Last year marked sad and happy changes in our lives. I cried with Laura over the phone when she discovered her baby – my first grandchild – would be born with a cleft palate. With research and a CP team, they were ready and worked daily, preparing James mouth for surgery. His flawed lip and bright eyes still offered a beautiful smile. After surgery, his new smile brightened his face even more. Medical technology is amazing. The surgeon did a fantastic job.
 
Last year we had to put our nine-year-old bulldog to sleep. It was hard. You get so attached. I just knew he read my mind.
 
God miraculously blessed the building of our new church with labor and material donations. Then the Lord sent a buyer for our old building. He waited until heat and air and bathrooms were installed. We are scheduled to close out in January. We can worship there until it is finished.
 
A dear family at church – my Sunday school teacher – moved back to Joplin where their relatives live. We miss you Blaine and Janice. The Lord sent us the Binkleys. They are a blessing.
 
Penny and Don got to visit us before returning overseas.

Not that I am, but if I were making new year resolutions, they might look like this:
 
Ride the stationary bike thirty minutes daily
Eat healthier
Read all the books Gale bought and read
Make the world a better place to live
Lose twenty pounds
Dust
 
The list could easily be longer, but I’m already procrastinating. Over the years I’ve learned not to set high goals. With God's help, just do what I can the best I can. I’ll try.

A recent study revealed 50% of Americans are not concerned about their destiny. Religious people can believe in heaven and hell but it’s not for me, they say. Or you live the best you can and hope you make it. I’m just as good as the next person. Who can know? It’s not important. It doesn’t matter.
 
Regardless of what anyone or any religion thinks about the hereafter, there is an absolute truth according to the Holy Bible.
 
Because of Adam’s sin, all are sinners and will face hell unless they believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son who came to earth as a baby, then grew up and died on a cross to forgive those who believe on him.
 
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not parish but have everlasting life.
There is a heaven and there is a hell. Disbelief will not change that fact. Believe it or not, everyone makes a choice. . Ask Jesus to come into your heIart. It’s the most important thing you’ll ever do.

Since bowling on a Wii game a couple years ago at a lady’s church party, I’ve wanted one. This was my lucky Christmas. Santa Gale gave it to me.
 
Today he installed it, and our living room came alive. Huffing and puffing, we played the game on our antique mega-size TV screen.
 
In our youthful years, Gale’s best bowling score was 230 something and mine was 130 something. The strike I got that game, sandwiched between gutter balls, was an accident. I remember hooting when I broke 100.
 
But today I shined. We tied the first game, and I won the second. If Gale’s bum knee hadn’t caused him to sit, he would’ve won, I’m sure.
We’ll play again.
 

I made it. Whew. I shouldn’t say that. Christmas isn’t about me. I shouldn’t let tasks of the season fetter my celebration of the Christ-child. By the time I prepared Christmas dinner, I had relaxed somewhat. Playing piano for the Christmas program and some specials was a joy.
 
But going to church on Christmas day soothed my spirit. I needed that. We celebrated the Holy Baby’s new kingdom. That’s why He came, you know. I’m looking forward to his coming kingdom.
 
Next week we’ll start a new year. Days will turn to weeks, and weeks to months. Before you know it, we’ll be Christmas shopping again. For now, we’ll take down the tree.

At some point in life traditions deviate or retire. Children grow up and move away. Parents and grandparents pass on, and siblings begin new traditions with their own growing families.
 
This year two of our children and their families couldn’t be here. Due to his work schedule, Chris and family shared Christmas dinner and gift exchange with us on the 23rd. That was Okay. We had a good time.
 
Therefore, this Christmas morning we broke tradition. Gale and I exchanged gifts alone as we had 44 years ago before the children came along. We didn’t eat quiche and cinnamon rolls as we had the last twenty some years, and we didn’t have our Christmas Eve buffet.
 
Since Christmas was on Sunday this year, we celebrated the birth of Jesus with our beloved church family. Now that was a blessing. God is good.

Some Christmases left a bookmark on my memory. A song in our 1996 church cantata nudged the recent breast cancer diagnosis aside. Overcome with emotion, I couldn’t sing the words, “He Was Seeking for Me; …though I knew Him not, yet He loved me and was seeking for me.”
 
In 1985 we videotaped our first Christmas and every Christmas morning through 1995. That’s when we noticed Chris smelled every present he opened. That was also the Christmas Laura lined all her Cabbage Patch dolls across the couch and passed out homemade presents. When she left the room to get another present, Chris hung one of her precious kids on the ceiling fan. She had an anxiety attack.
 
On the last video we see Gale’s brother Danny (RIP), the clown of the family, accidentally turning over the tree.
 
In the early 1980s Penny started a Christmas Eve tradition of an elegant table spread with treats and a punch bowl.
 
The greatest present I ever received was Jesus Christ.

The three kids (3, 4, and 6) running, screaming, and laughing through the house tonight reminded me of my three and their five cousins at the same ages. Their Grandpa Davis had to call them down. Christmas was loud but fun.
 
The children wanted to open presents as we ate our Honey Baked Ham meal, but it was on the table and getting cold so they had to wait. I wanted to open presents too.
 
It’s nice to get together with family at Christmas. Though Laura and Penny’s families couldn’t be here, we enjoyed Chris’ family. Dustin and Mandy, we are always happy when you share your Christmas with us. I love how little Hannah whispers that she wants to play my piano or play with the dollhouse Laura’s grandfather made her some thirty years ago.
 
I love the excitement Silas displays as he opens a present. Their cousin, 3-year old Levi, came with them. He was just as excited. My daughter-in-law Tanya is so appreciative. The homemade pies she brought were delicious. It’s been many a year since I let the dishes set, but it was worth it.

Swaddling clothes were strips of cloth wrapped around the baby’s arms and legs, an oriental custom. It’s been said that this was done in case the baby died on a long journey, the body would be wrapped for burial. It’s also been said that the swaddling strips kept the baby’s arms and leg straight. In this culture, it was considered abuse not to wrap the baby in this manner. The Shepherds identified the Lord Jesus by his swaddling clothes.
 
A more accurate name for the manger was a feeding trough. God’s chosen people expected their Messiah to be born in royalty, not in a barn. They rejected him.
 
Jesus was born meek and lowly. Though He was King of kings and Lord of lords, only He qualified to come to earth as God in the flesh. Only He could offer His life as a sacrificial lamb for our sins. Why? Because He is perfect and He was doing the Father’s will..
 
I’m so glad.

TODAY’S MESSAGE
When you see the manger scene, do you realize that God came down to earth so that he could hang on a tree, or is he just displayed as a babe in a manger? Do we leave him there? There’s more to the story than what we read on Christmas cards. The baby is God.
 
How far are we from God this Christmas? Think about it. What happened in that Bethlehem manger? God came to earth. He was God when he was in the womb of the mother Mary. He was God growing up. He was God as He hung on the cross for our sins. We need to remember that.
 
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
 
My concern about having peace is with each and every one of you here today. That babe in swaddling clothes is the answer. Do you have peace?

King David wrote about the Lord as his Shepherd in the 23rd Psalms. In John 10:27 Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” He even told his apostles to feed his sheep.
 
Isaiah prophesied about Jesus submitting to the crucifixion. Chapter 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God, gave his life for the sins of mankind.
 
I’m not surprised that the angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. I wish I had been there. It nearly scared them to death. Can you imagine a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men?”
 
I wasn’t there, but the Lord is my Shepherd and that’s all I need to know. I hope He’s your Shepherd. Ask Him to be your Shepherd.

The month of December is unquestionably the busiest month. Parties, parades, seeing Santa, shopping, cooking, wrapping, mailing cards, Christmas programs, concerts, decorating, and cooking keep us busy.
 
I remember standing in the Santa line at the mall many years ago. My kids didn’t cry but some did. Most parents have the “Santa-lap” pictures. I hope we don’t get so busy that we forget the reason for baby Jesus.

He left the splendor of heaven,
Knowing His destiny
He came with love and compassion
to lay down his life for me.
If that isn’t love, then heaven’s a myth.
 
Don’t keep Jesus in the manger. See Him on the cross and rising from the dead.

I’m trying to imagine my folks buying Christmas presents for all of us kids. Everything came from Spiegel catalogue. We got a couple presents, perhaps $2.98 apiece, but our excitement equaled that of expensive gifts when we opened them. A doll , coloring books and crayons, cardboard punch-out dolls and clothes delighted us. It was the only time we received presents.
 
Gale and I Christmas shop on the internet. Our children often send a link in an email, giving us ideas. That makes it easy. When they were small and money was tight, we bought cheap dime store toys and they didn’t know the difference. Times have changed, but not the magic.

Do we make the most of our walk with God? Do we realize how important that is? It’s not normal for those who have made a profession of faith in Christ not to walk with him. Look around us. What is influencing us? Is it godly or ungodly? There is no grey area. Our walk with God should progress the gospel of Jesus Christ, sharing it with others.
 
The Apostle Paul shared the gospel, putting his life in danger and winding up in jail. While there he wrote letters to the churches speaking of his joy for them. He may not have been happy in jail, but he had joy. That’s what salvation gives that the world doesn’t.
 
John Bunyan’s preaching was so brave that he was imprisoned. But he had the joy of his salvation. He preached to prisoners. They say people came to the edge of the prison to listen to him preach. The church unsuccessfully tried to silence him. He wrote the famous Pilgrims Progress.
 
Are you making the most of your walk with God?

When Gabriel, the angel, addressed Mary as highly favored – the Lord is with thee – blessed art thou among women; Mary wondered what kind of salutation is this?
 
She would have a son and call him Jesus. He would be great and be called the Son of the Highest. God would give him the throne of his father David, He would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there would be no end.
 
“How?” Mary said, “I know no man.”
 
Gabriel continued. The Holy Ghost shall come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.
 
Did Mary freak out and wonder what people would say? No. She said, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”
 
Knowing God’s Son was growing inside her, I don’t think she was surprised when He:
Walk on water
Set sinners free
Gave sight to the blind
Calmed a storm with his hand
Caused the deaf to hear
Caused the dead to live again
Caused the lame to leap
Caused the dumb to speak

How’s your heart? God’s heart for the world is expressed clearly through our Savior Jesus Christ: …for God so loved.
 
Man is the only creation where God breathed life into his heart. God made man to reflect his glory. But the heart changed. Adam sinned and that heart that was once perfect became tainted and reflected the glory of man.
 
Evil is ugly. Sometimes I am amazed at how mean some school kids can be. How can something sweet and precious as a child speak venom. Where does that come from? It comes from the heart.
 
When man’s heart no longer glorifies God, we have a picture of God's heart breaking with grief. When we allow sin in our life it grieves God’s heart. Have you grieved God this week?
 
How’s your heart?
 
Search me Oh God and know my heart today. If you have a question about your heart, ask God for guidance. He will show you.

Moses lived 120 years. That’s how long it took Noah to build the ark. It wasn’t until Moses was 80 that God called him to go back to Egypt and lead the Children of Israel out of bondage. Moses understood how valuable time was. We need to focus on that.
 
We are given 86,400 seconds each day. We don’t get them back. Every day we have an opportunity to do something for God. People waste their time searching for peace and security when it’s in God. They have looked in the wrong places.
 
We are not promised tomorrow. Plan for God in your life. Make the most of your time for the glory of God and His approval. Let his work become our work. It’s not about us. It’s about Him.

Turkey and dressing are better the next day. Ham and beans are better the next day. But a movie, a movie must be extra special to want to watch it the next day – maybe years later when you don't remember. Watching Smokey and the Bandit today, I laughed again as it sparked my memory.
 
Right now I’m watching A Christmas Carol, the Musical staring Kelsey Grammer. I don’t remember seeing this version. Aha, now their singing.
 
Since the publication of Charles Dickens' 1843 Christmas Carol, the story has been out of print and has been adapted both for 22 stage productions, 2 operas, 4 recordings; at least 10 radio broadcasts, 49 loosely based TV show adaptations, and 20 film versions. Many were animated versions.
 
A Christmas Carol and black Friday make the Christmas season official.

When I pray, I thank God for his blessings, but I get specific the Tuesday before Thanksgiving service at church. We skip preaching, and each family goes to the front and tells what they're thankful for. I always think of something else afterwards.
 
Tonight was special. It was our first service as a church family at our new church. We met in the fellowship hall because the sanctuary was not ready. Thank You Lordand Amazing Gracenever sounded so good without the piano.
 
I can’t see God, but He has answered so many prayers this year -- in a personal way. I know He’s there. I feel him, and I’m thankful.

Goodness and mercy shall follow me. As we move from one pasture to another we will feel something at our heels. What follows sheep? Goodness and mercy, the sheep dogs. They are here to guide us to the next pasture. Goodness and mercy have our back. They hold us up because they love us. If we leave the fold and go astray, does God yell at us? No. He’s a good shepherd.
 
My Bible tells me he never leaves us or forsakes us. Goodness and mercy are on each side barking at us, getting us back on the right path. Do you really know the goodness of God?
 
One sheep dog is mercy. Mercy is not giving us what we deserve. Mercy is there when we stray to remind us that God loves us. With mercy we find forgiveness and grace. The Lord gives us the opposite of what we deserve.
 
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. They are always there. We won’t need goodness and mercy dogs in heaven. One day we get to live in the Master’s house forever.

Two hundred years ago it took longer to get things done. They were busy people. Today technology gives us more time, but distractions like TV, computers, books, sports or recreation steal our prayer time.
 
Jesus was busy healing, teaching, and casting out devils, but he got up before the markets opened down the street, slipped away and prayed. He needed time alone with His Father.
 
We need to find a solitary place to be alone with God – in a closet, Jesus said. He meant a quiet place with no distractions. He wants our full attention.
 
When was the last time you had that special time with God – just the two of you? If we are so busy that we don’t have time to pray every day, we are too busy. We will never achieve God’s purpose for us without consistent prayer. God will accommodate any prayer schedule, but mornings work well.
 
During prayer and bible study, be quiet and listen to what God wants to say. Sometimes words are inadequate, and I just want to hug God for being so good to me.
 
“And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his own…”

Mama becomes a wreck when they wheel her baby to surgery. He’s so fragile, and he can’t tell you how he feels. Glad to live in New York City, my daughter knits during the long wait. Dr. Cutting is known around the world for successful cleft palate surgeries. In fact, he invented the NAM device little James wore in his mouth soon after birth until this moment. We are anxious to see his new face.
 
Five hours later she sends a picture of my 3-1/2 month old grandson in recovery. Stitches close the wide gap from lip to nose. I become emotional.
 
I have questions when she calls today. How do they take blood pressure on a baby? “On his leg,” she answers. She said they put him out before putting an IV in his foot. “He’s learned to drink from the special bottle I use to force milk in his mouth. In fact, he’s doing great.”
 
Dr. Cutting said babies who don’t use the NAM device have several surgeries up through their teens. James will have another surgery at one-year-old. Hopefully, that will be all. Medical technology is amazing.

Switching the TV channel from stale cable news, Gale settled on a scenic movie in beautiful Alaska. Soon I was tense, holding my breath.
 
In a deep ravine between peaked alps, the river tosses a kayak with the vigor of a number five hurricane. Riding the rapids, two teenagers paddle and scream with delight with each rise and fall of the angry waves.
 
Delight turns to terror when they come upon a huge waterfall, echoing ever so loudly through the valley. The girl, her brother, and the kayak drop separately. Swimming the cold, beastly waters, the girl grabs onto a huge log. Her brother tries, but the river pulls him away like a magnet. Nearly drowning, he fights the current to the bank.
 
I grew tense again as the couple climbs down a mountain to save their father from an airplane crash.
 
I seldom watch movies, but "Alaska" grabbed me.

The best part of my job as secretary in the Neurosurgery clinic at the VA Hospital in Little Rock was talking to veterans. Most were nice, seeking a friendly face and relief from back or neck pain. Some carried brain tumors. Veterans came from all over Arkansas and surrounding states.
 
Files displaying a large red POW stamp made me pause. One day I allowed a WWII prisoner of war veteran to wait in my office when he arrived early for his appointment. He sat out of the way in the corner, and we talked as I prepared for clinic.
 
During that time a man came in my office demanding admittance to the hospital. Tall and flabby, he wore a sleeveless T-shirt, Bermuda shorts, long hair, and tattoos. Pulling a chair to my desk, he moved close beside me. “I’ve been shot five times saving lives in Vietnam. Why, I’ve even received a purple heart. I’ve sacrificed two years of my life for my country. They owe me. I am one hundred percent disabled, and I’m in pain. I demand to be admitted.”
 
 “Only a doctor can admit you after examination,” I replied. The man left, saying he would be back.
 
The WWII veteran shook his head. “Mrs. Norma, he’s pulling your leg. Soldiers who’ve done all he said don’t brag about it. They don’t want to talk about it.
 
The hospital kept him overnight but never admitted him.

The only way we can love each other is through the love of God.

 
In John 15 Jesus is preparing his disciples for His departure. He says to love one another as He loved us. Jesus’ love is sacrificial. Aren’t you glad it isn’t based on how good we are? But it’s hard to love some people. The only way we can love each other is through the love of God.
 
Jesus went on to say that we are no longer servants but friends. That’s intimate. He’s the best friend you will ever have. If you are not His friend you are in trouble. That breaks his heart. God wants to save everybody, not just a few. The door is open. It’s your decision. Jesus said come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
 
Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for a friend.

Do they taste healthy recipes?

Hmmm, marinated round steak; I have some. I can make that recipe. It must be healthy since it’s in a diabetic cookbook. I’ll pick up some mushrooms.
 
Trying to avoid fried foods, I made it. It looked great covered with mushrooms and meat drippings, but it was dry. Did I follow instructions? Do babies take to milk?
 
Who wrote this cookbook? I turned to the front. Aha. Developed by the Research Nutritionist of the General Clinical Research Center, School of Medicine, and the Registered Dietitians of the Department of Food and Nutrition Services, University Hospital, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
 
Wow! That’s why calories, fat, carbohydrates and other data are listed. Did anybody taste the final product? I wonder.

Eivis

September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley made his television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. I was fourteen, but, unlike most teenagers, hadn’t yet caught up with the new rock-n-roll frenzy.
 
I had heard Elvis on the radio singing something about a houndog and blue suede shoes. The guitars, determined to drown him out, tied my nerves in knots. Rumor was that he danced vulgar when he sang. No, I didn’t like this Elvis guy, but I couldn’t wait to see him on TV.
 
For the younger generation, Ed Sullivan was an old man with a prune face and bent shoulders. He didn’t have a neck. Every Sunday evening an hour before church, he walked on stage with folded arms and spoke to a live audience. “Tonight we have a reeelly big show,” he’d say. Perhaps his amateur hour was the granddaddy of American Idol.
 
Elvis appeared on our fifteen inch black and white screen like a flashing Fourth of July night sky. Bending his knees every which way and shaking his middle, girls screamed, cried, and fainted. I had to admit he was handsome, but oh my, that dance.
 
Daddy, who played folk music for years with guitar, mandolin, and fiddle shook his head and grimaced. “That’s not music.” I agreed.
 
But when he sang "Love Me Tender",I swooned.

Ms. Scholes

In grade school I quickly learned which teachers to avoid, not that it does any good. Entering third grade, I surely didn’t want Mrs. Scholes. Rumers frightened me. No, I didn’t want Mrs. Scholes, but I got her, and her reputation proved true. She put the fear in us. We did what she said. We were afraid not to. We learned our lessons. She didn’t put up with nonsense.
 
One day we marched three blocks to dedicate the new gymnasium, each class in long lines. Mrs. Scholes had repeatedly drilled us.
 
“The ceremony is outside. Our class will be in front. We will sit on the ground so people behind us can see. Do not stand. Sit. I do not want to see one child standing.”
 
The large crowd included high school and grade school students, teachers, citizens, and city officials. Pride swelled the hearts of our small town folks. As instructed, my class sat on the grass in front of them. Mr. Smith, our Superintendent, stepped to the microphone.
 
“Everyone stand as the band plays "The Star Spangled Banner".
 
Ms Scholes motioned for us to stand, but not one student stood. No Way.
 
 I think she was embarrassed.  Maybe.

The Musical Alphabet

Piano students are taught the musical alphabet early on. A,B,C,D,E,F,G are the basic elements of all music. Some of my piano students wanted to play H after G instead of A, but it wasn’t there.
 
My husband learned the musical alphabet in a unique way. The piano repair man wanted to order counter weights and charge us a thousand dollars to install them om my digital, baby grand piano. After watching him remove and replace the black and white keys, Gale felt he could fix the clunk in the black keys himself. When the man left, Gale ordered the counter weights from the manufacture.
 
When they arrived, he removed all the keys and replaced flawed counter weights as suggested by the manufacturer when we called. He noticed an A, B, C, D, E, F or G imprinted at the top of each white key as he replaced them on the board. Two or three times he asked, “What comes after G?”
 
After putting it back together, he nudged the keyboard into the piano. I played a song and the notes didn’t clunk. I’m proud of the great job he did, even if it took all day and all evening.

Frenzy

Several years ago I went on a Christmas sewing frenzy, making a total of ten women and child outfits. At the time I worked full time. I can’t imagine sewing like that now.
 
Later I bought a “How to” book at Walmart and taught myself to crochet. This frenzy lasted about eight years. I’ll finish the three projects in the closet someday.
 
When I retired in 2001, I went on a reading frenzy, making up for my “too-busy-to-read working years.
 
About six years ago I went on a writing frenzy, studying fifteen how-to-write books and reading two writing magazines. My second Christain novel, "A Scorched Family" is now in revision. I think I'll be writer-frenzied to my dying day. Writing blogs and books stir my frenzy.
 

 

Mrs Lena

Mrs. Lena retired after teaching our first grade class. Mmmmm… I’m not sure, but I think she taught my mother. I know she was old – real old.
 
I’ve forgotten many things over the years, but two incidents from first grade refuse to escape my memory.
 
First: Betty Jean Arnold had polio and wore braces. She grabbed my best friend’s yellow pencil and I slapped her. Why did I do that? I must have been a brat. Maybe being child number ten… Naw. I still feel bad about slapping a crippled child.
 
Mrs. Lena bent me over her lap at her desk in front of the whole class. She pulled my dress up and paddled me good. I can still see the gawking kids – some laughing. I quit slapping.
 
Second: Jimmy Lentz, my neighbor, had to use the bathroom after Mrs. Lena left the room for awhile. In the back of the class the boys circled him as he unfastened his overalls and made a stinky deposit in the trash can. One of them ran and grabbed tissues from Mrs. Lena’s desk. The girls giggled, anticipating her return.
 
“Here she comes,” the look-out yelled. We dashed to our chairs. She entered, sniffed, and everyone pointed at Jimmy, then the trash can.
 
“Why didn’t you go to the rest room?” she demanded.
 
All of us knew you didn’t go to the restroom without permission.
 
He didn’t answer. Just sat there with his head down. She took him and the trash can to the restroom.
 
At least he didn’t do it in his overalls.

Just coping

The question at our ladies bible study today was: Do you feel good about your daily life or are you just coping? Since half the ladies still have children at home, the “just coping” replies came from them. 
 
I'm not saying that children are bad. God forbid! They are a blessing from God. But, in today's busy world, attending to their needs while running a house is a 24/7 job.
 
I remember getting three kids up and off to school, driving thirty-three miles to work, and giving piano lessons before cooking supper after I got home. Those were “just coping” days.
 
All of us agreed, however, that a daily quiet time of bible study and prayer helps to cope at any stage of life. God is good.

Vanity

 
You’re born – you live – you die. Sounds cold, doesn’t it. We’ve been studying the book of Ecclesiastes in Sunday school.

“Vanity. All is vanity,” Solomon said, looking back as an old man. After all, he was the wisest man on earth.

But that rubs against our grain. We cherish life: our family, our health, our possessions, out trophies, our faith.

“No, these are not vanity,” you say.

I’m not talking about precious moments that will live forever in our heart.

Five hundred years from now, will anyone know about you and your stuff? Only if you are listed in a genealogy or a book that somebody reads. Statues are rare

One thing in life is not vanity – only one, and we cling to it with reverence. Thanks to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, our salvation will get us to heaven. That’s forever.
 
Without it, all is vanity – all is vanity.

Breast Cancer

The surgeon said he was sorry as he handed me the pathology report. Two words concerned me: metastasis and aggressive.

I’m an optimist. “God will get us through this,” I boldly told my husband, who looked frightened.

A month and a half later, awaking from a mastectomy in the middle of the night, I crashed. I was scared. I wasn’t afraid to die; I feared chemo and radiation. At my lowest point, God wrapped his arms around me with assurance that He would be with me all the way. Then He comforted me with a Dottie Rambo song, Sheltered in the Arms of God. After this experience, I didn't need to attend support meetings as suggested by the Cancer Society.

During the year-long treatment, I was admitted to the hospital twice for “high-dose” chemo – four weeks the first time and five weeks the second. Instead of one treatment every three weeks, I received chemo each of the first five days.

I understand that chemotherapy affects people differently. The nausea medicine worked for me and I didn’t get nauseous – just weak.  Seven years into remission my oncologist told me I was in a fifteen percent survival rate for my type of cancer. Today I'm fourteen years in remission. Thank

Family

I believe that every family is unique. They come in a variety of flavors, usually inherited from their parents and grandparents.

My family seldom argued in front of us or used bad language. Mama wouldn’t allow alcohol in the house. She read the Bible to us and prayed before we went to bed. We were in church when the doors were open.

By today’s standards, we may have been poor, but we never lacked food, clothing, or heat. We had an outhouse and heated water on the kitchen stove for Saturday night baths. In the wintertime Ruthie and I heated a couple of bricks on the hot coal stove before going to bed. Wrapped in a towel, we put them under three or four quilts. Sleeping in an ice-cold room was a way of life.

On wash day we laid dish towels and wash cloths on bushes because we ran out of clothesline. If we didn’t have something and couldn’t afford it, we made do. We never ate out – too expensive. 

At the end of the day, music brightened our house with southern gospel songs written in four-part harmony and bass leads. My oldest sister, Doris, played the piano and sang alto, Daddy sang bass, and I sang soprano. We were happy.

Blind Date

You might have called me a wall flower. I prefer finicky. Not many guys passed my rigid requirements: Be a Christian -- Don’t Drink -- Be Perfect. No, I wasn’t going to marry an alcoholic like my older sister.  Weighing ninety-five pounds with buck teeth and cat-eyed glasses may have been the reason I didn't have many dates.

Fresh out of high school, my sister and I, along with three of our girl friends from Granby, Missouri, went to Kansas City, found a job, and shared an apartment.

One night I agreed to go on a blind date with my sister and her date. 
I don’t remember his name, but I’ll never forget the smell. His body odor overpowered the cologne and brylcreem. It was a long evening.

I empathize with girls in the dating world. Maybe wisdom will spare them from blind dates. However, that’s how I met my husband …two years later …teeth fixed.

No, he wasn’t the smelly one

Stand By Me

Elvis sings this on my Ipod.

“When the storms of life are raging, stand by me. …
…When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea;
Thou who rulest wind and water, Stand by me.”

Words by C. A. Tindley.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that Jesus is standing beside us, and that He’s in us through His spirit. We can lean on that.