ANTICIPATION!

I am counting the days for Thanksgiving. I was told once that if you look too much to the future, you lose the days of the present. I guess that could be true, but I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving and I don't want anything to get in the way.

So.....I am a little ticked at my dad for scheduling his surgery for the Monday before Thanksgiving!!!! I know he is having trouble and wants to get it done as soon as possible, but I think in all this I am mainly concerned that he is having this type of surgery to begin with. He believes he is going to live forever and is so determined to do whatever to get him to that point!

My dad has had some recent problems with cervical neck herniation. It started only a few months ago and when he saw a neurosurgeon, he immediately wanted to do surgery. Of course, he told him it was no hurry and it was an elective surgery! I told my sister I would like to check and see if the doc has just bought a new Mercedes or something! As far as I know, no other modalities have been tried. So why the hurry to do surger? It will be a three hour surgery, complicated with metal plates, screws, cages and done posteriorly, which I understand is not usually done, at least according to the articles I have read. He will have a long recovery time. He will have to wear a neck collar for some time and it could take up to six months for full recovery and again, according to the articles I have read, will never be the same. When you fuse the spine, it is never "like it was." My dad is 82 years old! The biggest thing is he is in no pain! He has some numbness and tingling in his arms and hands. And he is having a little trouble walking from a dragging foot. Those are his symptoms!

So.....I ask for prayers for my dad. I ask for prayers of wisdom and an open mind to other solutions to try. I ask for prayers for my mom who is there to take care of him. I ask for prayers for my sister, who just broke her ankle and is now on crutches. She plans to be there for the surgery, but is unsure at this point. I ask for prayers for me. I have given mother and daddy a choice of my being there for the surgery, coming in one day and leaving the day after the surgery or coming a week later and spending the week to help them out. It is in their hands. But I have told them, I will be home on Wednesday before Thanksgiving!

How cold and hard you say? Well, my daughter's boyfriend is coming for Thanksgiving and is bringing his mother. We have never met and I am so anxious to visit with her. We have e-mailed and I know we will be friends immediately! The Lewis', Lavonne, Trent, Mindy, the kids and g-kids and us! A houseful, but a house full of love and laughter and games and enjoyment. I have pictured it for so long and especially after Rita came through and we wondered if it would even take place. Now......I am counting the days in anticipation of a fun time.

TRICK OR TREAT!?!

I find it amusing that my kids did not want their kids to have anything to do with Halloween when they were first married and first parenting days! But now, they still don't like Halloween but are in the trenches. Actually, my son-in-law Paul is in the trenches mainly because he is a youth minister and has those responsibilities. So.......our congregation is doing a Trunk or Treat. This is where members of the church decorate the trunks of their car and the kids then go around and do the trick or treating thing from these trunks. It is a safe environment that allows for the experiences without the trouble or problems associated with Halloween. We are having a chili supper first and then inviting the community to come and participate.

Last evening, Paul and I went canvassing around the neighborhood, passing out flyers annoucing the invitation to the Trunk or Treat. He confessed that he didn't mind doing it and it was the first time he had ever done anything like that. I told him I didn't mind doing it as it was totally harmless, and in fact was a first step in introducing ourselves to the neighborhood. We talked with those jogging and outside during our walk.

I must preface this event with the fact that Paul was very discouraged yesterday. He became the youth minister for our church back in the summer and has been doing an excellent job. But he is very discouraged. He has a small youth group. Really only two kids in the H.S. group and two in the J.H group. There is an additional kid that graduated but has stayed around. The problem he is having is that the kids want to do the fun things, but when it comes to doing the "spiritual" things, like the passing of these flyers, they find excuses to not do it. That is why he and I did the passing out of the flyers. He is discouraged to the point of wanting to go back to teaching and I think if he could would start tomorrow and kiss this experience goodbye!

I have been trying real hard to encourage him to hang in there and concentrate on the younger kids and do what he can. He is limited when he has so few and until we do something to encourage and get young families to visit, it will be hard. Paul has tended to "jump" from one activity to another, which includes jobs as well. I had hoped he would stay with the teaching and I believe he will return there next summer and hopefully stay. They need some stability in their young family. So, I pray for them and Paul's decisions and will try to encourage them as I can.

I am encouraging another young family who is really struggling right now. I walked out in faith a couple of Sundays ago and confronted a young man with his sinful actions in their marriage and told him we needed to talk. His wife and parents did not think he would go through with it, but Tollie and I had dinner with this young family last week and I boldly challenged them both to work, work together and save this family. They have two precious young souls counting on them to make this work and they need to put aside their own wants and desires.

I know there a lot of hurting people and especially young families who need our help, guidance, prayers and mentoring. I pray I am mentoring boldly to help save them. Pray with us as we teach young families in class and work with them each day.

HOME TODAY!

Tollie will be home today. I am ready! He called last night. They were at the lodge at the base of the Chisos mountains in Big Bend, Texas. They usually stay in the desert and camp another night, but they were all tired! So, they went to the lodge, got a room and were able to shower and rest. I am so thankful he is down and okay. I did worry a little about him. As I said in an earlier post, he usually prepares a lot for this trip but this time he prepared litttle. Mainly, he prepared little because of hurricane Rita. We were gone for two weeks and during that two weeks, he was so busy! He worked constantly, getting everything back to normal. I was glad he went on the trip, but I know he would have liked to have had more time to prepare. He is okay. Now the long trip home!

Sunday! My son-in-law is preaching today. It will be a good day!

FINALLY, NO PAIN

Finally, no pain when I swollow this morning. The first in about five days. I guess the antibiotic is working. I did wake during the night and had a bad sore throat on the right side and my right ear was really hurting. I finally go some saline spray and poured it down the right nostril and then turned my head to the right. I could feel the saline going down the eustacheon tube and it felt warm going into the ear. I think that is why things are better this morning. It really helped.

It is funny the things you remember. There are so many things I don't remember from my childhood, even my children's childhoods. But this I do remember. When Mindy was a baby, she had lots of ear problems. She did not like being in crowds. I mean this was when she was about two weeks old. I would be nursing her and if I talked to someone else in a normal voice, she would cry out. And if we were in a large crowd, like at church, or her baby shower!, she cried a lot. My mother finally took her to the back room and rocked her at the baby shower. She just didn't like a lot of noise. Later she had to have tubes in her ears and that helped a lot.

But her pediatrician told me to put nose drops in her nostril and rotate her head to that side and back just a little. It would help open up her ears. I have remembered this. I don't use nasal sprays much because you can get so addicted to them and messed up with them. But I do use saline spray and it really helps. I think that is one of the reason I have been sick much. For about a year, I used saline spray every night before I went to bed. I has really changed how I am able to not cough and get a dry spot in my throat that would make me cough and gag. I don't really know how to explain it, but it has helped it.

The kids are still here. Emma was sick with a stomach virus last night. So the Goebel's are all reeling from little sleep. I just hope none of the others of us get it! She is better this morning but still complaining of some nausea. Jamie said there is a lot of stomach virus going around at her school.

I didn't sleep well last night. I couldn't get to sleep. Once I got there, it was better, but I will really be glad to have Tollie back. I just hope he is enjoying his hike and doing okay.

Have a great weekend. The weather should be good here. We are suppose to get some rain on Monday night and Tuesday and I hope so, because we really need it.

FEELING BETTER?

Well, I think I am feeling better. I went to bed last night with a sore throat on the right side. The left is doing much better. That tonsil is about the normal size, but the right side tonsil is still quite swollen and sore. It still hurts to swollow and my right ear has been hurting, especially last night.

But all in all, this morning I am feeling better. I think I have more energy and I feel hungry today. I was hoping I wouldn't want to eat for a while and maybe shed some of these pounds, but we will see.

Not much to report other than that. Just counting days to Thanksgiving when we will have a houseful of company and laughter will abound. Looking forward to happy days.

I am so thankful for the company Tollie and I work for. They were very gracious during the hurricane and took good care of us. They paid us for the two weeks we were off. I usually don't get paid if I don't work. I am hourly but they estimated my pay and paid me anyway. Then to top it off, I had extra hours from the previous time sheet and they gave those to me in addition! I wrote Mr. Ruddy a thank you note and I received a really sweet e-mail in return.

Yesterday, Tollie came in from work and he had received extra kudos for working during the two weeks of evacuation. Like I said, they are great people to work with and I am proud to say that I work for them. They are special people. Tollie has been with them for about 28 years and you now know why! God has certainly blessed us in this area of our lives, as well as other areas.

Have a great Friday!

Tonsillitis?!?

It started Monday evening when I noticed that my throat was a little dry and I had a lot of sinus drainage. I took some Loratadine, Claritin if you will, and went to bed. I was surprised when I woke during the night and found I was sore and hurting all over!

On Tuesday, I got up and took my shower to get ready for work. I made it to work, but I was moving slow. My skin hurt! Have you every felt bad where your skin hurt? My did and it didn't matter whether I touched it or not, it was so sensitive that even clothes touching was painful! I knew I didn't feel well, but thought it was the cold front pushing through another something that I might be allergic to and just stirred up my sinuses. We had an appointment with the insurance agent concerning our adjuster's estimate about 2:00 pm. I told them at work that I thought I would just go home after that and rest. I really was not feeling great and thought a nap would make things better.

I found that I just sat all afternoon and was cold most of the day! Now that is really unusual for me. I mean we are talking about someone who has a window unit A/C above her head all the time running. I mean all the time, even in the dead of winter. I sleep very warmly and can't stand to wake during the night sweating under the covers because I got to hot! Well, when I went to bed Tuesday night, I didn't even turn on the unit. That was something real different for me. And then during the night, I would get up to pee and come back to bed shivering! So......much to Tollie's delight I cuddled with him. He is a cuddler and because I sleep so hot, I don't like to cuddle. But cuddle I did that night and found when I got warm, the aching stopped in my bones.

I woke Wednesday morning, after Tollie had left for work, to a ringing doorbell. I jumped up to see who was there. It was my son-in-law. He needed some socks before he went to work. Remember, my kids have been staying with us until their apartment is ready. Maybe this week!?! Anyway, I let him in and told him I didn't feel well and went to take a hot shower. I realized right away, my neck was swollen in all the glands and I could hardly turn my head. It hurt every time I swollowed. After my shower, I got the flashlight and took a look. EWUUU! My tonsils were swollen and had white spots all over them. This was de javu! I use to have that happen when I was kid. But never in succession enough to have them out. I remember my mother taking and "painting" merthiolate on them. That was probably putting mercury poison in my system, but who knew then! Anyway a quick call to the doctor.

Well, my regular doctor was in today. He is semi-retired and I never can remember the days he is in and those he is out! But he had not appointments. Would I be interested in seeing another doctor or even a nurse practioner? Certainly. I will see the janitor if he has a key to the medicine closet! Would it be alright to go to another location? Sure! So four hours later I was seeing a nurse practioner.

SETMA ~ Southeast Texas Medical Associates. They are a monster of a machine! I mean they have four known locations to me and employee hundreds. They probably employ more than the local hospital! The amazing thing about them is that they are paperless. You see I can go to another location because all my history is on the computer. They don't need my chart! Although when I walked in the office to face a room full of people and a long desk with a choice of about eight clip boards to sign in on, I did wonder why they had shelves of charts in the back!

I finally found the correct sign in board and signed in, noticing that only four people were ahead of me and their names were highlighted. Hopefully, they were all on their way to the pharmacy or some testing to be done! However, I was willing to wait and wait, I just need some drugs! After a very few minutes my name was called. I paid my co-pay and sat back down. In another fewer minutes, my name was called. I found the young lady at the front door. Where was she taking me? Oh, across the hall to another suite of exam rooms! I told you they are a monster of a machine. She got my info on how I was feeling and said someone would be right with me. Sure enough, the nurse practioner came in after about four minutes. Wow! That is better than any doctor! She got the repeated info and then asked to exam me. She looked in my ears and then asked me to open my mouth. I obliged to a resounding Whoa! You do have a problem! Yes.....I thought that was why I was here!?!

She began to tell me I need a flu shot but not now while I was sick. She wanted me to gargle with salt water twice a day. Oh, I like her. She uses them ole home remedies. She proceeded to tell me to take Advil, not the generic, but Advil. It would help with the pain and swelling. She asked if I was allergic to anything and I could tell by my response the wheels stopped turning. Yes, I am allergic to penicillin and Ceclor. Oh my! Those are the two best things to treat this with. So.....she pulled a trusty little devise from her pocket and said, "let's see what Stanford has to say about this." She punched the screen several times and then asked if I had ever taken Biaxin. Yes! I had. I think it was for a urinary infection or tooth infection, can't really remember which. That is what she would prescribe. She wanted to give me a shot but the only injections she had was for the things I couldn't take. She said she was do a culture for documentation but that she would be treating me the same with or without it. I didn't think it was necessary. We both had seen my "kissing" tonsils and knew there was infection. Why have a culture to tell us the same?

I left in a few minutes with a prescription and assurance that I would call if I did not start to feel better in the next few days and that I would call tomorrow if I needed something for pain. So off to the pharmacy to get my drugs. It would be a while before they could fill it so I went home and asked Tollie to go after work to pick it up.

This morning, I do feel somewhat better. I still have swollen tonsils, especially the right side. But I am not cold anymore and even slept with the A/C unit on last night. Of course, when it is cold outside, it only blows air, not cold air. So I slept pretty good. Only waking once with a really bad sore throat and took some more Excedrin because it had worked so well earlier and went back to sleep. I am up, showered and dressed, wondering if Tollie made it Uvalde okay.

Tollie left last night about midnight to start his backpacking journey. He offered to call it off to stay home with me, but I assured him I would be alright with him gone. I do have my drugs and I can sleep without any one here.

BIG BEND TIME

This is the time for my husband and his friends to go backpacking in the Big Bend. I think it is a guy thing. They drive hours and I mean hours to arrive a the Chisos Basin. They will leave at midnight tonight and arrive there sometime early Thursday morning. I think it takes about ten hours to get there. It is about 673 miles from here to there. They plan to camp in the desert on Thursday night and then hike up the mountain on Friday. They will camp in the mountains on Friday night and hike back down on Saturday. Spend the night again in the desert and then head home on Sunday. They will arrive back home about 8:00 pm.

All this travel to hike up a mountain peak. Like I said, it must be a guy thing. Now I can see going that distance to attend a flea market or some flower show or craft sale! But to climb a mountain? I just know that Tollie enjoys this time and is ready every year to go. It will be cold this year. It is suppose to be in the 40's at night and he will be cold. The daytime temp will be up in the 70's so that will be good. I just hope he doesn't push it too much. The other two guys he is going with go every year and they are little more physically fit. Tollie ususally spends time walking around the neighborhood with his back pack to prepare for the trip. Because of hurricane Rita, he could not do that and I don't think he is as much prepared as usual.

*************

We had an appointment with our insurance agent yesterday. He had pulled our file and had received the same estimate the adjuster had given us. He already had some questions and had already called to find out about some stuff. He is asking for another adjuster and he said he thought the kitchen floor should be paid for as well. He also thought the food in the refrigerator and even maybe the living expenses we had while evacuated. So he is checking on those things and we should hear from another adjuster in a couple of days. I just want them to pay for the kitchen floor, or at least to count it in the estimate toward the deductible and then maybe we will get something.

We both has said as time goes by, we don't notice the floor as much as we did. So......we may not do anything but if they will pay for the kitchen floor, we will probably put down tile and then try our very best to have the laminate in the den replaced by the good stuff in the kitchen. They say it is not possible, but I think it could be done. It would have to be done a certain way and very delicately but we will have to see. I certainly plan to tile the laundry room.

I think I am cleaning out the garage today. That is if I feel okay to do that. I have not felt well the last couple of days. My throat has hurt and my ears have hurt. I know it is sinus stuff brought on by the cold front, but I think I ran fever the last two nights. I am never cold and I have been shivering when I get out of bed. So....hopefully, I am feeling better. At least I am not shivering this morning!

Thanksgiving is coming and I am counting the days. We are having lots of company and I want to enjoy all that to the fullest. Have a great day and count your blessings!

RECOVERY

Things are beginning to get back to normal and about the time we think they are back, we find something unusual. After work on Friday we made a few stops for errands and then as we were heading home I told Tollie I wanted to run into Walmart. Mind you, this is a 24 hour Super Walmart. As we came near the store, we realized there were no cars in the parking lot. They had closed at 6 pm!

Then Saturday, Jamie need to run to Walmart and I went with her. We arrived about 5:45 and had to wait in line to get in the door. They let us in about 5:55 and we were able to shop and get what we needed, only because the lines in the checkout were out into the store in every line open. Waiting for them to thin down, we were able to make our selections and then head to the checkout line where we still had to wait. It is unreal!

I wonder where all the people are coming from and yet everywhere you turn, businesses are asking for employees. It seems not everyone has returned to Beaumont, yet there are so many cars and people here. At first I thought it was from the line workers and tree workers, but they would be driving their trucks, and this is just car traffic! So, I'm not sure what the deal is or what is happening but it is no fun to run errands in a short amount of time. You have to make plans for everything to take longer then it use to.....which includes eating out. There is always a wait on sitting and everything just takes longer.

But I do believe things are getting back to normal. We seem to be getting back into a routine. Our routine is not yet normal simply because we still have our kids living with us. Their apartment is almost finished and probably they will be going back to their apartment this week. It will be quiet here when they leave. I love having the little girls come to our room every morning and give us a hug and kiss. Ashton wakes me up with a nose to nose kiss if I am still asleep when she comes in. She is so soft and gentle and happy!

Tollie leaves for Big Bend this week also. So......I may be here by myself the latter part of the week! That will be different, but it could be soothing at the same time. I think we have all be dealing with post traumatic syndrome. Not the kind where people are having to seek help, but a mild form of it where you just feel tired and emotional. This has been an emotional ride for all of us. I am thankful we had no more damage than we had, but what we have we are having to fix and I think we had assumed since it has been so long, we were immune to such devastation. It was a shock to see all the damage and now our landscape everywhere has changed. I really need to work in the yard and do some different things because I have always had so much shade and all my plants were planted with that in mind. Now......I have sun, full sun for much of the day. At least my plants will be able to adjust with the winter sun and not the summer sun. That will help. It will be interesting to see who all this comes up in the future.

Have a great week. I plan to.

TOMORROW IS FRIDAY

Tomorrow is Friday and usually that is just another one of my days to spend at home, doing what I need to do and sometimes what I want to do. Tomorrow though is the end of a very busy week. I have been putting on different work hats. That on top of the post traumatic stress syndrome we all seem to have.

Last night, Tollie and I both came home and thought we would rest our eyes for just a few minutes before going to Bible class. Wrong! An hour and a half later we awoke with a start realizing we had slept hard and class had already started.......without us. Then when the kids got here, they were all beat as well. It just seems we all are tired and emotional and I think it is still a residual from Rita. She packed a punch and we are still reeling.

So....tomorrow I will work in parts and sell parts all day. Hopefully, the regular parts person will be back and in full swing by Monday. (She is in jepoardy of losing her job if she does not come back soon!) I don't mind filling in for her, but I realize how very tired I am when working there. It is also brain tired because I am having to remember so many things from so long ago! Actually, it was only about two years ago, but seems a lifetime.

I realize also how much I enjoy my part-time job and how stress free it is and fun. So.....even though Fred indicated he may want me to take my old job back, I want to continue doing what I am doing and enjoying it.

How about you? Do you enjoy your job, and why?

THE WORDS

Last night, my youngest daughter called me and asked for my advice! Wow! What a great feeling that was! You have to understand this is the same child that didn't want anything to do with her parents when she was in high school. That is probably an exageration but you get the picture. So this was a moment. A moment when I had her undivided attention and because she wanted me to share my thoughts with her. It was also a very sobering moment. A moment in time when what I said could have potential bad outcome or good outcome.

The best part of it all was the realization that my parenting days have not ended. I know when she went off to college and the other daughter married and has a family of her own, I felt somewhat lost. It seemed everyone had a job, but me. My job had ended. I knew in my head that my job never ends, but in my heart, I felt lonely and sad. I needed to be needed. Even though we had our troubles when Mindy was in high school, she was still home and needed me. I knew and she knew it. But when she went off to college and she grew up, all of the sudden my job was over, or at least it felt over for a time.

So you see why it was important for me last night to connect with her. I am so proud of Mindy. Actually, I am so very proud of both my girls. My oldest daughter is a school nurse and is the best mother of two precious girls. Her choice in a mate is wonderful and we love Paul like a son, not a son-in-law. And then there is Mindy. She is so beautiful and poised and mature. She has a heart for God and people. I love to hear her talk of her studies and what she is learning and how she plans for the future to help those who can't seem to help themselves. She is beautiful in and out. She has plans, but the wonderful part is she relies totally on the Lord. She is moving to Missouri in January and although she has made some connections for looking for a place to live, that is still up in the air. I worry how she is going to make it and where she will live. She has every confidence in the Lord that it will all work out and be great. I love that about her. She knows whose she is and I am thankful she has the father to place her confidence in.

So.......the words, "mother, I need your advice...." have a special place in my heart today as I rehearse the words we spoke and the advice that I gave her. She is special and I love her. Thank you God for my special girls......all of them!

INSURANCE!!!!

Well, our insurance adjuster was just here. We have minimal damage. And the insurance coverage does not cover our kitchen floor, because it was a power outage not within the confines of our home. In other words, the power outage was caused by outside causes, not our lines. Go figure! I thought that would be covered, but any way, since it is not covered, then our freezer, the floor in the laundry room, the kitchen floor are not covered. The food was covered but we have a large deductible and it was only about 350.00 worth of food lost. We did have minimal damage on the roof, not much, just the northeast corner and she marked that. We had fences down and they cover that with the wind damage coverage we have, but again due to our deductible, no coverage.

So....the bottom line, we didn't have enough damage to go over our deductible. I guess that is good news and bad news at the same time. I was so hoping to have enough to cover the floor, at least. We will live with it, but it is damaged. Tollie says we will get an estimate and see what it will cost to replace those pieces. We have been told you can pop out the laminate flooring and replace them, with the right person doing it. So we will see about that.

Rita left a lot of damage in a lot of homes and I should feel very thankful and lucky that we have no more damage than we have. I guess right now I am feeling a little cheated. Don't ask me why! I really don't know. It is just a feeling and I can't explain it.

Thankfully, we have had money from FEMA and the Red Cross and that will help cover some of this damage. I don't want to be greedy. Actually, the amount we received from them covers the deductible, so if we had had a lot of damage, it would have been great. I am thankful!

Life continues on in Beaumont. We have had a lot of damage and I think you can feel that when you try to find a place to eat out. There are so many restaurants still closed and many running on low staff with minimal menus. They were saying on the news this morning that many employers are struggling in their businesses because people have not returned to their jobs. They are unsure what is causing this, if people are still evacuated or just didn't return. It will be interesting in the next few weeks to see if more return. If they don't return, believe me the jobs are open here. If you need a job, come on down and I think you would be able to get a good job easily.

Our adjuster was saying that Orange really had a lot of damage, but you never heard much about it on the news. She said they never had the military coverage that Beaumont had and yet there was no looting going on. I thought that said something good about Orange! I think there are a lot of smaller towns that are in the same boat as Orange. They had major losses but the news didn't cover them. In fact the news is still covering Katrina, even now. I guess it is the storm of the year.

How about those Astros! Yeah, I hope they make it into the World Series. That would be exciting. It was a good game last night. I don't usually watch baseball, but I watched last night and enjoyed it. I think it is more fun to be there, but was a good game. Go Stros!!!!

NEW JOB

I have a new job this week. I went to work yesterday and as you can imagine, all sorts of things are happening. It is still a process of trying to gear up to work and everyone is a little overwhelmed at what has happened and how long it is taking to get things back to normal. I am trying to do whatever needs to be done and just be there for who ever needs me.

The parts person who took my job when I retired is going to be out for two more weeks. It was asked of my boss if I could fill in for her. He made a resounding no because he had already given me a job to do this week. I am the official cook for lunch for the next three days. Wow! Getting paid for what I love to do......cook. I started immediately thinking of the menus and doing a shopping list.

I went yesterday afternoon and got the groceries for the chicken and sausage gumbo for today, the Hot Chicken Salad and hot yeast rolls for tomorrow and the potatoes for the Potatoe soup for Friday. I am excited and my boss certainly is excited.

I have the gumbo stewing in the large pot right as I type this. I can smell it throughout the house. I started the potatoe salad last night and will finish it up in a minute. (I didn't know people ate potatoe salad with their gumbo until recently!) I need to get a fresh lemon pie made. We came home from Rita with one of the lemon trees intact with three large lemons still hanging on and yellow! So....I will make a couple of lemon pies for those few of us lucky enough to eat them. I am feeding about 25 people. It will be a long, but very fun day.

Are you able to get paid for what you love to do? I hope so. Have a great day!

NORMALCY

There is something to be said for normalcy. Even though the kids are staying with us, Jamie is trying to keep the girls on a normal routine, as much as possible. She is getting them up in the morning and getting them to their daycare, even though she is not working yet. Her school should resume next Monday.

I didn't do much yesterday, other than picking up, making my bed and cooking supper and shopping for groceries, which is pretty much what I do on Monday's. So, things are slowly getting back to normal. I know that kids mostly do better on normal routine and it makes sense that probably most of us require normal routine to function well.

Today, I go back to work. It will be interesting to see what that unfolds. I am part-time and my boss is not back to Beaumont, yet. They just got their electricity back yesterday. So, I am going to do my own thing and interview people to find out what their adventure was during this hurricane process. It will be interesting to find out what others did and how they coped and where they went. I will then put together a newsletter to distribute to the company for everyone to see what happened to our "family". I think my boss will like the idea as well.

Life in Beaumont is slowly returning back to normal, as well. A lot of the resturants are opening and trash is picked up today! Yeah! That has been horrible. Every time you walk outside the smell hits you from all the freezer and refrigerator food! That will be a really good thing.

Is is wrong for us to have a normal routine in our spiritual life? I know we can get in a rut in everyday life when we go through the same routine all the time. So, do we get in a rut in our spiritual life as well? It has made me wonder if normalcy in our spiritual life is good or if we need to keep things stirred up to keep our relationships fresh and not so much in a rut. I would like to hear your thoughts. Have a great day, blogworld! I plan to.

HOME AT LAST

Two weeks and two days ago, Rita paid a visit to our home. I left on September 22, thinking it would be my last time to walk out the front door of my home. It is a hard thing to do and I had packed all the things that I thought I could not live without. Pictures, pictures and more pictures. Picture albums, pictures framed taken from the walls. I had packed sentimental items, such as the quilt Tollie's grandmother made for us when we married. The four delicate glass bowls I had found at a flea market that called my name. The girl's baby dolls they had when they were infants. Things that money could not replace, time could not replace and actually it was very little.

The first time we evaucated back in the 1980's, we drove three vehicles piled high with pictures and momentums. Of course there were four of us then so naturally we had more stuff. But this time, it was different. I guess my priorities have changed! I walked through the house for two days trying to decide what to take and what to leave. It was hard and eventually, I just couldn't make any more decisions. I had all that I could handle and it was harder than I ever thought it would be. But at least now I know that my family and the memories we have made mean a lot more than my "stuff". I walked away from my house, really thinking it would not be habital after the storm.

But Rita had other ideas. She moved just enough east to give us her good side. There were still 120 mph sustained winds. I can't even imagine staying in a house with wind that strong! And there was some damage, mostly fences down, power lines down, trees and trees and more trees down but not one shingle was lost from our roof, at least that we can see. We are having it inspected to make sure, but we believe we came out of all this relatively unscathed. We did have some floor damage in the laundry room and the kitchen when the freezer and refrigerator leaked water. We will see what insurance will do about that and the fences and the food we lost.

What have I learned from Rita? Stuff is stuff and the important thing is to know that people are more important than any stuff. I have also learned there are all kinds of people out there. There are some really strange and weird people. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to stay in the midst of such strong, unpredictable weather! I know that I have a lot, God has blessed us immensely and I know that I am not as thankful as I should be. I will leave when another hurricane decides to visit us, no matter the size! It is just not worth the risks of staying and riding out the storm.

I have also learned that being home is really comforting. We were so blessed to be at my sister's house for a few days, worshiping with them on Sunday. They were so gracious to us and it was comforting to be with family. We then went to a lake cabin that really soothed my soul. It was quiet and I could walk in the woods and think and work on my projects and be isolated from all the news. I think that was good.!?! But most of all it made me appreciate Tollie's employer so much. They have taken such good care of us and we are most thankful. I appreciate so much our home and am ready to take better care of it and use more to the service of God. I know I have become lazy and selfish in how I use my time and my home and I want to do better with that.

The kids are with us at this time. Their apartment was damaged by flooding water and they are displaced as they fix it. It is good to have the kids here, especially the grand kids. They are so cute and I love that Ashton climbs in bed with me in the morning and loves on me. They are precious children. Emma is a hoot and I love her strength and laughter.

Thank you God for all that you do for me and my family, the way you have protected us and helped us through this difficult time. Thank you for your love and care with people who have been so good to us. Thank you for our jobs and the people that provide work for us. Thank you, thank you and thank you.

God's Grace

God's grace is glorious. I can't tell you how blessed we are and we are so thankful to God and his mercy. We have fared so well in this crisis. I can't say our emotions have fared that well, but when we realize how fortunate we have been, we are thankful. That eases our emotions.

I know we are ready to go home. Isn't it just like us. We don't want to be home, going on vacation, but when we can't go home, we want to be home.

Tollie is at our house in Beaumont as I am writing this. He flew from Tyler to Beaumont on a private plane with four other men from the dealership. He is at our house and walking through, checking things out. Seems the only problem is the kitchen floor that buckled when the refrigerator freezer thawed and leaked out the water. It will probably have to be replaced. But that is all. The tree that fell in the backyard, took with it some landscape lights and concrete pathway, but only lifting them up. He stated that the tree root stands about 8 feet in the air. Our lemon tree, one of them anyway, survived, even keeping the heavy lemons on them and they are now turning yellow.

He stated that leaves are plastered on the front of the house. It will have to be cleaned. But all the furniture we left on the front porch is okay. No windows broken, no problems on the outside. We will probably have someone inspect the roof just to make sure there is no damage.

I can't thank God often enough for all the blessings.

We are staying now in Tyler and living at this point in a cabin at Whispering Pines. It is an RV resort just north of Tyler, about 14 miles. We have a deck we can sit and watch the beauty of God's kingdom. It looks like we will be staying there for the duration of our time away from home. Well, someone has to do it! Again, we are thankful for God's Goodness. The company is picking up the tab and we are thankful for that as well.

I miss my kids, my grandkids. Hopefully they can come see us this weekend.

I may not be able to post for several days as we have no connection in the country. Only here in town at the dealership.

I came today to put out the word for employees to have a contact number for their paychecks. The company is paying everyone! They have insurance for this kind of thing. Thank you, God, again for your great mercies.

Take care and Rita will not keep this ole gal down long!

NO NEW NEWS!

Right now there is no new news. We are still waiting to see when we can go home. We search the internet daily for any news. It is hard to find that news sometimes. I have found that I can get a stream of our local radio station on the internet and that has helped....hearing familiar voices!

Tollie may need to go to Tyler for work. The server was airlifted from Beaumont to Tyler and now there is work to be done there. If he goes, I am going with him. He can do most everything on line but it would be easier to be there to work.

I just don't think I can be without him right now! I told him I just want us to be together. I need him and he needs me. I think the uncertainity at this time causes me to grasp the one normal. So I am hanging tight to him.

We hope to go home by the end of the week. Each new morsel of information gives us hope that things are returning back to normal. Schools won't be starting in that area for another week or two and many businesses will have repairs before resuming work. We are still uncertain if the dealership is okay. But we think it probably is. One of the guys who does all the contracting things, maintenance on the building and electrical things stayed in Beaumont.

At this moment, we are still in Arlington, helping my sister and her husband paint their house to get it ready to sell. They will be moving as soon as it sells. Tommy resigned his position as preacher for the New York Avenue Church of Christ in Arlington this past Sunday. His doctors have encouraged him to retire. He was hoping to work for about a year more, but the elders thought it best for him to retire now. So......we are trying to help them. It is good to have something to keep us busy.

Busy is good at this time, it helps to be "normal". Hopefully, we will be going home soon. We keep holding tight to the Lord and his will in all this and our faith is ever stronger.

PRAISE GOD!

We stayed up most of the night watching the news. We did sleep some, intermittently. All I could imagine from what we saw on the TV was that our house might be standing but the windows and glass door on the back might not have survived.

I suggested a few minutes ago for Tollie to call our neighbors across the street since they were not sure they were evacuating. When he called, their answering machine came on! What a surprise. So....he called our next door neighbor, Terry. He answered the phone and then lost connection. Tollie tried again and it rang and rang. Then, Terry answered and said he had just walked in the door. He had spent the night in Beaumont in a hotel. He works for Entergy and had stayed close to start work soon after the storm passed. He had gone home this morning to check everything out. He said from what he could see, everything was intact and okay. He said he would call back after more inspection.

Terry called back and we did loose one of the big trees in the back yard, but since the wind was blowing from the north it went away from our house and fell in the neighbors back yard. The house was intact and there did not seem to be much damage. He had lost a ridge vent and there was some shingle damage.

Now I am in shock and praising God that we have a home to go home to. Now it will be just a matter of time to get electricity back on. I feel great knowing what I can face when I get home. Thank you God and I pray that others fared as well. The storm going into the east of us helped take the brunt to the east of us and not on us. Sorry for Lake Charles and thankful they had evacuated.

Will update more as I know more.

AFTER MIDNIGHT

It is after midnight and we are, well let's make that clear, I am still waiting and watching. Unfortunately, my sister does not have cable. So.....I am on the computer searching for any recent news concerning Rita.

I found a website out of Houston for a TV station and it has helped feed me some of the information. I should just go to bed and wait till morning, but it is my home we are talking about. I want to know how the house fared. But in reality I won't know until someone goes home and checks everything out.

The best news to hear to night is that Rita is 30 miles southeast of Port Arthur. Wow! Southeast is good news. We live on the west end of Beaumont. Beaumont is northwest of Port Arthur. So that means we are on the west side of the eye wall. That could mean less damage, less rain and wind. I have to remember that Rita is very large and there will be some damage, but by being on the west side, there is less chance of tornadoes and the wind comes from the north, not the south.

I have hope. I am clinging to that hope.

LUNCH, A NAP!

It is amazing how lunch and a nap can give you a different perspective.

I awoke this morning around 7:00 am. I had a restful night. I did wake several times during the night but that is to be expected since I am in someone else's bed. But each time I woke, I was able to go right back to sleep without much effort, a definite difference from the night before! So I did get a good night's rest.

When I got up this morning I turned on the TV to check the progress of Rita and bam! The I-45 tragedy struck me full force and the tears started flowing. I felt exhausted and cried at every word out of my mouth. I went ahead around 9:30 and showered and dressed for the day with a headache the size of a watermelon and just about has heavy.

My sister called about 11:00 am from her work and we all went to lunch. I tried not to dominate the conversation with our concerns and it was an enjoyable lunch. We came back to the house, me and Tollie and both fell in a restful afternoon nap.

I awoke an hour later, no headache and much clearer eyed. I feel much better.

Hurricane Rita has downgraded to a 3. She is still going to be large and dangerous and it was a good thing that we left. We have made some decisions that I feel good about. The first decision made this morning was that we will only take the disabled couple back to Beaumont when we are assured they have their apartment with adequate electricity and their assistants are back to help them. Otherwise, we will encourage them to stay here where family can assistant them. We have a work friend who is closer to Beaumont where he evacuated to and we have made contact to ask him to check on our house. That way, we will be able to determine better when we can return and what we will be returning to find. With these decisions in place, I feel better.

Is is a control issue? Yes. We have laughed that Tollie tends to shut down and he will sleep most of the day. I get into gear in these situations and work my brain when my body can't do anything and solve all the problems. I really want to allow God to be in control and I am doing pretty well in that area. But my feelings of needing to be in control are there and I am trying to distinguish what is a feeling and what is an action in that area.

Thankful is the word of the day. Thankful we are here, thankful we have a place to lay our head and thankful my family is safe.

JUST WATCHING!

I am sitting in my sister's house, watching the news. I have a headache pounding in my head, making my eyes tear! Or maybe, the tears coming from my eyes are making my head hurt. At this point, it is hard to tell! It is all a blur, swirling around in my head, much like Rita!

I watch as Rita is swirling in the gulf, heading straight for my home. My home of 30 years. We have enjoyed the springs and falls. We have loved the trees. We came from west Texas where trees were sparse and the grass turned yellow in the winter. The trees, large trees with lots of shade are green all year round, because they are oaks. The grass is not as green in the winter, but stays green all year.

My home, where we added a front porch just two falls ago and have enjoyed sitting there, enjoying the rain or watching the kids play in the front yard. My rocker that came from Cracker Barrel, given to me at Christmas from my wonderful husband is sitting against the house, hopefully close enough to remain there.

I sit here wondering what to expect. I believe I will have nothing left when we return. Now I am second guessing about what I brought with me. Did I get everything I could? No, I had plenty of more room in the van. I could have taken so much more. But was it necessary. I almost got the genealogy stuff, but decided at the last minute to leave it. I have worked long hours searching for that information and why did I not get it? It was a decision and I was tired of trying to make those decisions.

Rita is swirling and my head is swirling. I am hopeful, I am here, I am safe, my family is safe and God is in control!

WE MADE IT!

We left Beaumont about 5:45 this morning with our little disabled couple in tow and we headed north. We were cruising along pretty well when we hit a stop north of Kountze. And I mean we came to a dead stop. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach Woodville, a trip that normally would take about 45 minutes to an hour. Which really when we hear the horror of the parking lot on I45, that is not too bad. After reaching that point, it was bumper to bumper but we were able to keep moving. They had finally called the mandatory evacuation and when they did that it opened all intersections to the north traffic. There were police directing traffic at all major intersections and we were able to go on through without a hitch. In fact after reaching Woodville, it seemed the traffic just kind of thinned out. We wondered where all the traffic went. But each time we came to a small town, the traffic would back up again and be slow.

We arrived in Dallas about 3:00 pm, tired but thankful. We left the couple at a motel in Lewisville and waited for their family to arrive. It was taking a long time for them to get there and we left about 4:30 to head to Arlington. We arrived at my sister's house about 5:30, read weary but in one piece.

Our oldest daughter left with her family about 9:30 pm last night and had planned to go 287 to Corsicana to her cousin's, but when they arrived in Woodville, 287 was closed to through traffic. So.....they had to go all the way to Lufkin and then go back down to Corsicana. They finally stopped for about an hour to sleep and then arrived there about 5:30 this morning. They are safe and sound.

Our youngest is safe and sound in Austin.

Where is Rita going? Only God knows at this time. I have had the feeling all day that I would not have anything to go back to. I'm not sure why, but when we walked out the door this morning, it felt like it would be the last time. Only God knows if that is going to happen. I have cried my tears and will cry more but I am okay with it! If we lose everything, we are still blessed and we have each other. That means more than any stuff!

I also had the feeling of a mother hen all night and this morning, wanting to gather my chickens under my wings and protect them. As soon as I knew Jamie and Paul and the girls were safe, I was okay. I then realized I was in the protection of my father and we would be fine.

I don't know about my neighbor. They were not going to leave, but when I talked to them this morning, they had decided to evacuate. So......not sure where they went or when the left. I just pray everyone gets out in time. It will not be good no matter where Rita decides to come ashore. There will be damage of some sort. We live north of I10. One report today said that if Beaumont takes a direct hit, we could get a storm surge of 20 feet and it could reach I10. That is hard to believe, but we will see.

Prayers are needed, especially for those on the roads in Houston and other areas where they are trying to flee. I am just so thankful we got out in time. Now it is all in the Lord's hands.

Hello Rita

Well, we are leaving. We are heading out in the morning around 5:00 am for Dallas. The handicapped couple have a hotel room in Dallas and we will go to my sister's in Arlington.

We are in hopes of beating the traffic tie ups leaving so early. The reports today were that the traffic from Galveston to Huntsville was a parking lot! We don't want that. We have been down that road before and it was miserable. Hopefully, we will be well on our way before the traffic gets too bad.

I pray for those who are staying. Tornadoes and trees don't mix well. Our neighbors are staying so I am not worried about our home. It is only a house and stuff. I have packed those things that I feel I cannot live without at this time. Pictures, projects I am currently working on this computer. Everything else should be able to be replaced. Not easy, but can be over time.

I pray for those who are more in the direct line of Rita. At least we are on the fringes, so far. Thanks for your prayers. We have no control over hurricanes and tornadoes, but we do know who is in control and for that reason we will be fine. My kids are leaving tonight and should be well on their way to my neices' house. So as along as we have our family safe, I will be okay.

Today has been hard. I am tired and teary but doing okay. The drive will be hard.

Hope to give you updates as I can. Salute from Southeast Texas.

Rita?

Well, Louisiana had their Katrina. Texas may have our Rita. At this point, it is looking more and more like we may have the big one come our way.

I am trying to think ahead and have contacted a niece who lives in Central Texas and we will probably go there if the need arises. We should know more about Thursday or Friday. Of course, anything can happen, as we know from Katrina. If Rita goes in east of us, we are okay, but anything west of us could spell danger, winds, tornadoes and rain, lots of rain. The last I heard today, it looked like it might be Galveston area, which is west of us. Depending on the category of the storm, it would affect us, just not sure how much. If it comes in at High Island, we are in more danger.

At this time, I am trying to determine what is of value, sentimental and what I should pack. We will have to decide if we take two vehicles or just one. This would also depend on the kids and what they want to do. They are north of us and may not have to evacuate. Later in the week, we will know.

I think everyone is much more on edge even here because of Katrina and the mess she left. We know it could be just as bad, although we are above sea level. That helps! My first priority is my pictures. I have albums and boxes of early movie tapes. They will go in first. Then there are some hand me downs from ancestors and they will need to be packed. Of course, the project I am working on now and others that are for later! The computer is a must! It has our life history on it!

My biggest concern is all the stuff in the yard we will have to move to the storage house or the garage. That will take some time. We are high here and I believe we will be okay, but we are taking no chances and if Rita decides to come visit, we will leave is she is anything more than a category 1. We have been through Bonnie and did okay. Anything more than 1 and we are out of here.

Will keep you updated on what I am taking and when we leave.

LIFE

Today was a good day. Worship to the Lord. I saw one of my children, but didn't get to see the grandchildren. That was the only bad of a good day!

Ashton woke up sick this morning and stayed home. Paul stayed with her and Emma. I was able to visit with Jamie. Didn't get to see my other child as she is in Missouri as I type this and should be back in Austin tomorrow. I am praying she had a great time while there, even though I feel certain she did! It will be good to hear from her and find out how the weekend went. She was to meet more of the family!

I have been busy this weekend working! Yes, working on the weekend, but at least it was a fun job. I am doing a history video for the company I work with. I have had fun creating this video, of course with the help of my dear husband. He is so good at this and I have enjoyed working on it. It will be presented this week at a rotary club breakfast in Port Arthur. It will be interesting to see how it all comes out.

Life is full of surprises and changes. I know I am constantly reminded how changes affect almost every minute of my day. I know changes can affect not only the individual life, but a marriage as well. I am praying for my daughter and son-in-law for changes that have been happening in their life to settle down a bit and give them some comfort. Everyone in a marriage struggles at times and they are no different. They are working on the struggle and that is what it takes.

I hope you have few struggles today and if you have any suggestions for a happy relationship, leave them here. I would love to hear from you.

Good Discussion! I am Learning

I have been having a good discussion lately with Travis Stanley concerning race issues. You can get to his blog at www.travisstanley.net. He has some good things to say and I am learning to be more passionate, but at this point, I think I am learning to ask good questions. That is really what I want to gain right now from blogging. Asking good questions, thought provoking questions that cause me to think and wonder and search out my own heart.

I want to be more compassionate for the poor and I hope to gain that as well as more knowledge on what God wants from me.

Have a great day!

Tollie and I are teaching a class on Sunday morning on Parenting. We only have a few people in our class. I was hoping for more in the class. Today was a good class. We talked about discipline and asked the members of the class to do some observing this next week and look for examples of what they think is good parenting and bad parenting. They are to be prepared next week to share what they observed.

We gave our examples today of bad parenting. Tollie had seen a woman at Mazzio's Pizza. She had the boy pinned down next to the building and slapped him across the face.

I had an example of a mother who tried to corral her 3 to 4 year old daughter and then out of the blue grab the child by the arm and start whooping her. Needless to say the child was surprised by the whooping and it was obvious the mother was either frustrated or angry or maybe even embarressed by the child's action and took out that feeling on the child.

We talked today about the fact that most, at least a lot of parents just go into parenting expecting to know how to parent without giving any thought or getting any instruction on how to parent. We looked at Hannah versus Eli on parenting in I Samuel. Hannah taught Samuel early on and when Eli had the boy and God called Samuel, he immediately obeyed the call. On the other hand, Eli scolded his sons and they were sinful and immoral. Eli waited too long to try to reign in his sons and it was too late.

Next week we will continue to talk about discipline and how that discipline involves training, instruction and molded the child.

WHO DO WE BLAME?

That seems to be the question of the day. Who do we blame? Was the mayor of New Orleans at fault? What about the governor? And then why did the President not do something sooner? Everyone seems to be pointing fingers in all directions. The Republicans are really pointing fingers at the governor and mayor of New Orleans.

My belief, for what it is worth, is that the governor of Louisiana did not do her job. Of course, I am only hearing what happened and I was not there. So I can only make a judgement on what I hear. I have heard that the President had to call the governor and suggest to have the National Guard move in there. My understanding is that the President cannot go into the boundaries of the state and make decisions. It is up to the state to ask the President for this help. That makes sense to me. So why didn't the governor call sooner and ask for help? Did she expect the government to come in after declaring the disaster before the storm? Did she just not know the procedure? As governor, why didn't she know and understand the procedure?

When I hear the governor talk on TV, she does not seem to have much presence about her. She is not an eloquent speaker. She seems to be in a cloud, which would be understandable. But it also seems to confirm that she did not take the leadership necessary. When you compare all the other areas hit by the same storm, it seems others fared better with the help. There are complaints all over and that is usual. The governor of Mississippi seemed to have the presence to take charge and got results.

I have heard it compared to 9-11 and that Mayor Guillani took charge and things got done quickly. I would suspect that any governor who takes charge and makes things happen, makes decisions, would help in a crisis. When a crisis happens, you need someone to take charge and be the leader. Someone who can coordinate all the different entities. Some say that putting FEMA under the homeland security was a mistake. I hope they re-do this decision if that is the case.

My main concern in discussing all this is that I want to know where the breakdown of communication occurred. Why? ~~ So that it can be fixed. I live on the gulf coast of Texas. But for the grace of God, we could have been hit by Katrina and we are likely to be hit by another hurricane in the future. And, more importantly, with the state of the current world, a terrorist attack could occur anywhere, at anytime. When something happens, will the crisis cause this much mis-communication? Could we be faced with an even greater disaster? How will the government respond? How will the local authorities respond?

This is my concern. We have a mentality in the US that we are the chosen country. We are immune to disasters and when something like Katrina hits, it wakes us up to the fact that we are not immune. But how we respond to these disasters say a lot about who we are as a people.

My biggest response to Katrina's disaster is how Louisiana is ready to party but not ready for a crisis. How can a state with so many Casinos bringing in so many dollars still be one of the poorest states in the nation? Where is all the gambling money going? Whose pockets are being stuffed with dough? If a city, such as New Orleans is so poor, how did it continue to function? How can we, as a people, justifiably build New Orleans back in the same manner? It should be re-thought and re-built in a manner that would not jeopordize people's lives. The devastation is just incredible.

All of our lives are changed by Katrina. We will not see our world in the same light as before. We are all affected by this storm.

__________________________

Just an update: I still don't have anyone in my home for shelter. I have tried to find a small family, but have not gone out myself. I have made a call and left my number but no takers to date. We are trying to do what we can, but mainly praying is all we are able to do. I am concerned now that I cannot take anyone in for two reasons. Tollie leaves town every month for his work and I don't want to be here by myself with strangers in my home and secondly, we are not sure of the time frame for their staying. We have other things happening in the coming months and I would not want to have to ask someone to leave for those things. I just pray everyday for all those misplaced by Katrina.

WHAT IS IN A NAME?

I grew up thinking that if a person was not part of a church of Christ, he/she was not a true Christian. I believe my parents still have some remnant of this belief. However, for me I have come to believe we were wrong in that assumption because.......

Would believing that make the church the point of salvation, not Christ?

Would believing that cause us to put ourselves on a pedestal and believe we had arrived?

Would believing that take my focus off Jesus and point that focus on myself?

Yes, I believe the answer to each of these questions would be yes!!!!!

I was looking at a web page of a church. In my looking, I realized I was looking to see "what kind of church" they were. Is that a valid question? It hit me that if they were focusing on Jesus and him crucified, then what did it matter what flavor they were? They may do things differently than I do. They may have a different structure to their organization than I do, but in the end if they are looking to Jesus for salvation and reaching for answers from God, then who am I to determine they are not correct? Who gave me the authority to do that?

I don't know where they hail from. They just call themselves The People's Church. We call ourselves Christ Covenant Church. I think we are trying to say that we are generic. We don't have specific traditions to cause us to act a certain way. We are just trying to follow Jesus. In following Jesus, we are trying to point others to him as the only way to true happiness.

I pray we are doing a good job of that. I pray that my giving up my own traditions for Jesus is what it is all about. Does it really matter how we do things, as long as, first of all we do them and secondly we point to Jesus in all we do?. Are the issues really that important?

In light of the events in the last few days, I would gesture to say we focus on to many human aspects of this life and toss the spiritual. I pray I focus more on the spiritual today and put aside my human tendencies.

Great Labor Day Weekend!

I started Friday by baking cakes. I made four cakes to take to the building on Saturday. 60 cakes were to be delivered on Saturday and 60 on Sunday for a shelter housed in Lumberton. It will feed about 200 people. This is our part of helping in the disaster. Of course, we have thousands in our city and this is a small part of helping out.

I keep thinking God will send someone to stay with us, but as yet, all my efforts to house someone has not met results. I keep praying about it, and will continue to do so.

I keep thinking about my sister and brother-in-law. Tommy preached yesterday to a congregation suffering from great loss. Losing four members in a church is hard. These were four of their core senior members. They will be suffering for a while.

On Saturday, we ran errands and I cooked for my family. Mindy came in Saturday evening and the little g-kids stayed the night with us. We had lunch here on Sunday and had a birthday party for Ashton on Sunday evening. Ashton's birthday is not until the 13th of this month but because Mindy could come this weekend, we decided to have her birthday. On the 13th, Ashton will be five years old. Where did the time go? She had a great time, getting a new bike, new clothes and a new Bible!

This morning, Mindy has already left for Austin. She has to work this afternoon and so had to be on the road early. We had breakfast and then she left. I am taking the time now to do my reading and blogging, before Tollie gets on the computer and works on his schooling. He has some things he needs to do this morning. Then my plan for the day is to relax and work on my projects to get them done. I am getting close.

Labor Day was always a fun day for me growing up, but I could never understand why taking the day off for Labor!?! It didn't make sense to me. It is always refreshing to have a day of rest from our labors and I appreciate God giving up Sunday. We use to have a group that would cook out together before we went to do our hospital ministry, but these days we are scattered and don't seem to have "time" for that sort of gathering any more.

Tollie and I started our parenting class yesterday. I was a little disappointed that we only had a couple of people there, but it was Labor Day weekend. I hope this is not indicative of the next few weeks. It will be a long 13 week series! We began by telling our "story" and asking each of them to do the same. In other words to tell the type of family they grew up in, how many years married, how many children, etc. Mindy came into our class and it was fun to hear her tell of her expectations for marriage and children and her rebellious teen years! We all had a good laugh.

We plan to cover many aspects of the family including marriage, child raising during the pre-birth on up to grown children. I pray God will use us to reach those who want to know what the Bible says concerning all this and also the experiences of others in these areas. I think it will be a fun class.

Have a great week and a laborless labor day!

LIFE CHANGES ON A DIME

I titled yesterday's post as Life is Changing. Boy is it ever!

Please pray for New York Avenue Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas. My brother-in-law is the minister there and my sister is the church secretary. Yesterday, three couples of their senior "Road Runners" group were traveling on a fun trip and had an accident in Crockett. One couple, Don and Bettie Davies died, Pat Parker died and her husband, Bill is in critical condition as he was airlifted to Tyler, Jack Chance died and his wife Dianne Chance was in the hospital but may have been released with minor injuries!

My sister said that Tommy had his sermon all planned out for Sunday. "Don't sweat the small stuff." Here are two crises, the hurricane and now the accident, As a church we need to stop worrying if we are clapping or raising hands. We just need to worship and worry about the world about us.

My heart bleeds for this family of God and for the families in crisis in New Orleans and all over the Gulf Coast. Many who are here in Beaumont are saying they are not going back to New Orleans. They have nothing to go back to and will start their lives over here or in a new place. Sometimes, I think it might be nice to start over without any baggage! Thank you God for the chances you give us to always start fresh with you and our lives.

LIFE IS CHANGING!

Life, as we know it, is changing all around. I see the devastation in the coastal region and I can’t fathom what is happening there. There seems to be no order. There seems to be no one in charge! No one that really knows what is going on! That is rare in our United States. But people are hurting and needing and when those hurts and needs are not met, people do strange and sometimes unthinkable things.

I can’t imagine shooting at a helicopter trying to rescue someone! That is unthinkable. But it happened. I can’t imagine taking things that don’t belong to me! But it is happening. I can’t imagine being so selfish as to walk past another’s need! But it is happening. I can’t imagine being so needful that I resort to these things. But it happens. Just because I have not ever had it happen to me, does not mean it does not happen nor that it could not happen to me at some time.

I remember the movie Trading Places and the bet the brothers made that if someone was rejected by friends and family and lost everything, they would turn to violence. It happened! We are base people and without Christ, we are hopeless. We lose everything and have no hope and we see these vile happenings.

I can sit in my clean, cool and comfortable home and watch on TV or type in my computer and sit in judgment on the people I am watching do these unthinkable things and say I would not do them. But in reality, I am not so sure that if I were in the same situation I would resort to whatever to meet my immediate needs! Especially, if I did not have the hope of Christ.

So I am trying real hard not to judge these people and realize that Christ is the missing link in their lives. Christ is the healer and need meter of all. Until I take Christ to these people, there will be these vile happenings.

UPDATE on CHARITY
I have not had anyone come into my home to date, to house during this crisis. I went to get my gift cards yesterday and took them to the church office. In talking with one of the ministers there, she had gone to the Ford Arena and they are not needing anything at this time. I told her and the others that I had thought about going out there and asking if there was a need for a young family to be housed and all I could think of was 1500 people all rushing to me to volunteer to come to my house!

The headlines would read: Another victim of Katrina ~ Woman crushed by mass!

She is going to a shelter in Lumberton and if she sees a need she will recommend them to come to my home. I told her I can remember when my youngest daughter was a baby and she was sensitive to loud noises and did not do well in crowds. I can imagine a young family with small children in similar circumstances and I would be happy to help them.

Also, the preacher’s wife has family-in-law that are currently housing 14 people from New Orleans and they know of other families coming in the next week to the area. They may take up our offer. So as of right now, I have no guests in my home. But the offer still stands and I am opening up myself to God’s leading as to who comes to my home.

___________________

On another note, I am asking prayers for my sister and brother-in-law. They are making life changing decisions in the next few weeks and it will alter their lifestyle and livelihood. Please pray for them.

GOD, I NEED YOUR HELP!

As we watch the coverage of the aftermath, we feel helpless. Yet, Tollie and I both had the same feeling last night. We want to do something. Of course, our first thoughts were we have this large house with extra beds and room for people. So, we both, almost at the same time, said we want to go get someone to stay with us, that needs housing.

But I need help in doing this. This will certainly be out of my comfort zone. Yet, if I want a B & B, someday, this would be like that! So.....how can I not try. Yet, a B & B could be a one night thing, where this may be a month-long thing! That is a huge difference! But I do feel compelled to do something.

I am going this morning to get some gift cards. We are collecting those at church to hand out and help the victims in some way. I will go to Ford Arena or call and find out what is the best way to help! I know they need money right now and that is certainly a possibility. But I will see what else I can do and I am praying this morning that God sends someone to us to bring home to our house!

This could be a turning point in our lives to go from wanting to be a different church, to being a different church!

PEACE!

In reading my list of blogs this morning, I read where Kip McKean is bringing back the "lost" from the ICOC and wanting to determine who is in or out! This brings back so many memories and not good ones at that.

Why do people feel compelled to judge the hearts of men? I know we all do at times but this is a constant in this man's life. Satan has a strong hold on this man and I pray for his freedom in Christ.

I am still praying for those in the Gulf Coast states who are hurting and not home and don't even know if they have a home to go to. It must be devastating! I am so thankful we were spared. We got a strong, short lived wind and rain storm through here yesterday in late afternoon that was nothing compared to what these people went through. This was just an outer band of storms that came through, but it was enough for me. Knocked over some plants and my front yard looks like beavers have been in my tree cutting the tips off!

So I am very thankful we didn't have a visit from Katrina and hopefully we will not see any of her family of hurricanes this season!

KATRINA!

We are breathing a sigh of relief as we watch Katrina going into Louisiana. She could have made her way further west but went north instead. We are happy. Not happy that others are suffering but happy she did not come our way.

I thought it strange this morning when I heard a senator from Louisiana say they were praying for the storm to go east of New Orleans! I am sure there were others praying as well, those east praying it would go west or east! Poor God! I know he must hear all these prayers coming from all directions and then has to decide to disappoint someone! Is this really how it works? I have so many questions concerning prayer and how it works and I can't wait to get to heaven and ask them! (Although probably by then, it won't matter to me)

What do you think about prayer? I know prayer works, I'm just not sure how it works nor am I sure I always ask the right questions in my prayers. I know God has a plan and does he really change those plans by hearing prayers? If that be the case, what causes him to change his mind and does he then become a respector of persons and then does it depend on our "goodness" or "badness" as to who he listens to? Or is it that it is so out of our realm of thinking that none of this is what happens at all and that what really does happen can't be explained in human terms? See, I have many questions.

Don't get me wrong, I do pray. I pray every night before I go to sleep and I try to pray often. I am sure I pray when things are tough and I need to have comfort. I try to remember to always pray for thanksgiving. But I am not sure I pray often and at the right times and especially I believe that I don't pray the right kind of prayer! I am working and studying on my praying to see if I can understand it more and more.

If you have ideas of how prayer works and how it affects us, please share them with me.

PERSPECTIVES!

It is interesting to me that no matter what you say, it depends on the other person's perspective as to how it can be taken. I know not everything matters in this regard, but in important things it does.

I have been dialoguing with my youngest concerning the relationship of her and her boyfriend. I will say something and depending on her perspective, she has to ask questions to make sure what I am saying. I know I assume too much sometimes and that causes a different perspective.

My point in saying this is how many times have I read the Word with a certain viewpoint or perspective in mind and taken it entirely out of context? It scares me to think that I can read the Word and not fully understand what is being said or how it is said because of the blinders I have on my eyes, in my heart and in my head.

I realize when we don't listen well and already have answers blocking the listening, then damage can occur. We become faulty in our decisions and can even be faulty in our convictions because of assumptions and differing perceptions.

We were asked in class once if the Word was truth? Of course! Also, if there was only one interpretation? I said a definite no and nearly every one else said yes. But we all interpret according to our own assumptions and perspectives. So how can we say there is one interpretation. There may well be one supposed interpretation but I find it hard to believe that there is only one and that when a certain passage is read it is interpreted the same by every reader. If that is the case, then why are there so many issues on the table and so many churches?

GOTTA RUN! LIFE IS GOOD!

I talked with my youngest last night after her visit to her boyfriend's. She was in Missouri for about 9 days! Wow! She sounded good. They had a good week with a few hitches, like a funeral! But that is everyday life and I am sorry they had that but fortunately for her it was not someone she knew. I know she is anxious to get her last semester of school over with. That is what is motivating her right now. I pray for her consistency and stamina as she completes this and makes enough money to sustain her while in her internship. She can do this. I am praying for God's hand to get her through to next May!

I will get Tollie to blog yet. John Alan Turner has a blog that has been addressing some issues we are dealing with right now. He has talked about not tinkering with what God has put in place and to stop praying for vision! Wow, that really hit me. But his point is that God already has a vision for the church. We need to be praying for strategy and working that strategy. It is indeed what our sheperds are doing this weekend. They had planned to get a vision for Christ Covenant, but now I think it will be a planning session to put into place a strategy for Christ Covenant. They need our prayers this weekend and I hope things go well for them.

I love my friends! Friends are the basis for my everyday walk while filling needs. Thank you God for friends. And speaking of friends, I have talked to my bestest friend this morning and then later I am going to have lunch with another best friend. So could life get much better? Don't think so. I will see my grandchildren and kids tonight and talked with my other kid last night. Life is good.

Gotta run!

Crafty Satan

I am currently reading a book to help me discover where my down spots are that hinder me from losing weight. According to the book, there is a line where we are above the line and happy. Coming down below the line causes us pain and unhappiness and that is when we go to external solutions, such as binging, drinking, really excess habit.

My biggest problem is finding when I am below the line. I think sometimes I am so caught up in my daily that I don't realize that I am below the line and it is really a long later that I see I was below the line.

Satan is crafty and fills my day with ho hum duties and discolors the truth so that I don't even realize what is happening.

Last night was an epiphany. I was laying there and realized that earlier in the day I had made a discovery quite by accident and it distressed me. I knew it distressed me but it was not until I was in bed, reading the book that I realized I had succumbed again to eating to mask over the distress I was feeling. Quite by quiet action I was hooked into an external solution without even consciously doing it. That is a scary thought. Doing something you don't intend to do.

Wow! I know how much I need to be conscious about what I do and why I do it.

At least I was eating Snack Well cookies so maybe they don't count as much as donuts?

I am praying for success in the actions that I hope to come about by acknowledging when I am below the line of happiness and using these external solutions to pacify my needs.

Blogging Gives Information

I have been reading the last few days the blogs that I read consistently. The buzz right now is the fact that Ann Coulter has been invited to speak at Harding in the spring.

At first, I didn't even know who Ann Coulter was, then I realized I had seen her and just heard the other day she was the one who wants to run against Hillary Clinton. To say that I am not political, would be apparent. To say that I don't read the paper is apparent also.

I realize today how "in my own little world" I am. I don't seem to have enough time in the day for my own little world much less what is going on around me.

Blogs have opened up that world to me. By reading blogs I can get a glimpse of what is going on around me and learn about the world around me. I have never been much of a political person. I do vote, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wonder if my vote makes a difference when I don't even know who or what I am voting for! This can be a danger. I try to become informed but I realize so much of what I read and hear is tainted by that person/news political stance! So am I really getting the whole story by not researching out what I need to know.

But then I have never been very good at researching out anything. I like to take the easy road and get what is already researched! This is something in me I am finding that I don't like a lot. But I know I can change this, if I really desire to. So.....I may start watching more news TV instead of the old movies. I probably need to do more reading on the internet for the news articles and become an informed citizen. I'm just not sure I have enough time in the day, but if others can then I should be able to do this.

I know from own little world, there are enough problems without taking on more! So.....we will see how this comes about and whether I still like living in my own little world and I may close the blinds and watch Humphrey Bogart!

THUNDER!

There is thunder and lightening in his lips, Our God is an awesome God.

I just heard thunder outside and it reminded of this song.

I know I had asked my readers where and what they were doing five years ago. I will answer my own question, especially since it seems no one else reads my blog. But that is okay. I blog for me!

Five years ago, I was still reeling from a hard break in our church family! That seems such a long time ago and yet when I let myself think back, it still hurts. So, I try to look forward and not think back to those times.

I do have to say that though that is a hurtful time, it was also a very growing and maturing time! To say that I have changed is an understatement. Tollie and I were talking the other day and realized how much we have changed, especially spiritually. We are free in Christ! We don't worry so much any more. We don't feel like we have to walk on egg shells any more. We just enjoy worshipping God in everything we do and not just on Sundays!

I don't ever want to degrade or downplay our years at Westgate. They are precious years and precious memories and precious people! I love so many of them and miss them very much. Fortunately, we still have some of those people still in our lives! I would not want to go back though. I would feel stiffled and pushed down, like someone had their thumb on my head, pressing ever so hard to get me down! Does that make sense?

I can remember most that the last few years at Westgate were a struggle to keep my sanity. People were saying things about my mate that were unfounded, untrue and totally out of character for him. If they knew and loved him, they would know that. And in all that time, I kept thinking, can I make a mistake? Can we at least try other things to see if it works? Do we have to keep doing the same ole things and not growing? Why do we keep banging our heads against the perverbial wall?

At least now I know that if I have an idea, it will be listened to. Not that all my ideas will be done or tried and that is okay, but that I will be heard. That makes so much of a difference. And I know that people will take the truth and hold it high!

There are some things I want to change. I want to be more community minded. Yet, I am the one who did not sign up to do the Some Other Place Tasting. Why, I am not sure. But I find it hard to make those changes. Yet in five years, I have made milestone changes. When Tollie and I went to church with Mindy, it was a new experience for us. Something that five years ago would have been so hard for me to do. But I actually enjoyed the experience and want to learn from that experience.

Five years ago, I was in Beaumont, longing to know my grandbaby who was to be born in the next month! They were in Lubbock and we were 12 hours south in Southeast Texas! How in the world was I to be a grandmother 12 hours away? I prayed for three years for God to put us closer to my children! Never in a million years would I have guessed that my children would move to Beaumont! Thank you God for the experience to see my grandchildren anytime, and have them with me. To allow them to spend the night, see new and exciting things together, like movies, circuses and carosels.

Five years can bring a lot of changes and it has been that in my life. My children now live close, I have changed careers, going from doing medical transcription to managing a parts department to semi retirement. Now I work two days a week, doing fun jobs for an executive. I do genealogy work, publishing and printing calendars for the family and making menus for the family. I never know what project will come up next, but I find most of them fun.

I pray that your five years have found new growth and excitement in your life.

Blogging!

I am now blogging addicted! How did it happen? Well, I started doing my own blogging and looking at several other blogs. Now, I find that I can spend an hour reading other's blogs. I hardly have time to do my own blog.

I have found a connection in reading the other blogs and miss it when someone doesn't blog every day. I have my list and I go down the list and it seems that Monday's are always the day people decide to do other things besides blog. I find I click on a blog and go right to the next blog because there is nothing new to read. I especially find it disappointing when I continue to go to a blog and it hasn't changed in a week or even two! I want to ask where are they? Why haven't they blogged? It's like losing an old friend.

So.....in case there is anyone out there who is reading my blog, I don't want you to be disappointed and not find something new.

I have a new question and would like some feedback!

Where and what were you doing five years ago and how have you changed in these five years?

Start of a New Week!

Sunday has come and gone. The start of a new week! For many in our area, it is the start of a new school year. For some it is the end of summer and the beginning of school, a new job, a new relationship, many new things.

Do I have something new? Not really. I am still plodding on the same territory as I have plodded for many years. I have a two day a week job. I have three days during the week to do "my own thing", as long as that includes cleaning the house, washing clothes and mowing the lawn once a week! But I do have a lot of extra time, time to do what I want and usually that means cross stitching, especially since I am working on a special project at this time. I think I have plenty of time to get it done, but I want to make sure, so I work on it often.

I wonder sometimes if I have too much time on my hands. I seem to get down and depressed easily and I don't want to take medication all the time. I may start back on my depression meds to see if it will lift my spirit. But I hesitate to do that because it affects other things in my life, important things! So.....I will just continue plodding and praying for some relief.

RAMBLINGS!

Where have I been, you ask? I have not been at the computer long each day, just long enough to read my list of blogs and then rush off to work or wherever.

The kids are back in town and I got to see Ashton and Emma yesterday. They are growing as I type! I missed them and they had a good time on their trip.

I am reading a book now, "Blue Like Jazz". The reason I got the book and started reading it was because so many of the blogs I read listed it as a good read and one of their favorites. It is a good book with a totally different perspective on Christianity. I believe it to be a post modern definition for me.

I think it is funny how until I started blogging, I had not head the term post modern Christianity. I realized after starting to blog and read other blogs how unread and uneducated I have become. I am a smart person but I have tended to hide out in my own little world and be lost to the masses. That is not always a bad thing but in this case it caused me to feel left behind. I am enjoying catching up on reading the right now thoughts of those who I call brother and sister in Christ.

I will be away from my blog for several days as I travel with Tollie on his monthly trek to Tyler. I will enjoy being in the hotel and cross stitching, working feverishily to finish my project, watching old movies and letting someone else make the bed and cook the meal, not that I've done that too much lately. But it will be enjoyable anyway. But the best part will be being with Tollie. I don't like to be apart from him much and I don't like being home by myself away from him. So....it will be a good time with him.

Take care and hope you enjoy the rest of this hot month. School is about to start!

SATAN SPAM

It has occurred to me recently that I have been spammed twice! I received an e-mail from paypal concerning my account. I have received an e-mail once that stated I was trying to access my password. I didn't think too much of it. Then I get this e-mail that says I had added a new e-mail address. This I know I didn't do, so I was concerned and linked onto the link in the e-mail, thinking it was from paypal. After answering the questions it asked, I went on my merry way, but had a nagging feeling about it. Sure enough I researched it out again and realized it may have been a fradulent e-mail. I contacted paypal and sure enough it was a fraud e-mail. I had to go to my bank and get a new debit card and change everything in paypal. The link said it was going to paypal, but in reality when I clicked on the link, it went to a different source. So tricky and so underhanded.

Then the other day a cousin sent an e-mail concerning the ICE entry you put in your cell phone so that if you are in an accident the paramedics look there for In Case of Emergency number. Innocent enough and a good idea. Wrong! It is a phase one step of a several phase process to screw up your phone. Needless to say I repented and erased by entry quickly and notified those I had given this information to before. I don't like the idea that I have been duped so easily. But I have and now I realize how cunning and crafty these spammers can be.

Yet, I know Satan can be just as crafty and cunning and how often do I feel "spammed" by him? Not really that often. I know he is alive and well, but how often do I feel his presence in my life, trying to trip me up? Even though it is not often, I don't think it is because I am living such a Christian perfect life! I wonder if it is because I get so caught up in my living that I don't notice either Christ or Satan, just me! Of course, I guess that is one way Satan can spam us, cause us to get so caught up with ourselves.

So.....my goal today is to watch for spamming by the devil and make certain my eyes and thoughts are on Christ so I don't presume I am okay.

Interesting Weekend!

We went to Austin this weekend to be with our youngest daughter. Her boyfriend was there for a visit for one day, from Missouri! We had ice cream with them on Friday night for about an hour's visit. It was good. Unfortunately, he had to leave on Saturday to get back to his job and preach on Sunday morning. But the hour we had with him and Mindy was quality time! It was enjoyable and we want to spend as much time with them as we can.

Life has interesting twists all the time. I had blogged earlier concerning my decisions to make of whether to go to Austin this weekend or skip out and go to Lubbock for my aunt's funeral. I chose to go to Austin to spend time with Trent and Mindy and especially Mindy. I think it was the right decision! Sometimes, I wonder, but this time I believe it was the right decision.

We went to church with Mindy on Sunday morning. It was interesting to say the least. We know this is where Mindy is suppose to be at this time in her life. Is it where we would go if we lived there? Probably not, but for her, it is a good place. Gateway Community Church is full of life for the unchurched. Tollie and I were able to see the distinct differences in the way they think and what we are use to thinking in a church. What I mean by this is, it was obvious they have a heart for the unchurched and conduct their services geared to that. The music is loud and active. Although we were surprised it was paticipatory and not just entertaining. That was refreshing! They do not have communion. I can see their choice in not having it. I am sure their thinking is that they do not want any sign of "religion" so they stay clear of the rituals that might give that appearance. Mindy says they do have communion on a Sunday night service once a month. This would bother me, as I feel bonded to those I worship with during communion. I would miss this. I think it is an important part of my worship. Do I think they are going to hell for not having punched their ticket? No......anymore than I think someone is going to hell for having communion at other times than Sunday service! But I do think I would miss out on an important time of bonding for me. Bonding with sisters and brothers in Christ and with God!

It was apparent Mindy has made her mark there as she introduced us to others. The first was a young lady in her small group. (She is the leader of the small group.) Another was some young gentlemen she just said hi to. Then she introduced us to a man that had rave reviews for Mindy and her babysitting abilities. You knew she had impacted that family with her smile and grace! Then there was a young man in one of the children's classes. Later she told us he had asked her out and confessed his liking for her. She told him she had a boyfriend!

I am so proud of Mindy. It would be hard as a single young lady to go to a large church (they have three services on Sunday morning and adding another one soon) and participate and find your nitch. But she has and it is apparent she is enjoying herself. She told me later that at times during the service she thought she would check on us to see if we were okay but decided to just worship and let us worship in our own way.

We were fine. I did find myself crying, like I do often at Christ Covenant at the beginning of the service. I am not sure what brings the tears. Sometimes I think it is a longing for old ways but then I think it is just emotion for new ways! Does that make sense? Probably not because I don't know why in reality. But I thank God for the ways I have grown and am growing and I ask for continued understanding. I do think I have become more open minded and for that I am thankful. Mindy has parents who are not condemning of her ways and I am proud that I can say that. I did find myself wondering about some of the people at Gateway, but I also found that it is okay if they don't have it all together, because neither do I! That is refreshing and I am thankful for that revelation in my new life.

Have a great week and I give God the praise for children, friends, family and travel!