Hello Neighbor, glad you stopped by.
The first week in August we had our revival meetings at our church. A lady always provides for the 4,5, & 6 year olds. This year she had a farm scene with part of a red barn, a big cow and some chickens. The second night, she had invited a friend who had a little pig, just about 19" long. I always thought little baby pigs were extra cute. The little pig would trot around following her.
Seeing that little pig reminded me of a pig we had on the farm when my sister and I were quite small. She was in a fenced in yard beside the corn crib building. Well, as children living on a farm so far from other kids, we usually had to come up with our own entertainment. So the pig became ours. When she got good and big, we figured out that we could climb on her back and ride around the pen. It was quite a different kind of a ride, but we had a bit of fun from it.
So quite often that's where you would find us, a riding around the pen on the back of that big old pig. Things went on like that for a while until one day my father took the pig for a ride. And that was the end of our piggy back riding.
Hope you will stop by again soon.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Friday, August 26, 2016
I have been away from my blog for some time now and think I
am ready to write something for it. But first I want to write about the “Ruby
Saga” that is still going on. I was not really up to thinking about writing.
On Thursday morning, the 18th we realized that
Ruby was missing. She is Karen and Roy’s 2 year old German Pointer. There is nothing but oodles of forest behind
our house except a golf course if she went that way. Al and I went riding all around the area
looking and looking. Karen and I went
out again the next morning taking every road whether paved or dirt or just
grass into the woods. We stopped at a lot of houses to let them know of a
“missing dog”. On Friday we went out
again and she would stop vehicles. One
lady asked if we were looking for Ruby when Karen told her about the “missing
dog”. By this time it was posted on FB and so people were becoming aware of it
and this lady was out driving around looking for her.
Karen had about 300 flyers with Ruby’s picture on it and she
and Roy began putting one in some businesses and about every house. Others came to the house to get flyers to go
out to help. That day Roy stopped at an apt. complex around the corner from us and
talked to a woman and gave her a flyer.
During all this time, I was in pretty bad state. I spent most of my time just praying, begging
and talking to God. Asking Him to please
keep Ruby safe. He knew where she was and if she was alright. We have coyotes and
a bear that roams the woods. I just
wanted her home safe. Saturday was just
another day of praying, crying and begging to God. To please, please keep her safe.
Sunday late afternoon, the lady at the apt. complex called
and said she thinks she has Ruby. Karen and Roy drove up there quick. And there
she was lying on the lawn. When she heard and saw Karen, she jumped up and
began to lick and kiss her. They immediately took her to the emergency vet to
be checked out. It seems one of her hips had come out of its place. She had to be put under so he could get it
back in place. There were no broken
bones, but the vet felt that she had been hit by a car and probably a couple of
days ago because she had a few scars
that had healed. So he kept her for the night. In the morning Al and Karen went
to bring her home, but she had to go to our vet first. After checking her over,
they brought her home. She should be alright as there didn’t seem to be anything else that was a real
problem. Now our tears were tears of joy
and thanksgiving to God for getting her home.
We have to try to keep her fairly quiet and still get her up
and outdoors to walk, but no jumping or running. We thought she was doing ok,
but Roy thought something didn’t seem
right and so back to the vet. He said
her hip had popped out again and should be taped. It needs to heal inside and
needs to be more stable. But at least
she’s home and that is good. God is a
great God.
Friday, August 12, 2016
I'M A TEACHER!
Hello neighbor, thanks for stopping by. I am a bit late on getting this next blog in this series. First it was VBS at Fairmont Health Care and then it was helping with 4's, 5's and 6's at Rival time this past week.
Anyway, here we are on the road again, heading for Yakima, WA to see what God's plans for us are there. Part of what we were to do was for Al to get a job driving school bus. Then that led to us having our two grandchildren a lot, because of Mom dropping them off on her way to bus driving for another school district and their going with their Grandpa on the bus to school.
Well to get on with what God has been doing in my life of "teaching". This is where the fun part really began. The other churches did not really have much for Sunday School, but here there was a larger congregation of all ages. The pastor that was there when we joined left and so we got a new pastor. He really had been a member there previously before they moved away. When he found out that we were needing a pastor, he came and stayed. He used to be the Youth Pastor years past.
Even though this church was Southern Baptist, it was not as strictly involved in the Association. I have never liked using someone else's Sunday School materials. And I thank God that our new pastor, Rob, let me do my own thing. I was also Director as well as teaching. I worked with the 1st through 6th grades. Generally teaching the older group as it was easier to get someone to do the younger ones. We had a great time. We put on a couple of productions - musical-, and the kids were great to work with. Then we started an Awana Club on Wed. nights and I taught the lessons for the younger group.
A group of us went to Tijuana, Mexico a couple of times to do kids clubs. That was another experience trying to teach a lesson and crafts when the only two words I knew were "Si" and "Uno".
It was here in these years that I began to really realize what God was doing with me. I just never gave it a thought. I never considered being "called" to be a teacher. I just did what I did because I loved doing it. Wherever I went shopping I was always looking for things for my classes or my kids.
It was so much a part of who I was that I never really had to think about it. And it is still that way today.
After about 12 years, (Al and I are getting older now) it was time to think about our future. Our daughter, Karen, who was a professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA wanted us to go there to be closer for her to look after us should the time come for that need. In fact, Roy, our son-in-law, built us a brand new house right in their back yard. Close enough? It is great and has been good and it was God's plan all along.
Now comes a new church. This one is really, really large compare to any we had ever been involved with before, 600 + and growing. I didn't figure on getting in volved so quickly, but when God opened a door for Kindergarten I wasn't about to say "No". I have never really taught or worked with that age group, but found out that I loved it. Probably God's doing. But anyway. that's where we are today.
Our church started a Good News Club after school at a local elementary church and I taught the younger group. God is so good. He is always there when I get up to teach. It is so amazing and catches me by surprise by how He does it and what a difference it makes in my teaching.
But age is catching up with me and I get tired easier so try to do things that involve a smaller number of children. But teaching is still a joy and I love being able to do my own thing, thanks that this is OK.
Well, guess I have made this blog long enough but I just wanted to share how I became a teacher. I have the best boss ever and I teach from the greatest book ever written, the Bible. How can things get any better than that.
Well, that's my story of becoming a teacher. Thanks for stopping and come again soon.
Anyway, here we are on the road again, heading for Yakima, WA to see what God's plans for us are there. Part of what we were to do was for Al to get a job driving school bus. Then that led to us having our two grandchildren a lot, because of Mom dropping them off on her way to bus driving for another school district and their going with their Grandpa on the bus to school.
Well to get on with what God has been doing in my life of "teaching". This is where the fun part really began. The other churches did not really have much for Sunday School, but here there was a larger congregation of all ages. The pastor that was there when we joined left and so we got a new pastor. He really had been a member there previously before they moved away. When he found out that we were needing a pastor, he came and stayed. He used to be the Youth Pastor years past.
Even though this church was Southern Baptist, it was not as strictly involved in the Association. I have never liked using someone else's Sunday School materials. And I thank God that our new pastor, Rob, let me do my own thing. I was also Director as well as teaching. I worked with the 1st through 6th grades. Generally teaching the older group as it was easier to get someone to do the younger ones. We had a great time. We put on a couple of productions - musical-, and the kids were great to work with. Then we started an Awana Club on Wed. nights and I taught the lessons for the younger group.
A group of us went to Tijuana, Mexico a couple of times to do kids clubs. That was another experience trying to teach a lesson and crafts when the only two words I knew were "Si" and "Uno".
It was here in these years that I began to really realize what God was doing with me. I just never gave it a thought. I never considered being "called" to be a teacher. I just did what I did because I loved doing it. Wherever I went shopping I was always looking for things for my classes or my kids.
It was so much a part of who I was that I never really had to think about it. And it is still that way today.
After about 12 years, (Al and I are getting older now) it was time to think about our future. Our daughter, Karen, who was a professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA wanted us to go there to be closer for her to look after us should the time come for that need. In fact, Roy, our son-in-law, built us a brand new house right in their back yard. Close enough? It is great and has been good and it was God's plan all along.
Now comes a new church. This one is really, really large compare to any we had ever been involved with before, 600 + and growing. I didn't figure on getting in volved so quickly, but when God opened a door for Kindergarten I wasn't about to say "No". I have never really taught or worked with that age group, but found out that I loved it. Probably God's doing. But anyway. that's where we are today.
Our church started a Good News Club after school at a local elementary church and I taught the younger group. God is so good. He is always there when I get up to teach. It is so amazing and catches me by surprise by how He does it and what a difference it makes in my teaching.
But age is catching up with me and I get tired easier so try to do things that involve a smaller number of children. But teaching is still a joy and I love being able to do my own thing, thanks that this is OK.
Well, guess I have made this blog long enough but I just wanted to share how I became a teacher. I have the best boss ever and I teach from the greatest book ever written, the Bible. How can things get any better than that.
Well, that's my story of becoming a teacher. Thanks for stopping and come again soon.
Monday, August 1, 2016
GOD EXPANDS HIS PLANS
Hello Neighbor. Thanks for stopping by.
I'm a little late with this next installment. Last week I spent every day doing a VBS at Fairmont Health Care. It was a good time and the residents really enjoyed it.
Well, the last thing I wrote was our moving from the Buffalo area to Hollywood, FL. We joined the First Baptist Church of Hollywood. This church was mostly an older congregation. We were the youngest members except for one younger woman with her children. There wasn't much there for a Children's Sunday School, but God had other plans for me.
About a couple of blocks from our place was a four floor tenement apartment facility. It was a low income place and had lots of kids, I had started a kid's club at a small house right next to that apartment building. There were a number of families that I got to know and taught their children. I looked at that huge apartment building and hoped God was not going to put me there. But of course that is just what He did.
The manager allowed us to use an empty apartment for a club meeting place. I would walk down there a couple times a week, always bringing some Skittles or something to pass out to the kids. We had quite a little club going there. Some of the people from the church would get involved and help out. We had cook outs and parties. Finally we were able to get some of the kids to church by picking them up. It was quite a different environment for me, but it was exciting, too.
Another new adventure that God had me do was to go to Dominica to do a kid's club there. A member of our church had a son that was a missionary. So I flew to Dominica and stayed with them for a week. We had a nice little kid's club in the church next to the missionary's home. The children were so different from those back home. They really were interested in sitting and listening to the Bible story and the songs etc. The children in the tenement apartment were not as interested in learning about the Bible and it was more difficult to teach them. Anyway, it was a great experience and added more confirmation in what I was doing.
We were there for 12 years. By this time, we had decided that perhaps it was time for us to move to Yakima, WA where we would be close to our oldest Son and his family. I also was beginning to feel sort of burned out with all the work that was involved at the apartment complex.
It was hard leaving some of the kids that I had gotten to know so well. I kept in touch with a couple of them for awhile. When we went back to visit five years later, a couple of my "boys" would always try to be there to see me. One in particular was my favorite. His name was John and he had come to know Jesus as his Savior. I was sorry to learn that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident, but it was good to know that he had shared Jesus with his best friend, who became a Christian, too, and also joined the church. I also received a letter from another young man that was one of my "boys". He just wrote to thank me for all I had taught him and for caring about him. These are what makes following God's plan for you worth all the time and effort that went into His training.
Anyway, it is time for us to move along to the next step in God's plan and for putting His training to work in a different place.
Stop again sometime soon and we'll have another chat.
I'm a little late with this next installment. Last week I spent every day doing a VBS at Fairmont Health Care. It was a good time and the residents really enjoyed it.
Well, the last thing I wrote was our moving from the Buffalo area to Hollywood, FL. We joined the First Baptist Church of Hollywood. This church was mostly an older congregation. We were the youngest members except for one younger woman with her children. There wasn't much there for a Children's Sunday School, but God had other plans for me.
About a couple of blocks from our place was a four floor tenement apartment facility. It was a low income place and had lots of kids, I had started a kid's club at a small house right next to that apartment building. There were a number of families that I got to know and taught their children. I looked at that huge apartment building and hoped God was not going to put me there. But of course that is just what He did.
The manager allowed us to use an empty apartment for a club meeting place. I would walk down there a couple times a week, always bringing some Skittles or something to pass out to the kids. We had quite a little club going there. Some of the people from the church would get involved and help out. We had cook outs and parties. Finally we were able to get some of the kids to church by picking them up. It was quite a different environment for me, but it was exciting, too.
Another new adventure that God had me do was to go to Dominica to do a kid's club there. A member of our church had a son that was a missionary. So I flew to Dominica and stayed with them for a week. We had a nice little kid's club in the church next to the missionary's home. The children were so different from those back home. They really were interested in sitting and listening to the Bible story and the songs etc. The children in the tenement apartment were not as interested in learning about the Bible and it was more difficult to teach them. Anyway, it was a great experience and added more confirmation in what I was doing.
We were there for 12 years. By this time, we had decided that perhaps it was time for us to move to Yakima, WA where we would be close to our oldest Son and his family. I also was beginning to feel sort of burned out with all the work that was involved at the apartment complex.
It was hard leaving some of the kids that I had gotten to know so well. I kept in touch with a couple of them for awhile. When we went back to visit five years later, a couple of my "boys" would always try to be there to see me. One in particular was my favorite. His name was John and he had come to know Jesus as his Savior. I was sorry to learn that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident, but it was good to know that he had shared Jesus with his best friend, who became a Christian, too, and also joined the church. I also received a letter from another young man that was one of my "boys". He just wrote to thank me for all I had taught him and for caring about him. These are what makes following God's plan for you worth all the time and effort that went into His training.
Anyway, it is time for us to move along to the next step in God's plan and for putting His training to work in a different place.
Stop again sometime soon and we'll have another chat.
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