Woman's T-Shirt/Loving from Zazzle.com

Woman's T-Shirt/Loving from Zazzle.com

Pretty light pink short-sleeved woman's t-shirt - on front: print of white lace and , "It is in loving - not in being loved - The heart is blest: It is in giving - not in seeking gifts - We find our quest." -Anonymous-

The t-shirt is available in various styles, colors, materials and prices. Come see it - it's pretty!

je ne peux m'imaginer Stéphane Quéry

Prend Mon Ame

Father, can You hear me

Our Love Story 12/13/09

Mother's Day Mug from Zazzle.com

Mother's Day Mug from Zazzle.com

Charming Mother's Day mug - drawing of a little angel and the words: Mothers are angels.

Rainbows and Stormy Skies

"My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to your word."   (the Bible:  Psalm 119:28)

 Being in ministry is not always sunshine and flowers and beautiful rainbows.

  As a pastor's wife, I have seen my share of sadness, sickness and stormy skies.  Sometimes there is such sorrow that it threatens to drown me. I just want to walk away and leave it all behind me. That's when I REALLY have to yell towards heaven, "HELP ME, LORD!"   In order to help others, I HAVE to know that God is there - is really there - to help ME.  He has to give me patience (again), has to tell me to drop the anger (again), has to remind me (again) how we are ALL loved...has to show me (again) that none of us are perfect. He just HAS to give me wisdom on what to say or not to say.  It's all so hard sometimes.

Today was one of those days.  My heart is heavy. Though stormy skies were not here, literally, on this gorgeous day - they arrived, nonetheless. So, I've been begging God for a HEAPING spoonful of that wisdom that He promises ... so has my pastor husband.  We both want to say and do just the right thing.  To speak the word or words that will help, not hinder.  Hence, the cry of:  'HELP ME, LORD!" 

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  (the Bible:  Psalm 34:18)

  So ... my prayers are for God to send that wisdom quickly; to give me the "right" things to say, as needed.  Allow me to feel His presence, in my own sadness.  Most importantly, I'm praying for God to let those broken in spirit right now feel His arms around them and that they will turn to Him for answers and help.

No, being in full-time ministry is NOT always sunshine, flowers and beautiful rainbows.  But, sometimes it is.  In those moments of bright sunshine, blooming flowers and gorgeous rainbows I am reminded that life IS beautiful - that, in spite of the stormy skies of life, God IS there.

Looking at that rainbow makes me think of God's promise to Noah:  no more destroy-the-earth-floods.  "When you see rainbows, remember that promise I made you, Noah!"  I can count on God to keep His promise even in today's incident - He won't allow the floods of sadness, of sickness, or sorrow to destroy me.  Or anyone who turns to Him.  When I am discouraged...feeling so badly for what others are going through... or not feeling "up to the task" of being "a pastor's wife", I'm gonna just grab another look at that rainbow photo (unless there's a REAL one to see)..........and yell (again) towards heaven, 'THANK YOU, GOD, FOR YOUR PROMISE!" 

Binder/Mama's Recipes from Zazzle.com

Binder/Mama's Recipes from Zazzle.com

Give Mom a recipe-binder for her favorite family recipes ... to pass down to you later! :)

Apron/Mother's Day from Zazzle.com

Apron/Mother's Day from Zazzle.com

Great gift for Mom ....... if she cooks!

A great day ...

A glorious day in Kansas today - at least, here in Wellington.  Hubby John worked out in the yard and in the garden, planting seeds and plants - it's looking better every day.

  I kept myself from joining in since I've been spending lots of time the past three weeks or so at the chiropractor.  I have been mainly sitting in the recliner for the past two days, due to a pinched nerve on the left side of my neck.  Horrible pain, as anyone who has had the same problem knows.  :(   I've been to the chiropractor, been  using moist,  hot compresses and keeping a "thing" wrapped around my neck to hold it still..  And praying.  LOTS of praying.  And friends have prayed.  Thank the Lord, THANK THE LORD, truly, last evening my neck could suddenly move again.  I could turn it from  right to left and back again, with barely any pain.  It was, and is, at least back to where it was before the pinched nerve happened.  Not perfect.  But "do-able".  :)  I had already been coping with a pinched sciatic nerve for three weeks.  Of course, there HAD to be two DIFFERENT nerves being pinched; couldn't have been the same one causing all the problems.

Today, taking advantage of not having to be careful about moving the neck, I tried catching up on some house-work that's been getting put off.  Mistake.  I overdid it a bit.  The sciatic problem is still there and began making itself known after I'd been standing awhile. Ouch. I had an appointment at the chiropractor's (which has become my second home lately) this afternoon - that helped somewhat.  He was amazed, pleasantly, at how much better my neck was than it was last Friday.   We both were.  :)  Friday he had said that if it wasn't better today that I may have to go to the medical doctor for narcotic-type pain meds, in order to bear the pain, which was bad, REALLY bad.  I didn't want that.  Ah, well.............hoping and praying that the sciatica, too, will disappear or at least get LOTS better.  Please, God!

Since this was such a beautiful day, and I haven't been able to really enjoy any beautiful days lately, we ate supper outside.  John cooked hamburgers on the grill.  Yum!  Kept it simple:  hamburgers, chips and the trimmings. John and grandson Christian had ice-cream for dessert but, after two hamburgers, I was too full. It was nice sitting under the tree listening to the birds; watching "Sullivan", our English Bulldog, running around in circles, and admiring the growing garden.  I loved being able to lean my neck back far enough to stare up into the tree-top, taking in the beauty of the spring-green leaves accented with the dark branches. I'm always silently (too timid to yell it out) saying:   "Thank You, God!  You have created such gorgeous things!"

While I was still sitting at the table hubby went over to dig around in the dirt. I heard him say something to grandson Christian about a SNAKE.  Oh, no!  I don't WANT snakes to be in the yard - again.  Usually they are harmless garter snakes ... though "harmless" doesn't mean anything to me - a snake is STILL a snake.  :( Had I known we would be finding garter snakes or ANY kind of snakes in our yard four years ago when we moved here - this house would DEFINITELY not have been "the" one.  Oh, no.  Coping with the invading pesky little ants every Spring is bad enough.  But snakes...........Ugh!  Anyway, Christian was excited.  He ran around to the other side of the wood fence, in the alley, to follow the snake.  And caught it.  Held a stick down over it as he yelled, "Nonny!  Can you go get a jar?"   I had limped around to where he was to see if there was REALLY a snake.  There was.  It didn't look like a garter snake, either. Maybe it is.  Not sure yet. But, being the "wonderful Nonny" that I am, I went to the house to hunt up a plastic "something" to become the motel room for this snake.  I only had one, rather large, clear plastic food container (had better start saving up some more, I guess) that had been emptied of its biscotti contents recently.  It would do.  Back to grandson and his "find".  Ewwwwwwww - his "find" is squirming! Yuck!  He got it in the container, added some stuff (grass, a branch, etc.) and brought it to the porch  (he better keep that lid on tight....).  Later, I put air-holes in the container for that yucky snake (now that's really being a wonderful grandma!).  Yucky snake is now sleeping peacefully on the back porch.  Grandson Christian is going to ask a teacher tomorrow if she'd like it for her classroom (she supposedly mentioned one time she'd like one....) We'll see.  While I was making the air-holes, Christian jokingly said, "Nonny, what if I put the snake in your bed, and you climbed in, and....................."  I reacted QUICKLY to that:  "Christian, if you EVER do that, or even let that snake out in the house, I don't promise HOW I will react, but I can tell you now that it won't be a NICE reaction!!!!!" 'Nuff was said. ha!

Greeting Card/Encouragement from Zazzle.com

Greeting Card/Encouragement from Zazzle.com

With Bible verse: Nahum1:7: "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him."

Greeting Card/Mother's Day from Zazzle.com

Greeting Card/Mother's Day from Zazzle.com

Beautiful card - on front: photograph of Spring purple and yellow crocuses and the words: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY .... inside is lavender and the poem: "Reflections" - come take a look!

Woman's T-Shirt/Reflections from Zazzle.com

Woman's T-Shirt/Reflections from Zazzle.com

T-shirt with my poem: "Reflections"

Looking into the mirror today,
I saw my mother.
I looked again to be sure.
Yes, there was my mother.

Yesterday I looked into the mirror
and saw myself.
I've been myself for so long
that I knew it was me.

But today I looked into the mirror
and saw my mother.
How can it be that she is she and I am me,
yet today I saw that I am she?
-Sandra Mers Clayton-

Canvas Print/Les Pains from Zazzle.com

Canvas Print/Les Pains from Zazzle.com

Mixed media canvas print ... original watercolor/pen-and-ink, title: "Les Pains" - boy on bicycle, in France, with three French breads strapped to back of bike (available in several sizes, prices, and materials - framed or unframed)

Bumper Sticker/Limited government from Zazzle.com

Bumper Sticker/Limited government from Zazzle.com

Want limited government? Protest with a bumper sticker!

Man's T-Shirt/Haiti from Zazzle.com

Man's T-Shirt/Haiti from Zazzle.com

"Don't forget Haiti ..."

Woman's T-Shirt/Freedom from Zazzle.com

Woman's T-Shirt/Freedom from Zazzle.com

Want limited government? Say so with a t-shirt!

Man's T-Shirt/Government Spending from Zazzle.com

Man's T-Shirt/Government Spending from Zazzle.com

Don't like all the government debt we are leaving for our kids and grandkids??? Protest with a t-shirt!!!

Change

Life is full of changes, isn't it? Some changes are fun, some silly, some necessary - and some are just downright scary.

We had a weather-change recently; not unusual here in Kansas, I guess.  After some days of beautiful Spring weather - here came a left-over of Winter ... more cold and a light snow.  But it was a "fun" change (to me, anyway), 'cause I do like snow, and I got to burn more wood in the wood stove.  Plus, I KNEW Spring would be returning.  March is like that pretty much everywhere:  one day sunny and pastel - the next cool-blue and white again.  Right now we are back to the "sunny and pastel", with the daffodils and hyacinths blooming and the trees getting ready to green up.  My husband, who's been itching for quite awhile to jump into the gardening season, DID.  He's planted some lettuce, radishes, onions.  I even got into the gardening and planted the cute little pansies he brought home the other day. 

Yes.  Change.  Seasons change.  I welcome the seasonal changes.  Each new one makes me appreciate the last one AND the one-to-come even more.   With each new season I really DO find myself saying, "Thank You, God!  Thank You so much!"

"You make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.  How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts!"  (Psalm 92:4-5 / NIV version)

Then this week I've seen one of the "scarier" changes.  Disappointing, anyway.  Have to say it's a change that makes me angry.  Makes a LOT of people angry ... we "American People", as "they" say. (Now........aren't THEY  "American People", too?   Shouldn't "they" be saying "WE, the American people..."?)  Anyway, the passing of the health care bill is a big change, for sure.  And a rather slap-in-the-face change - from all I'm reading, since the majority of  "the American people" are STILL against the bill and have been going to many lengths to let our President and his Administration know it.  But our President and his Administration don't seem to CARE what WE, the "American people" think.  (It's not so much that the actual bill passed, though there are many problems with the bill; health care definitely needs changes ... but most of the people who passed THIS health care bill don't even know themselves all that is in it.)  It's that the President just plain doesn't care what the people he is supposed to be SERVING thinks! Those opposing him are so often labeled bigots, uneducated, racists, intolerant.  He doesn't seem too partisan about it, either - he doesn't seem to care what his OWN party-members who oppose the health care bill think.  Just today I heard him on t.v. rather gloating (as Madame Pelosi has also been doing) about the "win" and ridiculing those who opposed and lost.  Like a kid thumbing his nose at the "loser" and laughing.  Not too "Presidential" if you ask me.  But, he's given us the CHANGE he'd promised in his campaign speeches, and seems encouraged to go ahead and give us MORE of the changes he's promised. Well, I'm just hoping that we who oppose this bill for many reasons, have the guts to pass around some changes of our own when the next elections come up!

I seriously pray, "Lord, have mercy.  Spare us more of these 'changes'!" And I pray for wisdom for "me-and-the-rest-of-the-American-People", and for our leaders.    Wisdom is always needed - needed by the leaders of a country and needed by the rest of the citizens of the country.   We ALL need wisdom to know which changes to incorporate and which to oppose...and, if opposition is needed, wisdom to know HOW to oppose.

And God promises to give us that wisdom if we ask - if we want it:

"The Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:6/NIV)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all."  (James 1:5/NIV)

So, God - I AM asking ...  and I HOPE everyone else is, too!

I'd Like To Say .....

I'd Like To Say .....