Christian Photographers Community

Come and join us this week and share with us your plans and thoughts for the week!  We sing, share and encourage other members here.

Hope to see you posting this week!















By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

There are times when God will call us to act immediately during a battle. But there are other times when He wants us to wait upon Him, so that He may act on our behalf. What seems like a frustrating delay is God's preparation for a great blessing to come. "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:13-14).

Sometimes it takes as much courage to wait upon God as it does to act in His name. As we wait before the Lord in worship and as we walk with Him daily, He puts His strength in our hearts. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31 ESV).

We need to remain in a constant state of readiness, recognizing that the only way to find victory is through God. Seek to follow God wholeheartedly—not only during times of battle, but also in a daily walk with Him.

Prayer:God, so often it is hard for me to wait on You. Give me the courage to respond in obedience whether You are telling me to act or telling me to wait. Amen.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry" (Psalm 40:1).


   

Thank you Jeanne for the good thoughts for this week. 

Well, Happy Mothers Day to all our mothers, and to those who are not, please know we love and respect you, and are anxious to wish y'all a happy Mothers Day, too.

I've heard from all of my children, and from their spouses/significant others. It's really humbling to know they love me.  They tell me that all the time, but it's hard for me to take their kind words - I don't feel worthy. Neither do I feel worthy of the tremendous love and care for me that the Father feels, for he sent his only Son to love me. Sometimes it tends to overwhelm me. I know that I'm big in body, but when I contemplate Divine love and the love of friends and family, it makes me feel pretty small indeed.

It's a beautiful day here in Nashville. Very warm, so I think I'll change into a comfortable summertime outfit before going out to eat with my son.

Love to all of you. Jeanne, thank you for the devotional, and Pat, thank you for that beautiful animated card. Y'all are so talented to be able to do the things you do!

May our Lord's love be in you, through you, and surround you with the warmth of loving and caring that only He can give.

Ruth Ann

I started the day off with a bang.  Literally a bang - my bare toe against the leg of the coffee table.     And now I'm limping around.  But it's not the first broken or bruised toe I've had and it probably won't be the last.    

It's beautiful, sunny and warm, with open windows and blowing curtains. 

Hi everyone on this beautiful Monday morning.  We have a small possibility of rain showers this afternoon and evening but will be warm again.  I had sort of a down day yesterday as I didn't feel well.  I do go to church and heard a fine sermon on 1 Peter, Chapter 1.  We will be having a series of sermons on 1 Peter.  I picked up a couple of sandwiches for lunch and then spent most of the afternoon laying down and listening to Don's beautiful classical music.  I was up for awhile but then went to bed about 7:30 last evening.  So far this morning I feel OK and sure hope it lasts as have my usual Monday activities. 

Jeanne, thanks for that fine devotional for this week.  I am not a very patient person so need to heed what is taught in the devotional.

Ruth Ann, I am sad to read that you have difficulty accepting kind words as they wouldn't be spoken if not meant.  While none of us are worthy of God's forgiveness and abundant love we are told to love ourselves as we love our neighbor.  Give yourself a pat on the back for being a wonderful person and doing the best that you can, which is all God expects of us each day.  I hope you read this as encouragement and not that I am criticizing you, just expressing the love of a friend. 

Jeanne, just what you didn't need was a broken or bruised toe.  I do hope you were able to rest last night and not in a lot of pain.     

Jeanne:  I can almost feel your pain.  Not as bad a hit as you but I walked into a chest of drawers twice in as many weeks and now have installed a little light in the floor socket...

We have been on a roller coaster over this buying and selling and everything was supposed to finally close this week but a call came today explaining a need for another week to close.  I hope our seller will accept this and be able to handle the real estate dealing one more time.  Our buyer is holding up the sale and it is like a domino set falling - one failure brings on another failure and so on.  This too shall pass.

Snow started falling right as we went to early service yesterday.  It was more like sleet at first and we heard that 10 inches would be on the ground but even though it is still a very light snowfall, perhaps 3/4th of that is on the ground.  Don decided to refinish our old teak dining table & buffet so I have a candle burning and windows open to keep the air refreshed. The new extra rich oil helps but the poor table has been used to much and we even bought it used 40 years ago.  A robin is building a comfy nest under our deck support area - she (woman worker) pats the nest down so sweetly - what a good mama robin. 

Ruth Ann:  Listen to the words Larry wrote to you and remember that we are given the gift of grace even if we don't earn it.  And, you definitely earn your grace.  Hugs to you. 

We were invited to ours son's for mother's day supper which was lovely there were 4 mother's 2 of which were great.  I was concerned that I might feel tired but I was fine a positive sign that I am feeling much better.

Jeanne ouch to the painful toe. Why do they get in the way? 
Carol is the snow not gone for good. until the next season.
Judy: Pleased to know about your phone line. Many folk are going the route of cell phones but if possible I still like the idea of a land line.

I have had to escalate the problem with the phone, following the instructions on the wen site. We still don't have a phone, and John and I have been lied to one too many times.  Now someone is to come tomorrow...we will see.

John has headed to bed, I will follow soon.  Night all

Hi everyone on a cloudless and beautiful day here in Georgia.  We ended up yesterday without having any rain.  We had decided to have lunch yesterday at a new place called Cabana Grill.  However, it was so loud in there that we decided not to stay to eat and went across the road to the Steak and Shake and had an enjoyable lunch.  A couple of the men wear hearing aids and the noise was just too much, even for me with good hearing.  I will attend a meeting this morning and then Pat and I plan on going out to lunch at a place I have been several times but where she has never gone.  That will be it for today.

Carol, great idea to use a little night light.  Pat doesn't want any light in the room so we don't use one in the bedroom but do have one in the kitchen at provides some light down the hallway and helps.  Our light switch also has an orange glow and it is by the door so can use it as a guide.  Sorry you have another delay in your real estate dealings.  I have a good friend who is relocating to Texas as they are in their mid-80s and want to be where their daughter will be living who thought he had a sale on his home here and that person backed out over the weekend.  My friend and his wife had already leased a place in a retirement community north of Dallas and are going ahead and moving in a few weeks and leaving the house with a Realtor.  Must be fun watching the robin build her nest. 

Ruth, you are indeed making good progress if you are ready to be away from your home for a few hours and take a car ride.  It was very uncomfortable for Pat to get into the car for quite awhile. 

Judy, oh for the good old days when a person's word met something.  Problems can get so frustrating.   

Pat, very true graphic message.

Hi everyone, I have been off work for a few days due to some problems going on at the clinic some people are no longer with us there so until we have a full team I guess we will be have time off. We can't work without the full team each doing their specific job.

So I have been doing some long put off things around the house, We will be having a house sitter staying here for the 8 days we will be at Sunriver next month so i needed to get some of the clutter put away. Then in July we are supposed to be having one of Keith's high school classmates staying here for the 50th reunion weekend. We will have to shampoo the carpets before then to.

It has been beautiful here on the Oregon Coast the last couple of days.  Nice warm sun!!!.

We have a night light in the master bath, the dining room and the hall bath. they don't disturb us and it really helps me not to trip over Happy who likes to sleep right in front of the two  steps up from the bedroom to the bathroom. He will be 16 yrs old tomorrow. I never thought he would live this many years. His Vet said that he has already doubled his life expectancy his back legs don't work right all the time but he gets around and once he is up and mving  his legs work better,  just like us once we get moving things get better.

Hi, friends,

Thank you for the kind messages. I will work on accepting nice comments better now that I see your perspective.

Today I took an elderly lady who has become quite feeble to the eye doctor. Then, since she hadn't been outside her home since October, I took her to Fazoli's (her request) where she was delighted with their baked spaghetti. What a lift to the spirits to be able to help her.

Well, I must go for tonight.

Much love to all,
Ruth Ann

Hi everyone.  I decided to post early this morning as plan to be gone all morning to coffee, Bible Study and Dunkin' Donuts and will need to rest when I get home.  A couple of days ago Pat's desktop computer quit loading anything from the Internet.  I tried everything I knew to do and then yesterday afternoon called my Advanced System tech and he spent a good 90 minutes with me and we tried various things without sucess.  Finally he suggested I try using Firefox as the browser and we ended the conversation.  I downloaded Firefox and everything started working, including my other browsers.  I have no idea why but just want it to work.  This morning I have started a backup onto an external hard disk of her desktop as it has been quite awhile since I have done that. 

Late yesterday afternoon Kim Komando sent out an alert about a new threat involving stealing the Google password.  I highly recommend you take the time to read it if you have not seen it already as it may avoid problems for you.  Here is the link:
http://www.komando.com/happening-now/252877/dont-trust-this-email-from-google?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=alerts&utm_content=2014-05-13-article-1-title-a

Marilyn, never nice to experience upheavals anywhere in our lives, including our work place.  Hope the matter can be resolved shortly as know you enjoy the work with the animals.  I don't think I ever heard of a house with steps from the bedroom to the bathroom. Happy's long life is probably greatly helped by the fine care you have taken of him over the years. 

Ruth Ann, you are such a kind and caring person and bring sunshine into so many lives.  Nice you could get the elderly lady out and to Fazoli's.  We no longer have one of those restaurants in our area.  It was town down as is now a McDonald's.

Hi, friends,

Thank you for that message about Google, Larry. I will act appropriately if I get such an email.

It was a quiet morning here in Nashville, but they promise storms this afternoon, and, of course, I have a bunch of errands to run that can't be put off.

Much love to all,
Ruth Ann

Changing passwords is about the most irritating thing in my life - I can't remember all the different ones now & actually left two sheets of passwords at a friend's home out of state - she isn't there to send them to me. 

In about an hour, the Needle Arts group from our neighborhood is coming here and I made a frozen oreo cookie/ice cream/ Spanish peanut/ topped with a chocolate sauce dessert so it will not be taken out until someone arrives.  Sun tea is brewing on the deck and you can still see snow in the ravine and on our lawns.  Maybe everyone wants hot tea or coffee instead of their regular tea.

Don is having the front window of the car tinted just a tad and when he comes back, he wants to take a hose to a spot where bees have congregated - we may have to run. 

We went to the final concert for grandson last night and he soloed with the Jazz Band.  What a wonderful moment for us.

Pat:  Love your sign.   

Larry the bedroom and master bath are an addition to the original house the bedroom is two steps down from the rest of thr house as the house sits on a hill and the bathroom is level with the rest of the house. The family room and garage re additions to the other end of the house and the upstsirs is also and addition.

It sounds like a very interesting house, Marilyn.  Thanks for that explanation. 

My router has been acting up every now and then, but a few minutes of turning it off and then plugging it back in has always cured it.  Today, however, it seems more stubborn.  I can, of course, connect the cable modem directly to the computer, but that makes for an open, unsecured connection.  I was ready to get some bills paid, but I don't want to get into the bank account on an unsecure line.  So it looks like I'll be taking a trip to Staples and squeezing out some money for a new router.  I'd order it online, but there again, I don't want to use an unsecure line.  Amazing how fast we can get dependent on technology! 

Hi everyone.  We had a rainy night and we may get some more rain until noon.  I am looking forward to a nice quiet day today.  The termite inspector is coming late this afternoon for the annual inspection and that should be it.  Pat's cold is about gone and she may be just a bit better from the PT but has a way to go. 

Ruth Ann, I expect you were in the same storm system we were last evening and we had a lot of rain. 

Carol, check out a program called LastPass to save your passwords.  It is stored in an encrypted file in the cloud and you have to remember only one master password.  It is free to use on computers and if you want to use the app on smart devices like the iPad or iPhone it costs $12/year and to me it is worth every penny of the cost.  I have used it for a number of years and it is highly recommended by the computer writers.  If you use it be sure to document in several places what your master password is because there is no way to recover it from them as they don't have access to it.  That cake sound delicious.  Pat make a "Granny Cake" yesterday and it is like a fruit cocktail cake but made with pineapple and a pour on topping and it is sure a winner.  How exciting to hear your grandson do the solo.  In all the growing up years of our granddaughter we were only able to attend one school concert in which she participated as we lived away and just happened to be visiting in Kansas City on the date of the concert. 

Marilyn, thanks for explaining why the steps between the bathroom and master bedroom. 

Jeanne, I had a failing router last week and ended up having to rent a gateway (combined modem and router) from Comcast.  It is working very well. 

Hi, friends,

Yes, Larry, I was out in that storm system. Came into the apartment building looking like a poor soaking wet kitty (and I was about as happy, as that proverbial kitten, too!)

So, Marilyn, sounds like y'all could name the house the stair-step home. I can imagine it's lovely to live in.

Wow! A jazz band soloist! How great is that. I know you were really happy to be there with him in his moment of achievement, Carol.

Jeanne, these technical things sometimes get the better of me.

My kids are pushing for me to come to Georgia next week for my youngest granddaughter's graduation from elementary school. I hope I can make it.

Today was a good day. I had lunch with my former boss and his wife, and then we did a bit of Microsoft Office work across the table on his computer. They are such a lovely couple that it's always a joy to have an opportunity to be with them.

Much love to all,
Ruth Ann

Hi everyone on a clear but relatively cool Georgia morning.  I will go to coffee at the senior center this morning.  At noon today our ROMEO's meet for lunch at a buffet nearby.  This is our church retired men's group.  My good friend, Rod, had successful cataract surgery on Tuesday and his sight is improving each day.  However, he has Fuchs Dystrophy in his eye, which could lead to eventual blindness.  I learned yesterday afternoon that another really good friend has taken to the hospital and is in ICU on a ventilator as he has sepsis.  His wife thinks he will be taken off the ventilator sometime today.  I was with him on Monday for lunch and then again on Tuesday so that was a real shock. As far as I know there is nothing else on the agenda for today.

Ruth Ann, sure sounds like you are keeping busy.  It is nice to stay in touch with your former boss and his wife and that you could help him with some work.  Do hope you feel up to coming for your granddaughter's graduation as that would probably mean a lot to her.   

My PT for the Vertigo went fine yesterday I won't know until tomorrow if I have to go back for more as He told me to sleep for two nights on my back at at 30° angle and only on my right side but still at an angle. Tomorrow I will be able to test myself to see if I need more treatments, I have an appointment for next Tuesday just in case I do. He didn't do the Epley maneuver but something similar turning my head quickly away for the side that made me dizzy to my left side,  then had me turn onto my left side before raising up and sitting up for a few minutes, he did this 9 times, each time  using a different interval between movements. He explained to me all about getting the crystals to float down in the fluid to the bottom and stay there.

Larry:  Thanks for the Last Pass site.  I need to find my papers (they are out of state) and then sign onto that site.  Your idea of putting it on my iPad would be nice as well as we haul that everywhere. 

Marilyn;  Good wishes for a recovery soon.

Our doors are open and it is really chilly - Don has put another coat of teak oil on the dining table & buffet.  This is the 4th. coat and the label says only two coats are necessary - not really.  Burning candles to help with the odor too. 

Talked with daughter - our oldest grandson is out in California for the weekend.  Our only granddaughter is studying hard for all her finals.  She did well in engineering but we don't expect her to go in that direction.  Our middle grandson is the one graduating this Thursday in the outdoor area of Red Rocks.  It is a natural place with seats set among huge red rocks, hence the name.  A favorite for concerts and graduations.  We took my parents there many years ago when they flew from Seattle to Denver to meet their to-be son-in-law who was in the Air Force.  I lived and worked in Denver at the time - my parents were so impressed with the colorful rocks and the blue blue sky & fluffy white clouds.  I hope the weather cooperates because my raincoat has been donated.   

Hi everyone.  The morning is starting out clear and sunny but there is the possibility of showers this afternoon and evening.  I did have a busy morning yesterday and other than coffee this morning I plan on a fairly quiet day today.  I had heart discomfort all day yesterday with it feeling like two hands were squeezing the heart.  I tried nitro, Tylonol and finally resorted to a Percocet, something I haven't used in a long time and only after I went to sleep last evening did it totally leave.  So far this morning the pain hasn't returned. 

Marilyn, sure hope your ear procedure solves your vertigo problems.  I have a couple of friends who have done something similar and it seems to keep the virtigo in check. 

Carol, I beat your dining table and buffet will be very beautiful when Don finishes working on them.  Colorado has some really beautiful scenery.  Will your granddaughter have an engineering degree and if so in what area? 

Good day all!   It feels like a nice springtime day beginning.

Larry. Sorry to hear that you had such pain yesterday. Praying for your comfort and peace for Pat.  No to granddaughter she is a high school junior.  she could be an engineer though once she wanted to be a fashion designer and we all cringed at that thought . 

there is a monthly quilt council meeting out of town today but I really feel like visiting our daughter instead.  need some time with her and our grand daughter .

Hi, friends,

I'm so sorry you've had problems, Larry. Will continue keeping you in my prayers.

It's so exciting to return to places we enjoyed years before, Carol.

Marilyn, good luck with the movement of the crystals.

I've been working for my former boss again today. This will be a nice presentation when he's finished.

Y'all have a good rest of the day.

Ruth Ann

Marilyn, it sounds as though you have someone who knows what he's doing about your vertigo.  I'll be praying his treatments are totally successful!  By the way, how are you doing with the Sensa and weight loss?  I haven't seen one of their ads on TV for quite some time.

Jeanne I have lost 44 lbs using Sensa, I am still using it but I am on maintenance now.  I've gone from a size extra large to a medium in tops and from a 16-18  to a size 8-10 in jeans. We will be going to Sunriver again next month and I had to buy a new swimsuit in a 1o as the last one was too big nd it is still in new condition I should probably try to sell it.

I have been asked to teach a women's Bible study class, I could sure use some prayer for wisdom and to be led by the Holy Spirit.  The classes won't start until next month.

Marilyn, you certainly have had success with the sensa!  That's great.    Leading a bible study is a learning process for the leader as well as the class.  I'll be praying for you.   

Hi everyone.  It is a rainy day in Georgia and fairly cool.  As I had thought yesterday morning I stayed home all day and rested.  I may well do that again today as not feeling very peppy but will decide around 11 am whether to go to church or not.  I don't like to miss it but sometimes just not up to going. 

Late yesterday afternoon Pat and I made the decision to provide an Internet connection for her sister, who recently moved into her own apartment and really can't afford to pay the cost of Internet.  I ran into a stumbling block when I submitted the order online because I have my credit frozen.  So I need to temporarily unfreeze it at Equifax so my order can be approved.  I started to do that and couldn't find the letter I had back from them with the 10 digit code I needed to take further action on the account.  Finally, I remembered one other place to look and the information was there so today I should be able to unfreeze my credit and also place the order with AT&T for the Internet in Missouri.  I think that will be my big project for today.

My good friend is out of ICU and may be able to have visitors today.  His wife told me that he was up to telephone conversations and she would let me know about visits today.  I am keeping the other guys in the loop as I hear from her.  Even if he is able to have visitors I may have to decline going as not sure I could handle much of a walk today. 

Carol, thanks for filling in the gaps on your granddaughter.  She may well change her mind on what she wants to do again several times before she finishes college.  A lot of young people do.  When I was in college I never dreamed of ending up with the career I had. 

Ruth Ann, I appreciate all of the prayers as I know they help.  I am sure your former boss appreciate your help and enjoys his time with you. 

Marilyn, I am sure that with God's guidance you will make the right decision on teaching a women's Bible study class. 

Jeanne, I certainly agree that anytime we lead something we also learn a lot ourselves.