversant on that as have it on my laptop.  I started the process of getting it set up as she wants it last night and will work on it today loading programs and files she uses.  I plan to stay home all day.  Pat is going with a friend to another quilt shop that is in Conyer's, Georgia.  She just got an email from the shop saying they were opening as usual but that Conyers was hit with considerable damage from the storm last evening. (Sorry about writing the book this morning.)

Hi Folks. Well I thought I would take a few minutes to update you on my Reno project here at home. Its been extremely hot here this week which has slowed the progress of the project because of the need for frequent breaks to cool down. But the roof has been successfully replaced, putting the last shingles on last night about 8 pm minutes before a huge thunderstorm hit here. Now I have to do a bit of siding and put up some flashing and the job out there is done. Hope to get that done today, depending on how hot it gets today. The humid ex has been in the 90 s here the last 3 days. Be going back to work next week to have a rest. Hope everyone is well and that you are managing to stay cool this summer. One thing we do every night after we stop with this construction is go to our favorite swimming hole to cool and refresh. Even the water at the river is like bath water. Anyway must run Got lots more to do. Have a blessed day everyone.

Larry, I am so happy you had another good day, hope many more follow.  What does low sodium do to you?  What health changes might that cause?  Pat is so blessed to have you to do her computer stuff for her.  This laptop is crazy slow lately, and I have no idea what to do about it, so just w...a...i..t and wait some more on it.    Maybe Curtis will come by some day soon and have a few minutes to spare to check on it.

John, that was great timing on getting the roof done!  And what a blessing when you have the know-how and the time and strength to do those improvements yourself.  Wages are so very high right now, it more than doubles the cost of projects like that.  Nice to have a swimming hole to cool off in at the end of a hard day.

I spent almost all day out at the fair yesterday, as I went back in the evening to see the entertainment and attend the talent show.  As most of those things are, there were some quite good parts, and a few quite bad ones.    But it's nice to give the young folks a chance to show us what they can do.  There weren't any older adults in it this year, sometimes they do have one or two.  I don't have any responsibilities out at the fair today, but will be going to the big free barbecue this evening!

And now it's time to go work out at the gym!

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John, now that you've had enough practice, you can come put a new roof on my trailer!   

We are heading out in a few minutes to get the last of the supplies to finish the job. We need flashing around the window and across the eves. Also wood for the eves.    We will be heading out soon for that.   

Jeanne, John would be happy to come out to help you, we will leave in an hour  be there by lunch have the hotdogs on!      

The sad part about this is John will be going to work to have a rest! He will then have air Conditioning in the truck and will be alone for at least a couple of weeks.

I'm sorry I am not on much here, we have been so busy outside.