Friday Already

Our class met and Jennifer joined us. She is so precious! We studied Revelation 17 and completed the entire chapter, which was quite a feat considering its complexity and relevance.

I stayed and tidied the church before doing a bit of grocery shopping. It was a quiet and wonderful day that I can’t recall much about.

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I can’t really recall much of today. I worked on my Bible lesson notes, spent some time cleaning house, worked on the OBIS site... who knows what else?

Dental Details

We went back to Tampa today to have the dentist make some adjustments on my lower plate. They don’t really make appointments except for these alterations, but even then, it’s a time frame rather than a set appointment time. I was there several hours.

Later, Richard came with me to clean the church. After we were mostly done, I began to notice his extreme fatigue. This was his only day off and he had spent most of it helping me in one way or another. I regretted bringing him but know he would not have liked me to refuse his help. What a treasure God gave me in that man!

Looking Back

It’s so easy to get behind in a journal or blog. Especially for me. My plans and ideas constantly outpace my energy and time plus I tend toward a somewhat compulsive personality and fill my hours with little chores that I feel must be daily done.

I usually write my blog in the evening to sort of recap the day, but that is foolish for me because I have usually drained my brain by then as some of you who have received my night time jibberish emails well know.

So, here I am, fairly early in the day, filling in the missing entries as if they were timely written.

I also will be sending off my cousin Frank’s photo albums that he loaned us when we were there in May. I now have them all scanned and am reworking the pictures in Photoshop. I pray for safe journey for these precious pictorial treasures and that they arrive in just the same same condition in which they left.

Well, that’s all the plan of the day. This evening, I will attend WINGS, a new women’s group at The Vine.

Goodbye, "Doctor"

I had a doctor’s appointment today. Sometimes I see Dr. Lama and other times I am seen by a nurse practitioner, Laura Brooks. I trust and like them both.

Laura saw me today, we discussed my weight and my volatile blood pressure which quickly responds to my emotions. Getting on the scale can elevate my normally low BP into the mildly hypertensive range. I was woman talk, not doctor talk.

We continued to chat as she thumped and looked and listened, doing her routine exam which verified I am still in pretty fair condition. Then she told me she was leaving to work closer to her home in Kissimmee. We talked of her mother and Dr. Lama’s family... more woman talk. We hugged and I left, saddened that I would not be seeing her again except possibly at the grocery store or at the mall. I had already told her about The Vine, but she has a home church and we aren’t about drawing folks away from their churches.

Drive-In Date

Church was, as always, a blessing immeasurable. Not only did we see pictures from the Honduras mission trip, but Mike brought Karen and Jeff up to have a mini- talk show style discussion. Then, on top of that and after just getting home from the mission trip, Mike preached and amazingly timely and relevant sermon. All praise to God who enables and sustains Mike... and me... and you!

I was home after cleaning the church by 2 and worked on scanning Franks albums. My equipment is old and the operator (me) easily side-tracked, so it’s a slow process. I had done most of the scanning already and hoped to finish early and get ready for my date with the Tall Man.

Richard and I left early and enjoyed dinner at The Clock Cafe. The food was a la Mama, plentiful, down home and good, not gourmet. I chose biscuits and sausage gravy... this was that kind of place.

Weighted from our overindulgence at the Clock, we headed to Wal-Mart to buy snack for the double feature at the Silver Moon Drive-In which has served Lakeland, Florida, for 60 years.

We saw G-Force and The Proposal, but Disney products. Sorry, no time for reviews.

Pray Day

As is my usual Saturday activity, I spent the day at The Holy Land Experience volunteering as a Prayer Partner. If you have a mental picture of me sitting at a phone line as many Prayer Partners do, toss it. Those who know me personally already realize I am too distractible for that.

No, I am loose in the park, praying over the facility, structure by structure, praying over the performers and staff, praying over the crowds... Mostly, I am praying with and for individuals. The bulk of my time is spent in the Prayer Gardens near the Scriptorium.

The number of people seeking fervent, intimate prayer increases every week. The lines were long, extending beyond the shade of the trees and out into the scorching sun, yet still they came. It is the most amazing and humbling thing I have ever done, to pray as God leads over the things at the very core of people’s lives.

Yet I leave exhausted. I spend a while at my car until I am restored enough to drive. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Together Again Trio

We actually had our Friday Morning Bible Study today! It has been weeks since were were all in town at the same time. Thankfully, it looks like we’ll be consistent now until September when I go off for a week in Utah compliments of some of my wonderful children.

Even though we spent considerable time filling each other in on our personal lives, we were able to do a quick review (tall order when reviewing Revelation) and be ready for chapter 17 next week.

I can’t recall the rest of the day but am sure it was blessed.

Day Off

Richard had the day off, so I took a day off with him. I will clean the church tomorrow. Today, we built a puzzle, played internet video games, talked, prayed, read the Bible and just hung out together. I made cinnamon snack bites (itty bitty cinnamon rolls) and we had left over meat loaf for supper.

We visited with Sam on the phone and some personal bookkeeping, but we haven’t finalized our budget yet. We also did not update and review our long term to-do list, nor did we get info about home refinancing. As I said, we took the day off.

While it was great to be lazy all day, we will need to address the budget, planning and refinance issues soon. We are certain we can lower our house payments since rates are lower now. But for now, praise God for a day off.

Filling In

This will be short for a nasty headache is crowding me into a rigid, dark place. but the day has been a good one. I managed a very complex shopping list at Wal-Mart with the help of three grocery stockers who were as patient as Job and not in the least condescending.

Shopping is always a chore for me and I don’t do well with it. Decisions are hard, finding things is a struggle, staying focused amid all the sounds and lights and stimuli of every sort is virtually impossible.

I spent a long time in the Word today and in prayer. It was good and better than good.

We had a nice homey meatloaf for dinner with baked potatoes, carrots and biscuits. No dessert, though.

I am writing my blogs/journals in my Mac before publishing them to my online ones... So, I have just up-loaded entries from July 1 until today with few missed days. They are visible in several places, but I am now undone with pain and signing off.

Mellow Monday

Richard didn’t have to leave for work until 3 PM, so we spent a laid back, rainy morning together talking finances, planning, praying and doing a few household chores. I* am so exceedingly blessed by that man.

He’s a blessing to others as well. He received to commendations from Disney for going “Above and Beyond” this week, plus his extraordinary caring and out of the box service were featured in the Bus Crewz News.

We each got CitiBank credit cards with 0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for a year. Web transferred balances run up on our trip and a couple of other unexpected demands. Other than mortgage debt, w owe nothing else.

But our spending is not as controlled as it needs to be. We are handling God’s money, as with all the assets He has placed in our hand, we have a very real responsibility to apply His principles and use it wisely.

We need to prayerfully recognize and break some unwise habits with God’s guidance and help. Pray for us as we are praying for you. Need to talk? We’re up for that, too.

I am uploading some back posts... at least getting all of July, 09 out.

Passing the Baton

I introduced Debi this morning in church as the new “Prayer Lady,” who will receive and manage and distribute prayer requests, ect. The official Prayer Team ministry began almost a year ago and this is just one aspect of it, but perhaps the most “busy” and visible aspect.

As Debi takes over this part of the prayer ministry, I will be freed up to perform other functions in the body. Of course, I will remain active as a prayer warrior and, for the time being, as the Prayer team leader. Even so, it wasn’t easy to pass the baton... I’m such a sentamentalist.

Debi did a wonderful job her first week and I have every confidence she will provide added flair and style as she meets this vital need in the church.

At Anthony’s request, I “dressed up” for church... I was oner of three. Darth Vader showed up. and I mean a really professional one! There was also a clown, and I came as a graduate in cap and gown. The cap was a kindergarten mortar board and much too small. It all tied in with the excellent sermon Anthony delivered. Quite successful.

I finished cleaning the church early today and was home in time for a nice (and rare) nap! God blessed me all day!

Swamped

I met Athena and Brian for an air boat ride this morning. Captain Harold Clark and his stalwart side kick Shane took us on the Spirit of the Swamp’s 2-hour Florida Cracker tour. It was my second time out and I loved it again although the water was very high and we were on the water three hours later today, so more animals were off in the shade hiding from the mid-day heat and sun.

Last trip, my expensive but battered Sony camera acted up, so I now had the new little Canon we bought for half price. Sadly, I had not read the instructions (still haven’t) and did not do a great job with it.

After the ride, we went to Chili’s for lunch. The food was good and the company great. It was a pleasure to spend time with Athena and Brian. We had a top rate waitress, the kind I like best, competent, friendly, accommodating and with personality to spare.

Next, I went shopping at Goodwill and Salvation Army for something inappropriate to wear to church tomorrow. I got a black graduation gown and will wear a kindergarten grad hat (mortar board) far too small for my head.

Lastly, I cleaned the church. Yesterday was the last day of VBS, but I didn’t go in because I would already be going in today.

Now, I am in a mellow, reflective mood, relaxed and happy and amazed at how many blessings I have even though I deserve none of them.

My OBIS Workday

I’ve been looking forward to getting together with Marie-Terese to work on the web site for the Orlando Brain Injury Support Group (OBIS) and that happened today. We met at Panera Bread where they have great food and free Wi-Fi in a tolerable environment, noise wise. I don’t do well with too much sound.

MT bought my lunch, bless her heart, and we took a couple of breaks, but we were there for four hours and finished most of the web work. There are some items I will be completing in the next week, but I am so pleased we got the site up to date and spruced up a bit, too.

Feeling my oats, I went to Wal-Mart but kept a tight reign on my shopping and time so as not to come home with half the store like I sometimes do when I am mentally tired. We were out of dog food and bread, plus I could remember a few other things we needed.

I wanted to fix Richard a decent meal, but I was tired out. I used my new Redi Set Go cooking machine to prepare a small eye of round steak, “baked” a potato and cooked corn in the microwave so the whole meal was done in under 10 minutes!

I’m not cleaning the church tonight. I’ll do it tomorrow after my time with Athena and Brian.

Athena's Birthday!

Today is Athena’s birthday! She was dainty even at birth and she soon earned the nickname, “Wee Tiny.” My mother named her that and to this day, some of her siblings use that pet name... I must admit at times I, too, use it in thinking of her.

From an early age, she beguiled those around her. People just naturally love her. There is a gentleness about Athena that in no way bespeaks weakness, for she can be assertive. She has a rare talent, a gift in that she can let you be you even when you are quite different from her in your beliefs and even if you are a strong personality, she is unaffected by it. She is self contained, yet not self absorbed. Rare, indeed.

I spent the day cleaning, reading and thinking, and after dinner (home made pizza, including the dough) I went to clean the church. It was my paid cleaning as well as my volunteer cleanup after VBS.

Sarah was at the church, so we had a good visit. She is a lot like Athena, except less assertive. The Spanish speaking church was also meeting. I had forgotten they meet on Thursday evenings. It was good to visit with them. Such a warm and loving little congregation!

Picture This!

My wonderful Sony high-end camera will not focus, the telephoto lens won’t work, either. We took it to the shop some months ago and the repair was over $250! Yes, it was an expensive repair on an expensive camera... and it worked for a while but gradually got less functional.

So today, after taking the car in for service and walking a mall for about an hour (we walk, not really shop) we went camera shopping at Wal-Mart. They had a demo model that had been $249 and was marked down to $125. I praised God for the bargain and grabbed it!

I haven’t really figured out how to use the new camera but took it with us to the OBIS meeting in Orlando. The meeting was great. A leading neuropsychologist, Dr. Casey R. Hadeik discussed new and effective therapies. Sadly, he told us that insurance companies are mostly not yet paying for that type of care.

I took numerous pictures with my new camera but am too tired to work with them tonight.

Cooking Again

I love to cook. I enjoy experimenting with flavors, textures, etc. But I am married to a man who considers most culinary adventures a bad trip. He avoids anything beyond the very basic meat and potatoes seasoned only with salt and pepper.

Once in a while, Richard raves over a new dish I’ve created, but rarely. So, when I am busy or a good book beckons, I often put little thought or effort into preparing something special for mealtime.

But yesterday and today, I was blessed to cook three special dishes for people in our church family and was pleased with how each turned out. Although not a fan of lemon in sweet dishes, I do like to use it in savory sauces. I played around and came up with a buttery lemon sauce which I used as part of two of my recent dishes and will try to recreate again soon.

Anyway, I prepared a meal for my friends today and then went over to clean the church after VBS.

Whoosh!

Where did the day go? Richard helped me with laundry and I went to the store for food so I could prepare some meals for our flooded friends.

I cooked up some taco meat and prepared the fixin’s, then we loaded up their laundry and arrived at their Kissimmeee home around one. Next, it was on to Sam’s club for a bit of shopping, not much, really.

There was a camper trailer in the far corner of Sam’s Club’s lot. The people had their gas generator set up a little ways from the trailer and it was running loudly. There were two big plastic drums mounted on the camper roof and we wondered is they were for water... Be kind of heavy if they were... Strange. Oh well, budget vacationer?

Anyway, we got home in time for Richard to get ready for work, I read a bit and prepared dinner for the Vicaris and also a meal for Adam and Katy who just had their first child. How exciting.

David called as I waited for VBS to be over so I could clean the church. Today is David’s birthday. Hard to believe he’s past 40... Seems like just yesterday that his apple-round blonde head was the talk of the NAS Lemoore Naval Hospital. His hair was absolutely white and long and thick and stood straight out in all directions! He was the cutest thing anyone had ever seen!

It was a fast and favored day. I like being busy.

Just had a long chat with my soulmate and friend Carol. I do miss that woman!

Flood Stage

Last night, Scott and Cheryl’s house flooded. My heart aches for them. I went over this afternoon and loaded up soggy towels and bedding they had used to try to sop up the murky water that invaded their home from under doors, etc. It took several rinse and wash cycles to get the gunk and stink out of those soppy linens, but I am almost done and will take them back tomorrow.

It was later afternoon by the time I finished cleaning the church because before heading over to Vicari’s for the laundry, I went to Tijuana Flats and pigged out on Quesadillas. They give 20% off if you bring your church bulletin and their food is so good! Okay, I know I am trying to lose weight, but I have been way more active and I refuse to feel guilty about something as wonderful as their Mexican food!

A day to Pray

I am so amazed, and happily drained. My day at the Holy Land Experience has been one prayer after another, praying with and for all kinds of people from so many places. India, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Trinidad (the island), Jamaica and from all over the U.S.

This is the first time I have been approached for prayer by children independent of their parents, and it happened on three separate occasions!

I was energized as I drove home and cooked dinner, and excited that dear friend Donna has become a grandmother just this evening, but now it is late and, after finishing the Weekly Prayer Focus for tomorrow, I am sweetly and serenely being led off to bed.

Walking in the Rain

Our Bible class didn't meet today because some had other obligations, but I went to the church anyway since I had a meeting scheduled with Sarah.

I set up the OBIS computer on the table in the chapel and was working on a web site when Juan showed up. He then left to run errands. Next came Mike. Juan returned (bringing me a cheeseburger), and Mike sat to enjoy his Subway. Anthony joines us and they had their pastoral meeting with me as an impromptu participant.

Then Sarah and I had an excellent meeting followed by a rich time of prayer.

Richard met me after he got off work at 3, and we strolled around Dowhntown Disney in the rain—sometimes he3avy, often only a drizzle. We had glorious food at The Earl of Sandwich before walking back to our vehicles.

Thawed chicken breasts were waiting in the kitchen sink. I had forgotten that I set them out before leaving for church. Of course, they needed cooking right away, so I prepared baked chicken we can have for dinner tomorrow.

Money in the Wind

I had a free lunch coupon from Fresh Harvest in Tampa and two slot play free money coupons, so I drove over there planning to enjoy a wonderful lunch... I love their seven kitchen buffet!

Luch was splendid as always and I did very well with my slot play coupons. Indeed, I was celebrating with Richard on the phone as I waited for the machine to print out my winnings total of $459.90! I continued to talk with him as I walked off in the direction of the cashier's cage...

Then, suddenly I realized I didn't have the ticket! I ran as fast as I could back to the machine, but alas, even though I had only been gone a few seconds the ticket was already stolen.

The Lord giveth and the Fool throweth away.

It made me think, however, about greed and the love of money, not just generally, but my own attitudes about money. It made me reconsider my own responses to the whole thing.

Happy Birthday, America

Happy Birthday, America!

This is my birthday tribute to our nation, I pray you are moved and blessed by it:

The Born Again American

And this is a amazing production that will bring tears of love and pride to your eyes and quicken your spirit...

God's Word says:

"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none" (Ezek. 22:30).

Will you talk with the Lord daily on behalf of our nation?

That's my most important message of the day. My plans for the 4th include volunteering at the Holy Land Experience, as I do most Saturdays. After that, Richard and I will probably drive to a vantage point outside the Magic Kingdom to view their spectacular pyrotechnic tribute to the USA. The park itself will be far too crowded for us.

We did have an enjoyable afternoon at Animal Kingdom today, even though the parks are always incredibly full over the 4th of July weekend. We didn't start our visit until after Richard got off work at 5:00, so many folks had already left. We rode several rides and never waited more than 10 minutes to get in.

One ride, however was a mistake for me. The roller coaster like ride in Dinosaur Land really hurt my neck. I should have heeded the warning to those with neck and back problems, but the ride looked pretty tame from the outside. Silly me!

Folly of Fools

Back to Tampa for my teeth. I was so excited about them and anxious to indulge in the crunchier side of Fresh Harvest. Yum!

After the meal, I headed for the 2¢ machines, spurred by memories of Richard's winnings the day before. I, too, was a winner! Up $400 from my original $10 "investment."

Unlike Richard, I did not wisely pocket my wad and leave. No, the lust for more was leading my to the 5¢ machines and I did well, up and down and up and down and down and down to.... zero!

Convinced I could go back to the 2¢ machines and recoup my losses, I went to an ATM and robbed our bank account. Richard would not have approved, but I didn't consult him.

Of course, I lost this money, too, but even if I had won it all back and more, this was not harmless entertainment, this was serious sin! As the Bible says, the love of money is the root of all evil... and I would add, the root of much stupidity!

Does this mean I think that all gambling or wagering is sin? Actually no. I am not against playing cards. I love poker and the Lord has not said a word of conviction to me about that. And believe me, He is not shy about telling me when I step into sin as I did in that casino.

When Richard and I played for fun, not out of greed, it was a form of entertainment no more costly than many others we enjoy, but on this day, I fell into the trap of lust for money and it led down a steep and slippery slope toward addiction. Beware!

A Day at the Dentist's

We left early to be arrive Affordable Dentures in Tampa soon after they opened. They don't take appointments. Even so, it was after ten when my impressions were taken and almost three when they told me the lower plate would not be ready until the next day.

It hasn't been that long since I got a full set of dentures here after a denture nightmare at another place. But I lost my lower plate on Fathers' Day and it is clear I won't be finding them.

We left the dentist and went over to the Hard Rock to eat at Fresh Harvest. Richard had a coupon, but we had to pay for my meal, and well worth it. I went crazy with crab!

We each played $20 on 2¢ machines and Richard was up to $300 so we left with a $260 profit to put in the bank.