Easter and My "Rescue Story" 

    My last post was in 2017. That seems so weird to me. I felt like writing a few times, but there was always something more pressing.. Now as I see the date, April 7, 2020, I note that we are in the beginning of a Pandemic. Covid-19. So far in Michigan we have over 15,000 confirmed cases and over 700 Deaths. 3 Weeks ago today we had 2 confirmed cases. Today as we are confined in our homes, I see that we need a Hero. We need Rescue. Today I see a need to share a very special Easter "Rescue Story" MINE... 

    I was raised in a Christian home. I remember going to Church as a young child. We attended Methodist and Lutheran Churches. My parents divorced when I was 9. Our Lutheran Church Excommunicated them. (kicked them out) After several months I moved from mom's house to dad's. I needed to be with my brother Keith. We could not bear to be parted. 

    Papa, Keith, and I began attending a local Lutheran Church and attended Sunday school and Sunday morning services. 

    Confirmation classes were 2 yrs. long and we met through the school year 2 nights a week. During these classes I had lots of questions, but never voiced any of them. By the end of the classes I knew all the right answers to the questions that would be asked of my on Confirmation Day. 

    We all passed and the questions I didn't ask still lingered. 

    I understood that I had to ask forgiveness each sin everyday. What if I forgot one, or didn't even know what I was doing wrong. I was taught that if you died, you had to hope God was in a good mood that day. That your "good deeds" outweighed the "bad deeds" that we could never know for sure if we were being good enough. 

    I decided over the course of a year or two that I could never be good enough for God. Ever. So I might as well forget about the Church thing and enjoy what I could of this life, because I was never going to be good enough for God or for Heaven. 

    Years passed, I met my husband and we got custody of his youngest daughter. One day in Aug. of 1982 our neighbor asked if Susan could join her daughter at Eastgate Baptist Church for Vacation Bible School. The Church had a bus and it would pick the girls up and bring them home. I said Yes for 2 reasons. First because every kid needs to know about God. and second, maybe this would give me some good points with God. At the very least He would know I was trying. 

    At the end of that week I attended "Family Night". I met her teachers, saw her room, and watched the kids program. The next day I got a visit from 2 of her teachers inviting her to attend Sunday School. They were very nice. They even said the bus could pick her up. I told them I'd think about it. 

    Wow, more points to the good if I let her attend Sunday School, and we all know every kid needs to go to Sunday School. 

    I didn't want her riding the bus, I'd take her. I'd heard some weird things about Baptist churches and I didn't want to just send her off without seeing exactly what was going to happen. That next Sunday I was greeted, shown her classroom and teachers. I was then told if I wanted to stay, there was a Ladies Bible study class just down the hall. I didn't own a dress, so I was in my regular everyday jeans and T-shirt garb. I was told not to worry. I could stay and join the class. I stayed, just in case the kid needed me. I liked the discussion, and I liked that no one appeared to be judging me. 

    We kept going to Sunday school and attended the morning Worship Service. We attended wed. nights too. I kept hearing that preacher talk about how we "could know" when we died we would be going to Heaven. I had so many thoughts. Thoughts like "what a looney tune" "what kind of pot is he smoking", "I wonder if I can get some of that Pot".. "What if what he's saying is true". It can't be, but what if it is? 

    We attended Church on and off through Oct. Then it happened. Without my knowing Oct. 31st that year my world would be torn apart. A storm like none I'd ever seen would come smashing through my life and I would need Rescue. 

     That Fall day in 1982 I received a call from the Hospital that my brother Keith had been in a boating accident and I to come right away. I headed for my Dad's and picked him up. I tried to steady my heart and breath. It sounded bad. I needed to be ready for him to be disfigured, or in a coma, or in ICU. I didn't know at that moment how much I would soon need rescue.. 

      To make a horrible story short, Keith had drowned in a gravel pit while fishing with friends. He left the capsized boat to get help. He never made it to the shore. He was gone. Forever Gone. Dead. 

      I felt like I was drowning. Ken had arrived at he hospital and we sat in the Chapel while each family member was told. I was drowning. He can't be dead. he's only 24. He just had his birthday. He just had a baby. I was drowning. 

    As the next few days went by I could only think one thing clearly. That preacher saying "You can know when you die, you'll be going to Heaven. Could I really know. Oh man I wanted to know I could be where Keith was. I had to know. Oh No.. God was never going to accept me. I wasn't good enough. I knew that for years. If Keith could die I could die. Oh God I can't live not knowing. 

    I recalled other scripture and things the Preacher and teachers had said. Things like God loved me. He sent Jesus to Die for me. If I'd been the only person in the world Jesus would have come to die for me and my sin. I didn't have to be good enough. I didn't have to know everything about it. I knew I was drowning and I knew I needed rescue. 

    Late one night a day or two after the accident I started praying. I told God how I didn't understand everything I had heard, but that I wanted to know that when I died I would be in Heaven with Keith. I was so sorry for all the sins, for all the wrong things I had done. I asked God to forgive me. I wanted Jesus in my heart and in my life. I wanted the Peace that Preacher talked about. I prayed right there and asked Jesus into my heart and life. 

    The life ring had been thrown out to me, and I wasn't about to let go. 

    My heart changed that very moment. I would soon come to learn that MY Rescue had been planned on that First Easter long ago. Jesus had died for the sins of the world on the Cross. But better still He had Risen from the dead, and Lives. Honestly our Rescue Story began before that. Back in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned. God had a plan to redeem all of mankind from sin and death. He would send His only Son Jesus to save us from our sin. 

    I wish I could show you my heart before that night. Black with sin and death. Giving in to all temptation, miserable, rejected, lost, broken, and a million other things. Now living a New life in Christ and His forgiveness. I still struggle, I still fail, but now I talk to my Rescuer. I call out to Him.      

    My heart has been heavy these last few weeks. As I see sickness and death all around me. I also see God's love and mercy shown over and over in many different people. I feel a peace that I can't understand or explain. I live with Joy every day because I am free from the burdens and chains of sin that once held me tight. 

     I'm praying for you dear reader. Right here Right now. If you don't know when you die you are going to go to Heaven. You can know. You don't have to be good enough, or brave enough, or strong enough. You only have to admit you are a sinner and have done wrong things. You have to Believe that Jesus is God's Son, that He died for your sins on the Cross, and that He has Risen from the dead. You then confess that Jesus is the Lord of your life. When you do these things you will have the Peace that comes from following Jesus Christ. 

    If you're at a place where you need to talk some more about Jesus, or what it means to follow Him. If you have more questions you can contact Eastgate Baptist Church in Burton MI. https://www.eastgatebaptist.org or myself. 

    I would love to walk beside you in your Faith Journey. 

    Share your rescue story with me. God Bless you friend.

 

#JesusChangedMyLife@Eastgatebc

    

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

How have so many months passed since my last post. Wow, to many. for the quick update: 

 We had a big Wedding in the Family. It was amazing and fun. 

I packed Troop boxes for all the Holidays.

Thanksgiving was spent feeling Thankful and sharing it.

I had a bit of sickness and didn't get all my baking for the neighbors and friends done.   

 Christmas was filled with Joy and Family. 

The New Year started and here we are in mid-April. 

I could say it's been so hectic and busy around here there's been no time to think, let alone post. I could say that, but I won't. What is painfully true is that we are just about the most boring people I know. I barely peek out my door in the winter except to attend Church functions, Doctor's appts. and Grocery shop. 

I guess we keep busy with the mundane things of life, Laundry, snow shoveling, dishes, cooking, etc. I am bringing back Family dinner night. The family is a bit scattered, and busy so what happens is we see each other on Holidays, and that just isn't cutting it for us these days. 

I'm hoping to get myself back up to speed on posting. I plan to start today. It really is good for my soul to write things down. It's good for my brain too. It kicks in with memories of things I'd like to share. 

So I'm off to do some laundry, make a run to the store, and pick up some medication for the hubby. 

Finally Rain And Tomatoes....

Whoooo hoooo It finally rained. It's amazing how much difference an inch of rain can make. If you look at the top left photo in the collage you will see a stalk of corn that has grown a foot taller then it's siblings.. LOL   amazing. We may still get enough corn for a family dinner. 
   The cucumbers are at death's door, but this morning they were putting on new vines and a few blooms. Maybe just maybe I'll get a few to make our favorite refrigerator pickles. Hubby picked squash yesterday, so you can add about 10 more to the one in the pic. The peppers are small, but the plants just didn't grow much. I'm still hoping for enough tomatoes for Salsa, and spaghetti sauce. Two things we adore. Our friend Abby's mom is hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes so that she can make spaghetti sauce to can also. 
   This is my first time growing Rutgers tomatoes. I put the ones in the bed in cages. They are doing much better in the raised beds except that they are crowding. so many on the same vine, and the cage is forcing them to remain tightly gathered together. They aren't a huge tomato like Beef Steak, but they can't grow very well when they are so smooshed up together. 
   They are forecasting rain for later tonight and maybe even tomorrow. Those rains have gone all around us this whole summer. I'm really hoping they hit us. Before last Friday night's rain, we'd only had a little less then an inch since June 1st.  Watering is great, but pretty much keeps it alive. Even watering never helped the cucumbers or the pumpkins. We have beautiful pumpkin vines with lots of beautiful flowers.. Not a pumpkin one. My baking friend Abby will be disappointed. 
   Finally a supper from our garden tonight. Some fried summer squash, white beans, cornbread, green beans, and tomatoes. We have a few we picked the other day that are good and ripe. They taste wonderful. You just can't beat a home grown mater... 

Wednesday Wrap Up....

Well after much watering and hard work, more for hubby then myself, the garden is producing a bit. Sadly we are experiencing drought here. We've only had 5 rains here since June 1st and that only amounted to about an inch and a half. The funniest part of it is that you can literally go a mile or so out from our house in just about any direction and they've had more and longer rains. It's just crazy. 

My dear husband has carried water out to the garden every evening. Yes, every evening after the sun goes low. It's unusually hot too. the double wammy. I can honestly say that in the last 36 yrs. I've lived here this has been the worst garden we've had. (not counting the 3 yrs. we didn't have one). 

The raised beds of wood are holding their own. The cement block bed is mostly dead, or shriveling. The intense sun and heat of the day has made those blocks hot, I'm sure it's also heated up the soil. We'll be taking that bed out unless we can find something that loves to live in heated soil. A few hardy bean plants are hanging on and giving us a few beans each day. The squash are doing the best with 3 or 4 a day including the ones planted in the ground. The tomatoes are ok. some have blossom end rot, I think, and are not salvageable. I have checked others and they seem ok for now. The ones in the ground are ok, but are way behind where they should be this time of year. 

The local bunnies have munched on a few beans in their search for water and food. I've kept a pan of water out near the garden for beast and fowl. They use it. Even the birds have resorted to eating the tops of the corn tassels. it's crazy. The trees have been dropping leaves all summer, and the walnuts only grew to the size of a quarter and dropped off the trees. I've already decided to lay in some extra feed for the squirrels this winter. 

I love growing things and even though this garden may pull through on some tomatoes, I'm ok with it being poor. Hubby, not so much. I've included a few photos I took today. it's 10am and everything is shriveling up due to the heat already. It's sad, but that's the life of a gardener. 

The tomatoes have outgrown their cages, the green peppers are on stand by, and the cabbage are giving it the old college try. Cucumbers have surrendered to the heat and drought. 

The corn is only a few inches taller then the squash. The pumpkins made lots of blooms and were pollinated, but not pumpkin one. 

The poor wilted squash in the raised bed is giving it everything she has even though she is shriveling up. 

This is what our poor tomatoes in one of the raised beds is doing. I'm hoping some can be saved. 

It Finally Rained And Our Garden Loved It...

Oh My Goodness... It Rained.. did you hear me?? It Rained... 

The first time it's rained in about 3 weeks. It rained just a couple of days after we planted the raised beds on the first of June. This is the first rain we've had since we planted our veggies in the ground. 

We've watered it all every day. As you will see from the photos everything is way behind in growth. I'm not hoping for much from the stuff we put in the ground. I am hopeful for everything in the raised beds except for the green beans. They were planted in the Cement block bed. They were growing great then suddenly started turning yellow and dying. We are wondering if it's the heat from the blocks in that bed. It's been unusually warm for mid-Michigan this summer. I may get some green beans from the ones that Husband replanted in the ground. 

I'm hoping we'll get more rain soon. We need a good day long rain. I'd like at least a couple of rains each week. It's odd for it to be so dry here. We watch the rain go all around us. We wondered why the rain is missing the I-69 Corridor, but we don't seem to miss any of the snow storms that head down the same Corridor in the winter... 

I hope your gardens are giving you joy and lots of yummy things to eat and put up for the winter.  

Our Pinwheel Party Garden

After a week or so we found that due to the lack of rain our bird and animal friends decided to pull up every seed as it popped it's little head up. Our Chipmunk friends dug up all the bulbs; onion sets included. Rabbits chowed down on our cabbage. Birds also ate our cabbage. Something ate every sweet potato slip. 

After speaking to the neighbor we decided to try the pinwheels. We got the foil ones that reflect in the sun. Our Neighbor has a big Security light out back in his barn. It shines on our Pinwheels. Night lights.. hopefully they won't call the critters to the buffet but will instead send them running in fear.  

I'll add a few photos of the pinwheels. They were .97 cents each at our local Walmart. We found them back in the toy section. after using them for a few weeks we can say as long as there is enough breeze to make them spin Nothing goes into the garden. Nothing is being pulled up or dug up. When they are not moving, the birds are back in the garden looking for food. 

I believe a lot of the bird issues are due to a lack of rain. We have had only one rain for about 15 minutes in the past 4 weeks. We water daily. We are not holding out much hope for the crops we planted in the ground. 

Planting And More Planting...

This raised bed garden thing is fun. after the beds were filled with "Garden Mix" I headed out to buy a few things to plant in them. I'm not sure how much room I need for each thing in the bed. I figure this year will be our testing year. We'll see what worked and what didn't. I am thankful for a raised bed gardening group on fb. They have lots of great info. 

We have 5 beds. the one in the back (see photo above) is made of cement blocks. The first 2 boxes have 6 tomato plants in each along with onion sets. The 3rd bed has 2 cabbage plants along with 5 green pepper plants. The 4th bed has 2 cabbage plants, 4 burpless Cucumber plants, and 4 yellow squash. Last but not least the block bed has 4 pickling cucumber plants, and green beans. the outside is ringed with marigolds. I already know I want a few marigolds in each bed next year. 

after planting Husband put up two old chain link fence gates for the cucumbers to run up. A great idea to recycle them. He got tomato cages and put them up. He also got mulch to put around the beds. We see today; after 3 weeks we need to make it thicker so we'll be adding more. 

I thought we were done. Silly me. Husband put up the gates and ate some lunch. Instead of a short nap, he went and got his old tiller out and started tilling the leftover (about 3yds) of garden mix into the ground. (Our old garden place was a 30' x 90' foot area) He kept tilling until he hit the clay that was like cement. So off I went and bought 8 more tomato plants, and 4 pumpkin plants. While I was gone he scratched up some more dirt at the end of the old garden place for the pumpkins. We planted 2 rows of corn, 1 row of green beans, another row of cucumbers, acorn squash, and onion sets. 

We realized after about a week that something was pulling out all the onion sets. Something ate all the sweet potato slips. SOMETHING was taking big bites out of the cabbages. Egad we were under attack from some vicious vermin of some type. Hubby figured out pretty quick the bunnies had finally found the cabbage and the pecking on some of the plants and the removal of our beans, corn, and other seeds as they popped up were the birds. We did find another cuplprit. Actually we caught him in the act.. 

Not the actual culprit, but maybe his cousin Earl from Tn.

~photo credit Themes.com~

We have found a solution for all except the chipmunks. They dig up the onion sets. They have dug flower bulbs etc. They pretty much dig up anything and just leave it laying. My next post we'll talk about some ideas we came up with. The rest of the post includes photos. Never a dull moment around here. 

You will notice another 6 Cherry tomato plants in the background of the Photo above. Husband picked them up along with more bean, corn, and squash seeds. They all needed replanting. Again. 

Hubby and his morning coffee... 

We really enjoy going out to check on things in the morning. 

We water and pull weeds in the evening.

We have bees. wooo hooo  This one is so nice and fluffy. I wish we could pet them. Well, maybe not. Neighbors down the road got a hive of honey bees so they come visiting. Our old garden spot has laid dormant for a couple of years. In the meantime a nice crop of clover has grown in where crops and weeds grew. I saw this guy when I was out planting. I'm trying to encourage him to keep dropping by and bring some of those new bees down the street with him. 

Our Raised Bed Garden Adventure: The Beginning.....

Photo credit Eartheasy.com 

We have had a garden for years. Husband's first garden was one he helped care for as soon as he could walk out with his mama and pull a weed. He's had a garden ever since that day. When I met him one of the first things he showed me was his garden. 90' x40' . (yep that's feet)... For 34 yrs. we had that big garden. The past 2 yrs. with back and leg issues we've not had one. 

I would hit farm markets and such for anything I needed. I missed going out and picking veggies for supper. We always had a big dinner when the corn came in. Just corn on the cob and tomatoes. I even bought seeds one year in the hopes we could find someone to plow up the old space and till it enough for me to plant it myself. If just didn't work out.  

I think we are typical garden growers. We just love watching things grow and I loved canning and freezing all the produce. No worries about how things were processed, or what type of chemicals were used. We knew exactly what was done to remove bugs and keep other critters away from our stuff. I knew what was in every jar I opened for us to eat. Nothing with words you couldn't spell. I like that. 

The first raised bed I saw was as a teenager at my Aunt and Uncle's  home in Lansing Mi. Ed had a bad back and they were getting on in years. They had a typical city lot that included a small backyard. I was amazed at what they grew in those beds. They were raised up off the ground and were easy to access from both sides. I was amazed. 

The next raised beds I saw were at my Uncle Roger's place. I couldn't believe how much he grew in those beds. My Aunt Janet cans tons of stuff. I just couldn't believe it all came from those beds. It peaked my interest, and with the raised bed popularity I wanted to try them. 

Husband is a huge fan of flea markets and yard sales. He came home this spring with 4- 30" x 5' beds. I'd also seen people making beds out of cement blocks on facebook and Pintrest. So we decided to give it a try. A neighbor has been using raised beds for several years. He suggested getting a "garden mix" 1/2 top soil and 1/2 compost, from a local landscaping company. so we placed a tarp and ordered 5 Yard's of garden mix. It arrived the same day. 

We laid down Preen weed control fabric. then set the beds on that. Husband also had extra cement blocks sitting behind the shed so we made another bed using the blocks. 

 Our neighbor saw us filling up our wheelbarrow and walking it back to fill the beds. He got out his little walk behind bucket loader thingy; and moved the dirt for us. He filled the beds and then took the remainder of he dirt and put it close to the beds. I still owe him some kind of bakery for his kindness. :D 

And so it begins. We have planted the beds. added a couple of things. Tilled up a bit of the "old garden" space and added a few more items. More about that in the next post.. I promise it won't be so long. Well, maybe I better not promise. You know how I love to talk..   LOL  I hope you are enjoying your summer and growing something.   

Let Them Eat Pie

This past fall my friend Abby asked if she could come and bake with me sometime. We found a day to meet and we baked pie. We made 2 pies. Sugar free apple for Mr. Ken and Chess pie for our ladies prayer group. 

We cheated a bit. Well, I should say I cheated. I just used a refrigerated pie crust. so we made the filling from scratch. Mr. Ken's favorite thing about pie, well besides eating it, is to use our amazing apple peeler, corer, slicer from Pampered Chef . 

Abby was also fascinated by the Kerosene lamp Mr. Ken showed her. She asked him to light it. Mr. Ken was in his glory. He "fired it up" and explained all the particulars. He also sent her home with a Tiny Kerosene lamp of her own. I reminded her several times that she could not go home and light that one. 

It's wonderful to have a kid running around our house again. She's old enough to be curious about everything and wants to know how it all works. She loves to bake and has a little notebook of her favorite recipes with several from her grandmother. She is a bright twinkling light that fills the house with pure joy. We look forward to her visits. 

I'll share a few of our adventures with you. She has some cool siblings and they like baking too. 

Finally A New Post

Welcome back to "My Front Porch" It's so good to see you, grab a chair, a glass of iced tea, and sit a spell. 

I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since my last blog post. Yikes. I hope I haven't been kicked out of my family and friend circles for not posting. That would be worse then not posting. 

I have thought about writing a bit. I'll think of something and then get busy thinking about something else and just let it slip my mind. Frankly my life is pretty boring. However today I have decided to Drag bring you along with me on a couple of my journeys. 

First, I've been visiting and baking with a sweet friend's daughter. Abby comes visiting on the occasional Monday to talk and bake with me. Her mom comes too, and that's fun. We also get to talk about stuff. I love getting a younger mom's perspective on things. Abby also has siblings that occasionally join us. That also makes for fun. Kids are fun in general and these kids fit the bill for sweet and funny. 

Second, I am now a "raised bed" gardener. Husband picked up 4 pre-made and hinged (exciting, I know) beds at a yard sale for $1 each. I thought it would be fun to share our experience with that. Especially since it's much more exciting then hearing what TV shows we watched yesterday. Though I may just talk about that some too. Not the shows in particular, but how far Television has come or should I say gone over the top. I'll stop there. 

For now I'm excited to share about my raised bed experiences and my new baking friends. 

I hope you have launched whole hearted into Summer and are enjoying the beauty and fun of each new day. 

Merry Christmas From Our Home To Yours.....

A few years ago a dear friend sent me a Christmas card containing this "List" of Blessings. 

It so eloquently expresses in words what I feel in my heart. 

Merry Christmas from our Home to Yours. 

God Bless us, Every one... 

“My Christmas List of Blessings”

~Vicki J. Kuyper~

My Christmas List is more than just a way to keep track of The Special people God has brought into my life to love.

It’s like a treasured scrapbook filled with pleasant memories of all the times God’s answered prayer through friends and family.

Every name’s a touchstone that leads to a place and time, Where God has used another’s heart to reach out and touch mine.

It may have happened years ago or even yesterday, 

but every person on my list has changed my life some way. Through simple conversation, a warm hug 

or a shared meal.

Every person on my list has helped me grow or heal,

Or laugh or love or learn or smile… 

the blessings never end. As God allows our paths to cross as family and friends.

So please know that this greeting is more than a Christmas wish. 

It’s a “thank you” card to God for putting you on my list

Each and every one whose name I’ve come to hold so dear. 

Those who’ve shown me Christmas joy each day of the year. 

The Year 2015 In A Few Words...

January: Birthdays, Lunch, Valentines for the Troops, Awana Camo night Cold and Snow...  

February: 11" snow, Dentist, Paczkis, Awana Store, more Birthdays, Cold and Snow... 

March: Daylight savings time, family birthdays, Easter boxes for Troops, Awana pizza night, new crown and not the sparkly kind, Garth Brooks Concert :-) 

Cold, but I think the Snow decided to leave for good by the end of the month...

April: Awana Pajama Jam night, Sponge Bob boxes to the Troops, Secret Church, Hubby Jury duty, mad hubby for 3 days, NO Snow.... 

May: Our Grand baby girl turned 21, Picnic boxes for our Troops, Crazy hats at Awana, Mother's day with Ella N family, Matt's last Debate, Memorial day, and the official start of Summer...

June: Graduation Open Houses, No garden this year just to wet, Christmas in July boxes for Troops, Annual trip to the Vet for shots etc, movies, Farm trip to Waterloo Farm Museum and a trip to Dewey School where I found grandma Sykes name and photo from when she taught school there...

July: 4th of July celebrations, Our grandson Bryan married Becky the sweetest girl ever, Barbie heads to the Troops, VBS Snacks, More Open Houses, lots of visits to the Farmers Market...

August: The loss of a special friend, Potlucks galore, Genesee Co. Fair and a ride in a Monster Truck, Concerts, Awana Grand prix...

September: Labor Day the official end of summer (much to quickly I might add), Mammogram, 32nd Anniversary, Tractor show, Sending Disney to the Troops, Awana starts again...

October: Bake sale, Awana photo booth, New babies, Halloween mailed off to the Troops, Hey the shower works, New water pump and tank, Hot water working, Canning Applesauce, making Apple butter, New baking buddy. 

November: Voting, Awana Superhero night, Christmas shoe boxes, New glasses, Christmas boxes for the Troops, 11" snow (first of the year and it only lasted a couple of days) Unusually warm for November...

December: Weirdly warm but wow so nice, More family birthdays, Rocking around the Christmas Tree, Christmas party with kids and grands, wrapping paper flying, Cookie decorating with friends, Decorating inside, Sending Homemade Christmas treats to the Troops, Music, twinkly lights, Ham lots and lots of Ham.... 

That wasn't all, lots of haircuts, dish-washing, refrigerator defrosting, Vacuuming, cooking, baking, mowing (hubby), Grocery shopping, Flea markets, yard sales, Online Shopping, laundry, prayer meetings, Bible study, Worshiping, Singing, praying, and thanking God for the Blessings of each and every day...  

I Need A Time Machine....

Well August has run past me at break-neck speed. As I look at the Calendar it's already the last full week of Sept. I really wish I could have a time machine. I don't want to go way back. I just want to go back a little. 

  Maybe back on occasion to the late 70's to see my Papa and brother Keith. I'd love to hug them both for hours and spend the day eating, talking and laughing with them. I'd love to see grandma again and other friends and family that passed on to soon. 

I'd want to go back to re-live a few favorite memories; like graduation and all the fun things of my Senior year in H.S. I'd love to relive visits with cousins, Aunts and Uncles. 

I don't necessarily want to change anything. Just time to spend that day and commit more to memory. My long term memory seems to do a little better at remembering. I need hints and clues, but once it finds the right file drawer I surprise myself at how much I can draw out of that particular memory folder. 

Right now, today, I'd like to travel back to June. I'd like each day to last longer. Each event to go on for a few days instead of a few hours. I really wish days didn't pass by so quickly. Well the bad ones could just skip past me without any complaints from me. 

I have noticed this summer I am losing more words. It's frustrating reaching for them. Looking for the word file folder and someones moved it. It use to happen only occasionally. Now it's pretty much every day. 

Reading is still fine. If you ask me today what I read in the book I've started re-reading 3 times, I might be able to tell you about a character or two. but if I can't read the whole thing at one time I'm not going to remember much. Unless I can read each day a bit of what I read before, I don't remember any of it. That is very frustrating.  I am doing a ladies Bible study at Church. I'm trying to make notes as I go. Sometimes I understand the questions other times I struggle. I've decided to just put the material down when I can't make heads of tails of it. I can always read it again later and maybe it will be clearer. Making notes helps. 

I guess the real reason I'd like that time machine is so I could concentrate on memorizing everything. Before things started slipping off into the fog of forgetfulness. Mild Cognitive Impairment. For now that's what we are calling it. It won't be early onset dementia unless it gets worse. 

Some days I don't think about it at all. Nothing is interrupted in my day by lost thoughts. Other days I feel like it's all slipping away. Not quickly like a magician yanking a tablecloth out from under a table full of china. But slowly. It's scary. I don't like it. I'd love to wake up one day feeling like my old self. ready to face the day with no fear of forgetting words in the middle of a conversation, or forgetting what someone just said to me. Forgetting that the water in the tub is still running, Or the water on the stove is boiling. If I leave it, there's a good chance I'll forget about it. 

Yep, I'd like a time machine. Since I don't think they'll have one available for my use anytime soon. I'm going to keep praying that my symptoms don't progress. I'm going to continue to walk with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I'm going to trust God's plans for me, and I'm going to trust that no matter what comes tomorrow Jesus and I will walk through it together. He reminded me that My Father In Heaven has promised never to leave me or forsake me. He never breaks His promises. I may come to a place where I won't remember Him, But I know He'll never forget me. 

Update: June-2016... Since October of last year my memory issues seem to be few and far between. I still lose words (don't we all) and sometimes I have to ask people to repeat things. I stopped stressing about it. I stopped focusing on it. I stopped letting the anxiety of it rule my life. If I don't remember I just go on. I have left all this memory stuff and my fear, the kind of fear that freezes and envelopes you, with God. I believe He is the reason I'm doing better. I have a real peace about it all. 

None of us knows what the future holds for us. I certainly don't know, but like others have said. I know who holds the future. The God of the Bible. The God who created me, loves me, and walks through life with me. And it is True I may forget who He is, But He'll never forget me.  

Discovering A Truth in an "Odd Thomas" Book....

I'm not a huge Dean Koontz fan. Don't get me wrong, I've read several of his books. My favorites are the "Odd Thomas" books. I am an avid Stephen King fan. I love all his books. I love the character development, and the way the things he writes about really could happen. There really could be a dog named Cujo that is Rabid. Any of us could get out on a secluded road with miles between farms. Any of us could be attacked by said rabid dog, especially a St. Bernard that weighs well over 100 lbs. Really it could happen. I think that's what draws me to King. The very real possibility that one day some crazed maniac could hack into cell phones and kill everyone on their phones, or make them zombie like to do the evil guys bidding. Something evil could really live in the fog, and that clown in "It", well let's not go there. 

I am in the middle of the Dean Koontz "Odd Thomas" series (Odd Hours) . I Love Oddy. He's a wonder and very philosophical man. I read the following one afternoon. Odd and Birdie were discussing the death of her husband. She mentions "many tears, they seem to wash somethin' out of you, they leave this emptiness". Odd answers, and then decides to "fumble out what I thought she might want to say herself"..  

I read and re-read the next paragraph. I finally got out the green highlighter pen and marked it. I don't think I've ever heard anyone explain grief in quite this way. It was something I felt but just couldn't express in words. I haven't experienced the death of a spouse, but I have lost grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends. I'm quite sure this is exactly how losing a life mate, a soul mate might feel. Thank you Mr. Koontz for finding a way to take deep unexplainable feelings and put them on a page to be digested. You have moved up a notch on my favorite writers stick. To be honest you are now #2, which would be super cool except for the fact that there are only 2 writers on my stick. (I don't count the Bible since the Author is God and His writings are far above any that man could pen) I  have read a lot for years, but couldn't tell you the name of any writer. You can find more of Dean Koontz's work Here. 

" Grief can destroy you - or focus you. You can decide a relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, and you alone. Or you can realize that every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time, so much meaning it scared you, so you just lived, just took for granted the love and laughter of each day, and didn't allow yourself to consider the sacredness of it. But when it's over and you're alone, you begin to see it wasn't just a movie and a dinner together, not just watching sunsets together, not just scrubbing a floor or washing dishes together or worrying over a high electric bill. It was everything., it was the why of life, every event and precious moment of it. The answer to the mystery of existence is the love you shared sometimes so imperfectly, and when the loss wakes you to the deeper beauty of it, to the sanctity of it, you can't get off your knees for a long time, you're driven to your knees not by the weight of the loss but by the gratitude for what preceded the loss. And the ache is always there, but one day not the emptiness, because to nurture the emptiness, to take solace in it, is to disrespect the gift of life." 

~Dean Koontz Odd Hours 2008~

Thank you Mr. Koontz for using your talent with words to speak what I feel in my heart.. 

I Love Vacation Bible School ....

I love Vacation Bible School... I love that we make it the most exciting event of the summer. I have a special place in my heart for VBS. A neighbor asked if our Sue could attend VBS with her daughter. Long story short, I started attending Church and realized I needed Christ as my Savior. I believed and became a follower of Christ.  

I've been helping with Snack the past few years. Each Bible school has a theme so we try to make the snacks relate a bit to the theme. If not we think of cool names for them like "Wild jungle Chicken" nuggets and "Fresh caught" fish sticks..  LOL   There are tons of ideas on Pintrest too. 

One of the ideas was to make "Jungle Popcorn".. I make a chocolate covered popcorn so I just added some dark chocolate stripes and voila jungle popcorn..  

Here's the recipe... I'm also going to add a few photos of other snacks we made. The kids love it.. A few of the adults snuck down to sample our tasty treats..  

Chocolate Popcorn 

1- 12oz bag of white chocolate chips or 12oz white candy coating aka: almond bark
2- bags of butter microwave popcorn.. * extra butter is yummy too
Optional add in : Nuts, mini twist pretzels, plain M&M's... 
     Make the popcorn according to directions, remove all the unpopped hulls, 
   Pour this into a large bowl.. add in the pretzels, nuts etc.. if you are adding something.. 
btw this is great without any of this stuff.
    Melt the chips or candy coating in a glass dish in the microwave. 40 seconds, stir, then 10 seconds at a time until melted. 
    When melted pour immediately over the popcorn mixture
     Stir until all is well coated. 
    pour onto wax paper covered cookie sheets. *prep these ahead
     Spread out into a single layer and cool. break apart any large chunks. Store in an airtight container.  

We made these cute butterflies and the palm trees. We are a nut-free building so we left out the peanutbutter spread on the graham cracker palm trees.