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Morning Devotional...


Ready to Move
Streams in the Desert with Mrs. Charles Cowman

"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"
2 Cor.5:1



The owner of the tenement which I have occupied for many years has given notice that he will furnish but little or nothing more for repairs. I am advised to be ready to move.

At first this was not a very welcome notice. The surroundings here are in many respects very pleasant, and were it not for the evidence of decay, I should consider the house good enough. But even a light wind causes it to tremble and totter, and all the braces are not sufficient to make it secure. So I am getting ready to move.

It is strange how quickly one's interest is transferred to the prospective home. I have been consulting maps of the new country and reading descriptions of its inhabitants. One who visited it has returned, and from him I learn that it is beautiful beyond description; language breaks down in attempting to tell of what he heard while there. He says that, in order to make an investment there, he has suffered the loss of all things that he owned here, and even rejoices in what others would call making a sacrifice. Another, whose love to me has been proven by the greatest possible test, is now there. He has sent me several clusters of the most delicious fruits. After tasting them, all food here seems insipid.

Two or three times I have been down by the border of the river that forms the boundary, and have wished myself among the company of those who were singing praises to the King on the other side. Many of my friends have moved there. Before leaving they spoke of my coming later. I have seen the smile upon their faces as they passed out of sight. Often I am asked to make some new investments here, but my answer in every case is, "I am getting ready to move." --Selected

***

The words often on Jesus' lips in His last days express vividly the idea, "going to the Father." We, too, who are Christ's people, have vision of something beyond the difficulties and disappointments of this life. We are journeying towards fulfillment, completion, expansion of life. We, too, are "going to the Father." Much is dim concerning our home-country, but two things are clear. It is home, "the Father's House." It is the nearer presence of the Lord. We are all wayfarers, but the believer knows it and accepts it. He is a traveller, not a settler. --R. C. Gillie

***

The little birds trust God, for they go singing
From northern woods where autumn winds have blown,
With joyous faith their trackless pathway winging
To summer-lands of song, afar, unknown.

Let us go singing, then, and not go sighing:
Since we are sure our times are in His hand,
Why should we weep, and fear, and call it dying?
'Tis only flitting to a Summer-land.
--Selected

Hi everyone.  We are to have another lovely day here in Georgia.  The painter is here already and hopes to finish the job today.  I am still awaiting a call from the glass replacement person and from the car repair place.  This is my Monday men's luncheon and we are going to Steak and Shake today and then have a meeting tonight, which I hope to be able to attend. 

Pat, thanks for the new devotional thoughts for this week. 

Carol, Pat has a serious problem of hearing our Associate Pastor as the her voice pitch is one difficult for Pat to pick up.  I hear the same comment from my good friend whose pastor speaks so fast that he can't follow what is being said.  It certainly can't hurt anything to let your new pastor know that his speaking so fast is a problem.  Great that you have sons who are alert that you all can use some extra help with projects that are becoming difficult for you all. 

Jeanne, our trees haven't begun to shed yet or even show much on the leaves other than getting less bright.  However, we are suppose to have a couple of cold fronts coming through our area and have cooler weather.  We have our furnace on now.

Marilyn, glad to see you are feeling better.  Sorry to read of the difficulties being faced by your friend.

Janet, so glad you are back as it seems you have been gone a long time.  I can understand being weary of riding in the bus.  The last time I was on a bus was a day trip to see the leaves in the North Georgia mountains and that was long enough.   

We were hoping to come home to a completed project (the front addition) but that didn't happen.  All Lon was able to get finished was the tile floor.  He did come today, no help now, so things are a little slower.  He is trimming out the windows, and says he wants to get  the job done as much as we want it done!  I'm sure he is needing the money, but Darrel isn't paying him until it's finished!  Not that we don't trust him, but we know he is easily distracted, and might go work for somebody else and let ours wait longer. If he weren't such a master craftsman, and very likable besides, I might get really upset with him.  But I am keeping my cool--and my tongue, too. 

Larry, sounds as if you have a busy day planned.  Don't overdo, now!  I'm sure you were pleased that Pat decided not to replace all the floor coverings, as that gets "spendy" in a hurry!

I have unpacked everything, got most of the clothes washed and some put away.  Will for sure need to go see Beth and Maxine today, and finish moving things from the room that will get painted as soon as Lon gets to it.  And I'm sure there are more things to be done, as well. 

We really enjoyed The Holy Land Experience, it was the best part of the trip.  But we were disappointed to only have one day there, we really needed at least two days.  Quite a few things were duds, as far as we were concerned.  Not sure we will go with this group again.  Not that we don't enjoy the people, but the trips are poorly planned, and planned for the convenience and saving money for the trip company (have been with Diamond before, this one was Elite Travel).  We will see.  They are planning one to go to Yellowstone, and Darrel has never been there, so may go again......

Pat, I will send you an email.  I have a question...yep, again!

Pat: Thanks for the devotional

Janet: Glad that you are home and now I must hurry with the questions. I did have them half done and the X for some reason took them out.

I had an appointment this morning and soon I will be making some apple sauce to put in jars for winter this time I have a mixture of apples.

The fall colors have been beautiful but now with the change in weather they are starting to come down. In fact I heard on the radio that we could possible have some snow.

Pat:  Thanks for the "Streams in the desert" - I remember an auntie having that book and I read it years past.  How is everything going for you?  Looking forward to your 2nd. Thanksgiving? 

Janet:  Yellowstone is closing soon and doesn't open until late in the spring - I know, we had to drive around once on a trip to Montana.  It is really neat to see the bison calves though so well worth it and try to go before the majority of people visit - it may be a little cool but less traffic.  The place is loved to death. 

We just got back from Verizon phone and had some really sensible young man help us to - complicated but we are on son's plan and want to pay our way now that his new job doesn't pay for his phone.  Went to Lowe's and bought kitchen lights and remembered the military discount card.  It sure saves. 

The new pastor begins next Sunday.  A lot of us seniors skipped church yesterday because of the huge attendance expected for that special turn-over.  So, now a card came in the mail to let us know of the gist of the sermons coming before Christmas and we can be back to normal once again.  Parking is better if we go to the early service too - gosh, that is such a long walk - but well worth the effort and they give you a cup of coffee or tea as well.   

Good afternoon, friends,

My busy, busy life will slow down considerably in a couple of days. However, till then, please "bear with me" as my grandmother used to say.

Much love to everyone,
Ruth Ann

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I know I'm late, Paul, but the wishes are no less sincere!

Paul, Wishing you a very very great birthday week!

Hi everyone on another overcast day.  The painter was here for a few hours yesterday but still has at least half the job to finish and said he probably won't be back until Friday.  I enjoyed a nice lunch with my friends at Steak and Shake yesterday and did make it to my meeting.  My main activity for today will be to attend a meeting at eleven this morning.  Pat just now left to go someplace, I expect the store but she didn't tell me.  Yesterday was a big day for her sister as she completed the huge job of moving into a house with her daughter that her daughter just purchased.  Hopefully this will be the last time she will have to move and it is good to know she is not alone at night as she doesn't have good health. 

Janet, it will be worth it when Lon finishes although can certainly understand your frustration and have to wonder why he doesns't finish one job before starting another.  I think we are experiencing the same thing with our painter.  There is no pressure on the painting and he still hasn't been paid beyond the first half of the job and won't until it is finished.  I am still waiting for a couple of other calls regarding the fuel door on the car and the glass replacement in several of our windows.  It sounds like you had a busy day planned yesterday.  I need to get busy and finish up writing on the questions you provided.  I don't think I have too much left to do. 

Ruth, I use Google Documents when I write something as it instantly saves any changes so I can't accidentally lost what I am writing on the document or spreadsheet and it is available where ever I am whether on the desktop, laptop, iPad or iPhone. Are you ready for snow?

Carol, Pat and I and Stacey are on our son's phone plan and I try to pay at least 3/5th of the bill each month and probably a little extra.  Glad you found someone to help you at Verizon. 

Ruth Ann, don't forget to breathe with such a busy life.  Doesn't it seem like something comes up about everyday we hadn't planned for or expected. 

Paul, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.  Hope you had a great day.

Hi, I'm back for a couple of moments. Needed to do a bit of computer research, so just had to peek in and say "hi."

Love to all,
Ruth Ann

Hi everyone, just stopping in to read and let you know I was here.

Ruth Ann:  Nice to see you peeking in -

Don has been going through photos and organizing everything on the computer.  So, he put a huge box of unknowns for me to go through and after two hours, I am barely into it.  Interesting but it sure takes time. 

I am the driver for tonight's quilt group.  Twice per month gets a bit much for me but these gals have been going for years.  We chatted with one of my cousins via Skype and they were in Arizona and I told her to call another cousin of my side so they could meet again.  She had just been on the cell phone with missionary son in Kyrgyzstan.  Isn't it a wild thought of our technology sometimes? 

Larry:  It sounds like a good idea for Pat's sister to move in with her daughter.  Neither of my parents would move in with us or even move closer to me.  They were adamant about that no matter how attractive I tried to make things sound for them.  I am never in control.....  that is for sure.   

Evening again, already!  How quickly the days fly past.  Lon showed up about 8 this morning, said he was going to work on staining, sanding sealing and then lacquering the rest of the woodwork for the job, and would be back after lunch.  I guess I should have asked "which day?" because he never came back.  I am not going to get upset about it.

Darrel has a cold, probably from the cold air conditioning on the bus and then the sudden change when we got out, to 90 degrees.  So he has kept his chair company---ALL DAY.  Hope he sleeps better tonight.

Thanks to all of you for working on the questions, and feel free to add anything you like.  The more 'stories' you tell, the more interesting your story will be.

I really need to unsubscribe to a bunch of things I get email from.  The amount of emails I get is ridiculous!

See you all tomorrow!

Hi everyone on a sunny, windy and cool afternoon.  We are just back from Bible Study and an hour at Dunkin' Donut and am eating my lunch.  We may go out to eat this evening as Pat has another massage this afternoon and she is usually pretty tired when she gets home or it could be a TV dinner evening. 

Carol, we couldn't even dream of some of the technological things now available to us ten years ago.  We have some doubts as to whether Pat's sister and her daughter can get along for this housing arrangement to work.  Then yesterday Pat's sister gets notice she has been approved for Section 8 housing.  I would really have to have a serious change of mind to ever move in with my son and DIL, although would like to live close by if we ever get to the point we can't attend to our own needs. 

Janet, you are more patient than I would be in terms of being told I will be back and never appearing.  Did he at least call you to let you know? 

Pat, nice graphic. 

Larry--no, he didn't call.  I met him at the corner this morning as I was on my way to the gym.  I said, "You didn't come back."  No.  "And you didn't call!" No.  He always has excuses, or reasons.  He said he was working on my shelves and trim for the room in his shop.  Anyway, it gets done when it gets done, and I am not going to allow it to make me lose my peace!  He is here now, so I hope he makes really good progress today!

I am about to order my blinds for that room from Blinds.com.  He does have the windows trimmed out so I could get accurate measurements!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flattery is telling someone exactly what he thinks of himself!

And another one:  Flattery is like chewing gum.  Enjoy it for a little while, but don't swallow it!

i have spent hours today working on the biographical sketches.  Just wanted to remind all of you to send a good sized photo that you like to Pat, for use with your story.  And I will go now and send the questions to Liz and Janice.  I still need email addresses for several of you!  Thanks for the help, it takes more than just me to get this job done! 

Hi everyone.  It is sunny but 40 degrees here this morning and 63 or 64 by later today.  I am writing from Kaufman Tire and got here at 8:15 and they said it should take around an hour.  Then I will go to Kaiser to pick up a prescription for Pat.  Finally I will go to the collision repair place to get the fuel door replaced.  Pat wants to get a haircut later today.  I did get notice round midnight that Pat's computer has been received at the repair depot in Texas.  Nothing else planned for today.  I didn't sleep much last night as just couldn't go back to sleep after Pat came to bed until an hour or so before it was time to get up.

Janet,  always best not to let things we can't control upset up and you know your work will eventually be completed by Lon.  Thanks for the reminder about sending a picture to Pat.  I am almost done with my story.

Recommending the book
7 Men by Eric Metaxes.   My job is to make a report on the life of Deitrich Bonhoeffer.

don had a blood draw at the VA yesterday. he has a colonoscopy scheduled next week.  every week for the duration of this year is something.  I had the neighborhood book club yesterday and that is different than the gals from my church with our book club salad lunches. 

All, have a wonderful day.

Good morning, something that was scheduled for yesterday has been changed to very early next Tuesday, so the busy-ness seems to continue.

My knee (the replaced one) is the one that took the biggest hit in my recent fall. <ouch> Have a call in to try to see the surgeon about it (hopefully today or tomorrow). Swelling continues, and there's still some fever, so am trusting that our Lord, who heals all our diseases, will continue to touch it. One of the fears expressed by the nurse practitioner last week was that it could set up a blood clot.

I think my trucker son may be in town this weekend.

Love to all,
Ruth Ann

Hi everyone.  We got below freezing here last night and it is to be rather chilly all day and then below freezing again tonight.  Today is our son's 50th birthday.  These 50 years sure have gone quickly as I can still remember the first time I held him in my arms.  I have ROMEO's and we are going to a Mexican restaurant today.  I will have time to stop at Walmart on the way for a couple of items.  Yesterday was one of my more productive days although my part was to get someplace and pay the bill or pay the bill as the windows were installed.  We found we had missed one of them that had the seal broken but will not replace it now and wait until we have more than one or two to replace down the road.  The fuel door painting was perfect and it looks like original equipment.  So all of my car maintenance is up to date until the next oil change.

Carol, sounds like your calendar is filling up quickly.  Maybe this will be the last colonoscopy that Don will have to have unless there is a family history or previous problems. 

Ruth Ann, sure hope you don't have a blood clot and you sure need to have that knee looked at by the doctor.  Hope you get to see your trucker son this weekend.

I was here yesterday to read a couple of times, but was having trouble as my password was mixed up somehow.  All is well now, though, so I can post again.

Be sure to click on Members' Bios, as the first one has now been posted!  I will plan to post one every two to three weeks.

It was right at the freezing mark when I went to the gym this morning, sure it will warm up some as the day wears on.  Lon says he will finish the addition today!!  Yea    There is more work to be done in another room (one we never got finished) but he will come back to do that.  He has another small job he really needs to do because it is in a rental house for someone, so they can rent it.

I will have to take pictures of this little room so you can see how cute it is, with the tile rug and everything!

I had not enough sleep last night, was up at 4:30, and washing windows in the new room and cleaning the new bookcase at 6:30.  But the time I got to the gym I was already tired.   Kristi told me NOT to take a nap today; not sure how that will work out.  Right now I feel like the only way I will accomplish that is not to sit down. 

Larry, it does feel good to have a productive day, doesn't it?  I really do not like it when evening comes and I feel I haven't accomplished anything all day.  Guess that is something I need to overcome, as I don't really have to drive myself so hard.  Do I?

If you haven't sent your photos to Pat, you might want to get that done.  We can use a good closeup, plus a few others from different times in your life, if you have them.  Thanks!

Thank you Janet for posting my story. That was a very nice interpretation of everything I sent to you.

Good afternoon, friends,

Well, doctor's office has not returned the call. They must have taken my fall lightly - not me. I don't wanna do that again for maybe never.

Some of you from places north of me will grin when I complain that the temp went down to below freezing last night. First time it's been that low since late March. Brrrrr - I heard from someone who actually MOWED the lawn yesterday in freezing rain! I fear mine would just need to grow.

Gotta go, but thought I'd poke my head in the door for a few moments.

Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

Note to everyone:  I know that there is growing pressure to stop colonoscopy tests after mid-70's but I disagree vehemently with that idea.  One lady was told that she didn't need that test anymore in her life - well, she died from colon cancer several years later.  So, especially if it is in family history, take extra care - please. 

Janet:  I could not get the downloads of the messages you sent.  Sorry.  Oh, I see - I can click on Members Bios here - my Yahoo message did not work.  Will check it out now. 

We ran errands this morning and tomorrow our daughter wants us to come for a sleep-over and watch a hockey game as well.  Will chuck all our other plans because if any of the children invite us, it is a given that we will do our utmost to be with them. 

Ruth Ann:  Take care.  No, I won't grin about your feeling the chill.   

Carol, I understand that--Members Bios is a new part of CP!  Enjoy the kids!  Wish we could see ours more often.

Lon is just finishing up some odds and ends, will have to come back for a bit of touch-up painting.  Yippee!  I can't wait to start using my new space!  I think I will call it the library, because of the big new bookcases in there!

I need to upgrade my phone.  Any suggestions?  It needs to be very user friendly!  I think  I want a smart phone, but not if it is really hard to use.  I'm not techy, remember. 

Hello after being away for some time.

The fall weather is almost past and no I really do not want to deal with snow but living in the north is what we get.

Every where I go it is construction and more construction today I went to Bolton and the delay was 15 minutes I came home another way.

Time to move on.
Ruth

Hi everyone.  It was a very cold morning here, 36 degrees when I went to coffee.  I plan on having a quiet day today.  Nothing much on the schedule other watching some football this afternoon although Georgia has the week off.  Pat is at Kroger's this morning as they have some sale items she wants to get before the ad goes off tomorrow.  I just now listened to Il Divo sing "The Lord's Prayer" and it was beautiful. 

Janet, glad that Lon probably will finish up the work for you in the current job.  Telling you not to take a nap is easy for Kristi to say as she is not the one who is tired from lack of sleep and a lot of hard work.  Even if it is just reading three message boards and catching up on e-mail I feel I have accomplished something each day.  You have my permission not to drive yourself so hard if that is what it takes for you to be less hard on yourself.  You can do so many things with a smart phone, just like the iPad.  It is really a computer with just a smaller screen. 

Ruth, don't envy you the early winter as I don't even like it when it gets to freezing here.  Of course, it seldom stays below freezing during the days. 

Ruth Ann, it sounds like you may need to call your doctor's office again and let them know you are in a lot of pain and really need to be seen. 

Carol, if we had family histories of colon cancer then I wouldn't want the test stopped.  They are giving the same advice with prostate cancer but I just had a friend die of it after being ok for 12 years.  Of course, I think once we have had it they will continue to do the PSA at least once a year.  My prostate cancer is active again but very low growing so not worried and my doctor is keeping track of having the test done.  It is already ordered for next year.  You are so fortunate to have your children invite you to spend time with them.