OUR ANNIVERSARY GIFT TO EACH OTHER....

Psalm 69:34 Let the heaven and earth praise him,
the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

Since we officially booked it today, we will consider our 2-week trip to Alaska in May 2008 as our anniversary gift. Our friends, John and Jeanette, started planning their trip and invited us to join in. We are so excited!!! It is a 14-day and 13-night trip with a land tour (6 nights) and then a 7-night cruise of the Glaciers aboard the Princess "Diamond" Ship. We have lots of planning to do and will get started on getting our Passports come Monday.

North to Alaska..... here we come! (Well, in 8 months that is!)
Bon Voyage!!

DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN OUR WEDDING....

Philippians 1:3 ¶ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you...

These pics of our wedding are posted in tribute to those who had a special part in our special day 34 years ago.

When you click on each picture, it will enlarge. You will notice that time has played tricks on us all. :)

NOTE: I just discovered that two or three of the pics do not enlarge. I have no idea why and apologize for that snafu on the page!

To those who are pictured, I hope you enjoy this blast from the past.

The people in these pics:

The Pastors who officiated our wedding: Susan's Dad and Bro. Jerry E.

Susan's Bridesmaids: My sisters: Karen and Nonie. Richard's sister: Diane. Susan's Friend: Jan T.

Richard's Groomsmen: Brothers: Larry and Bill. Friends: Tommy J. and John A.

Soloist and Organist: Jerry E and Steve H.

Susan and her nephews: Steve and Doug.

Richard and Susan with Richards' niece: Yvonne.

Darlene at the Bride's Book.

A "couple" picture of Bill and Darlene. In just 9 months, they would be married.

IT OUR 34TH ANNIVERSARY TODAY!

Matthew 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Happy Anniversary to us. I thank GOD for my Richard ~~ my faithful and Godly husband. It was been a wonderful 34 years together as man and wife. Oh sure, there have been and still are some days when we get crossed up and don't love each other as we should, but thankfully the word "divorce" is not in our vocabulary. Murder perhaps, but not divorce. (Just kidding!)

We were both raised in Christian homes with parents who had strong marriages. There had to have been storms, but they weathered them. I thank God for our parents as they definitely set an example for each of us as to how to have a Christian marriage and, therefore, a Christian home. I post the wedding pic of us with our parents as a loving tribute to them today. They are all four safely arrived at home in Heaven so we know we will see them again someday.

The visible fruits of our marriage are our two WONDERFUL "kids." It's hard to call Amy and Chip kids as they are approaching 32 and 30 years old respectively. What a joy it was to raise our two off-spring. We always said that Amy was the sunshine in our home and Chip was the fun. We thank God for our two children each and every day. And now to be GRANDparents to Amy's four children is such a blessing. We look forward to Chip's future as a husband and father if that is God's will for him.

God has blessed us abundantly. Richard's profession provided well, and I didn't have to work but was able to be a full-time mom for Amy and Chip. When the time came that the kids were in school and I wanted to go back into my secretarial field, Richard gave me his blessing. I volunteered for many years in the church office and then worked my last 8 years at our Christian School.

Thirty-four years. They have been wonderful, and I pray that the Lord will bless us with many more happy and healthy years. Happy Anniversary to us!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 34th Anniversary to Us!

Ruth 1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:


Saturday, September 29, is our 34th anniversary, but we started celebrating tonight. We have a favorite little restaurant ~~ Sunset Grill ~~ out on the water. It isaptly named for you sit on the back porch and watch the sun set while eating. It is such a lovely and tranquil dinner. Richard and I had a good time talking to other folks (strangers) who were there. We rode over to Gulf Shores and enjoyed that ride and then back home again.

Since we aren't going anywhere, we are acting as though we are out of town with plans to eat out several times over the weekend. We are going to get up and go out for an early breakfast. For lunch on Saturday, we have invited Brian, Amy, and the kids to join us. (We need to call Chip and tell him to have a meal out on us tomorrow since he can't be here with us.) And then we will get in our favorite BAMA ballgame foods and hunker down to watch the game (against Florida State) tomorrow evening.

What a fun anniversary this is turning out to be!!! Happy Anniversary, Richard. I love you!!!!

Marcyne ~~ A Friend of Faith

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Today I had the precious privilege of taking my friend, Marcyne, to the hospital to have a breast biopsy. Why was this such a special privilege? Until 3 months ago, I didn't even know Marcyne and yet she called on me to help her regarding today's event.

Marcyne is a member of our church (a long-time member) but Richard and I didn't personally know her nor her husband. In a large church, you simply don't know everyone. Marcyne's devoted husband died on June 14 following a lengthy battle with cancer. Just 3-1/2 months ago she lost Don of cancer and today she faced the situation of possibly hearing that same diagnosis for herself.

Digression.... I was with my daughter Amy in Wal-Mart one Saturday shortly after Marcyne's husband died, and we ran into her. Amy introduced Marcyne and me. I learned she was off of work for several weeks following the death of her husband so invited her to go to lunch with me one day. We planned a date right then and there. I invited a mutual friend of ours ~~ Ann ~~ to go as well -- just in case Marcyne and I didn't hit it off. (Not really for that purpose. Ann is a very special lady and knows Marcyne so I knew Ann would be able to minister to her as a friend.) Not to worry... Marcyne became a new dear friend over lunch that day. She talked a lot about her late husband and how God showed Himself so real to her and Don during his illness. It was quickly evident that she is a very strong believer. She endeared herself to me with her testimony of faith in the Lord. After leaving from the luncheon that day, I asked God to help me be as strong as she is if takes Richard home before me.

With Marcyne working a full-time job and me busy with Richard and the family, we hadn't done anything else together ~~ just always exchange a hug when we see each other at church. So, it was a real blessing to me when she asked me at church on the 19th if I would go with her to have her breast biopsy done on the 28th. I cleared it with the Friday Bible Study leader and then told Marcyne that I would be privileged to take her and be with her.

As is true to form, her faith was strong today. She had to have had a miriad of emotions whirling around in her heart and mind's-eye as she was back at the same hospital where her sick husband was in and out for so many times during his illness. But she had a big smile and a confidence in the Lord that He would over-shadow her and keep her in His loving care ~~ no matter what!!

She had the biopsy. The surgeon thought everything is okay but, of course, sent the specimen on to pathology to be tested for cancer. Marcyne won't get the report until later but left the hospital with the assurance that her God is working His will in her life ~~ no matter what. My faith was increased as I observed her today. God is so good to show of glimpses of Himself in others. I surely hope all is well with Marcyne. I know there is so much more to be learned from spending time with my new friend.

Our "By Request" Monday Night Dinner

Proverbs 18:20 ¶ A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
























It was a blast cooking each grandchild's requested dish for Monday night's dinner. Jarrett had his hot wings, Belle had her stuffed pepper, Josh had his chicken parmesan, and Jaden had has sweet tea. Jaden thought he was big stuff serving the spaghetti noodles. So, we had a fun dinner with the GRANDkids while Brian and Amy had the night "off" and dinner out. Life doesn't get any better than this for a Grandma and Grandpa!! By the way, Richard ate the chicken parmesan with Josh, and I ate a stuffed bell pepper with Belle. YUM!!!

Dinner Hodge-Podge

Proverbs 31:14~~~ She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

It's Monday!! I do enjoy Mondays for it is the one standing day that I set aside to pick up my GRANDkids from school at 3:00. We come home, have a snack together, and then the school crew gets their homework done while Jaden plays and Grandma fixes dinner for the fam. This evening, Amy and Brian are going out for dinner so we will just have the 4 grandkids around our supper table. I asked each of them what they would like to have for dinner and here are their answers: Jarrett (hot wings), Isabella (stuffed bell peppers), Josh (chicken parmesan), and Jaden (tea). Well, none of those are hard, so I am going to surprise them and have their requests for them at dinner. Won't that be a hodge-podge?! And let me say, that I am thankful I don't have to go "afar" to bring in food but will enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart to get the needed ingredients.

Grandmas can do "fun" things like that once in a while. Maybe I'll even snap a pic of each GRAND with their meal and post here tonight. Those four are my favorite "subjects" for sure!!

Lazy Saturday Mornings Are Best!

Proverbs 17:6 ¶ Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

I know people probably don't believe it, but even with our daughter, son-in-law and the 4 grandkids next door, we don't see them THAT often to spend good quality time together. We can watch out our front window and see them coming and going (we're not spying but just happen to see them at times) but they live very busy lives and we don't get together every day. I pick up the four grandkids from school/nursery on Mondays and then feed the family dinner on Monday night. Amy has us over for dinner on Tuesday nights and that is it for any regular interaction for the week. Well, I keep the youngest grandchild on Wednesdays, but Jaden has gotten big enough to come over by himself so I don't necessarily see Amy on those mornings.

As I write all of that, I realize how very blessed I am to have my daughter and her family next door. I have friends whose grandkids live in Maryland, Morocco, Mississippi, etc. We are very blessed indeed to be right here ~~ next door to our crew. And I have to "admit" that we invited them over for Saturday breakfast and enjoyed an impromptu 3-hour visit. As I said, it is rare to have "quality" time so we surely enjoyed our laid-back Saturday morning. The pics were made after breakfast of the kids playing. Grandpa Richard was helping Belle and Josh with their kites. It was a fun time.

FELLOWSHIP ONE WITH ANOTHER

1 John 1:7~~~ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

As a woman, it is a blessing to have sweet Christian friends who encourage me in the Lord and with whom I can fellowship in the bond of our Christianity. Such is the new friendship I have in Lucille. It was a fun time at her lovely home this morning watching the kids play and enjoying some great adult conversation with Lucille. She served a delicious lunch and then we parted ways so that the little ones could get their afternoon naps for church tonight. Jaden LOVED the big slide and the trampoline, and it wore him out. He has had his bath and is sound asleep following his fun morning and yummy lunch.

WEDNESDAYS ARE SPECIAL!!

Grandchildren Are God's Reward for Growing Old(er)....

This picture is of Jaden coming over this morning... in his pjs, with his "bedhead", and with a big smile. You see, Wednesdays are special for us both as this is the day I keep Jaden home from nursery for a break in his week and a fun day for us. We have a standing arrangement to get together with my grandma friend Lucille and her granddaughter Cailyn who is Jaden's age. Last week they came to our house to play and for lunch, and this morning, Jaden and I are going to their house for play and for lunch. This is our first time to go to their house so we are both excited. I know a secret but won't spoil the surprise for Jaden. Granny Lucille has one of those big blow-up water slides and Jaden is going to get to play on it with Cailyn this morning. That should make for some fun playtime and some good pics. :) Speaking of which, I need to get the boy dressed so we are ready to go here in a bit.

HUMMER, DRAGONFLY, CAT AND GOD!!

Genesis 2:19~~ And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

I have enjoyed snapping pics of hummingbirds for the past 2 days. I sat outside for an hour early this morning and so much enjoyed the cool breeze (down into the 60's this morning!!), the birds chirping, a huge dragonfly that lit and stayed nearby so that I could enjoy his unique beauty, my cat nudging me to be loved on, and singing How Great Thou Art to myself. It's so awesome to enjoy God's mighty creation and to feel His presence.

I realize I'm not a good photographer, but I post these pics as a thank you to God for showing Himself GREAT in the glory of this world and for allowing us as humans to have the capacity to enjoy it. I can't even imagine the world to come!!

An Oil Change and a Change of Heart!

The Lord afforded Richard and me an opportunity to witness on Saturday morning. We took our car to Wal-Mart to have the oil changed. While there, we spoke to the young man who came out and signed in our car for the oil-change. We were outside with him and there were no other customers waiting on him so I just casually told him that we were headed to the restaurant next door and asked if there was anything we could pray about for him when we were there and ready to ask the blessing. He didn't miss a beat and immediately told us that he has a new baby boy ~~ one week old ~~ and that his name is Japheth and to please pray for him. I said, "Oh, your baby boy has a Bible name. You must be a Christian." He shook his head and said, "No, not really. But my father-in-law has talked to me about that." I told him that he would be a even better husband and daddy is he would give his heart to the Lord and become a Christian, and then I asked if I could show him how. He said that I could. I had a tract in my hand (that I had planned to use at the restaurant) and went through the A-B-C's of salvation explaining each step. At the conclusion, I asked him if he would like to pray for forgiveness of his sin and to ask Jesus to come into his life as His Savior, and that young man said he would like to pray the sinner's prayer. And he did!!! And then he thanked us!! Richard and I urged him to start reading the Bible every day, to pray, and to please go to church with his family and father-in-law on Sunday. He said he would. We told him "good-bye" and went on our way.

We went on to the restaurant and received prayer requests from three people who waited on us in there. This is the most exciting thing I have ever experienced since becoming a Christian!!!

We got our Wal-Mart shopping done and saw lots of friends from church so got to fellowship a bit and enjoyed that. It surely is GREAT to be a Christian! I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God!

Blessings and a Salvation Story

John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

I am NOT a "super-duper" Christian. I fail my Lord far too often. I get caught up in this life and neglect to think about my service for Christ. The Lord has been dealing with me in this matter. Our faithful Pastor's message on Wednesday night hit me over the head and nailed my heart. I prayed and recommitted myself to be available if God would see fit to use me. I am so thankful that HIS grip is the strongest when I am my weakest. I am thankful for His love, mercy, grace, and long suffering with me.

After Bible Study on Friday morning, I stopped by a friend's home (actually she is my son-in-law's mother and the other grandmother of my grandchildren, but she is my friend!) to visit Carol and her 91-year-old mother, Goldie. I hadn't seen them in several weeks and so much enjoyed the visit with Carol and Goldie, and also with Carol's daughter Mary and granddaughter Morgan who were there.

From there, I was headed home, but I looked at my watch. It was still only 3:00 and so on the spur of the moment, I decided to stop by the "Nails" place and get a pedicure as Amy and her family had given me a gift certificate for Mothers' Day. I had a wonderful relaxing and much-needed spa pedicure. The Vietnamese girl who was "pampering" me was so very sweet. We had a fun chatting while she worked on my feet. As I sat there, I felt "led" to get a manicure~~ my first ever.

A digression...

On Wednesday night, our Pastor talked to us about the urgent matter of witnessing and winning souls for Christ. He read verses on the subject and spoke from his heart regarding his desire that our church be a soul-winning church. I was convicted in my heart because personal soul-winning has always been a weakness in my Christian life. I pray for lost people but have always felt somewhat inept and unsure of myself when it comes to personal soul-winning. During that service, I prayed and asked God to help me in that matter and made the decision to share Christ if God would give me an opportunity. One neat suggestion that Dr. Jackson shared is when eating out (which we do quite a bit of!) is to tell the waiter or waitress that we will be asking the blessing before we eat and ask them, "Is there anything we can pray about for you?" That sounded easy enough and struck me!! I actually was able to do that on Thursday night when I sat in a hospital room with a friend who has had a massive stroke. As the nurses and doctors came in, I explained to them that Angie is a faithful Christian and that I would be having prayer with her before I leave later in the evening. Is there anything we can pray for you when we have that prayer time? (I had a sheet of paper to write down requests.) By the end of my four-hour stay, I had a page of prayer requests that were given to me. That was very special!! And then when I left the hospital at 8:00 p.m. Richard met me at a restaurant so that we could have a bite of dinner together. I asked our waitress there and she gave me THREE requests and thanked me for asking. What a joy it is to serve Jesus while we serve others!!

Back to the blessing on Friday...

Pauline (the young Vietnamese nail lady) took me to her manicure table where we were now sitting face to face. After another few minutes of chatting during which I found out she is 31 years old, married, and has a gorgeous 4-month-old baby girl named Connie), the Lord urged me to ask Pauline about her spiritual condition. I said, "Pauline, do you go to church?" She answered "Yes, I am Catholic." I then asked her, "If you were to die tonight, do you know you would go to Heaven?" She looked up from working on my hands, and said so very quietly, "No, I don't." I asked her if I could share with her how she could know, and she said, "Please do." WOW!!!! I didn't have a tract out or a Bible with me BUT the Lord quickly brought to my mind the A-B-C's of how to be saved. Very quietly as there were people all around, I shared with Pauline this way:

"A" ~~ ALL ~~ the Bible says that ALL have sinned. Pauline, have you ever done anything wrong? And she said "Yes, I have." I told her that is called sin. Because of Adam and and Eve, we are all born sinners and can't help but sin. It is our nature to sin, but sin is wrong.

"B" ~~ BELIEVE ~~ "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Pauline, God sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to earth. He was born a baby boy but lived a perfect life and at age 33 he was crucified on the cross for our sins. But, Jesus Christ didn't stay dead. He arose on the 3rd day and resides in Heaven with God the Father. Pauline was looking me straight in the eye the entire time but with such a precious humble look on her lovely face.

"C" ~~ CONFESS ~~ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. I told her that if we confess our sins to God and then confess that we believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for our sins and rose from the dead, we can be saved ~~ become a child of God. "Pauline, would you like to pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins and invite Jesus to come into your heart and be your Savior?" She had totally stopped working on my nails for this entire encounter and never took her eyes off of mine. She said, "Yes, I would."

Another side note here.... I have trouble hearing and concentrating when there are other conversations going on around me. That happens to me at home with all of the family here, in church, at restaurants, etc. The nail shop had been busy with several customers and all of the employees taking care of them. The place was "abuzz," but the Lord just totally shut the noise out of my ears so that I could concentrate on what I was doing ~~ which I didn't even realize at the time but humbly and thankfully realized later. As Pauline and I were about to bow heads so I could lead Pauline through the sinner's prayer, I quickly looked around and the room was empty!!!! I guess the customers had all finished up and were gone and the employees were all in the back room for a break. (I had been there for 2 hours by this time and it was 5:00 but the shop doesn't close until 7:00 so that I didn't feel rushed in the matter at hand!!!)

Back to the story...

I explained to Pauline that we would bow our heads and that I would lead her through the sinner's prayer. She prayed that precious prayer asking God to forgive her of her sins and inviting Jesus to come into her heart and be the Lord and Savior of her life!!!! When we finished and both looked back up, she had a big smile on her face and said, "Thank you."

I asked her, "Pauline, does your Catholic Church teach you how to live for God?" She said, "No." I told her that she needs to find a good Bible-preaching church so that she can learn and grow in her Christian life. Her faith will make her a better mommy, a better wife, a better daughter, a better person.

Another "miracle." I don't know a LOT about the city we live in, BUT when I asked Pauline where she lives, I KNEW the area, KNEW of a good church, and personally KNOW the pastor and his wife. I told Pauline the name of the church and pastor and I got her email address so I can send her the service times, etc. I will call Bro. Joe and Debbie today and tell them about Pauline so they can be on the look-out for her. I asked Pauline if she has a Bible and she said she does. I gave her a tract (I finally found ONE in my purse and wrote the name of the church and pastor on it) and asked her to go home and read it last night as it would remind her of what God had done in her heart. And I urged her to read her Bible daily and to pray. She was so very open to everything I said and she seemed genuinely happy about her decision to accept Christ and in turn to be accepted into HIS family. It was the most exciting 2 hours I have spent in a long time!!!

Pauline's husband is unsaved and her Vietnamese parents are here and won't understand her conversion if she tells them. She said they are leaving to return to Vietnam in 2 weeks. I am praying that Pauline will witness to them and invite them to go to church with her on Sunday! Her husband works on Sundays so that frees her up to go to another church. Please pray that she will visit the church I recommended for we know it is imperative that she gets into a good church so that she can grow in her faith.

Hmmmmmm.... I will have to start getting regular pedicures so that I can check in often and encourage her in the Lord. Please pray for Pauline ~~ my Baby Sister in Christ.

(Lord Jesus, I have missed so many witnessing opportunities during these 35 years of my Christian life. I thank you for allowing me to see first-hand yesterday that, when you go before me and prepare the way, you can use even me to tell others about your wonderful saving grace. I ask Your forgiveness for my unfaithfulness in this most crucial area of my Christian life and pray that you will empower me and enable me to be a soul-winner for the rest of my life. Please use me as You see fit. In Your Precious Name I pray, Amen.)

Preaching Ministry News on Chip

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Our son, Chip, has been invited to preach at his Alma Mater (BBC) as part of their Bible Conference to be held in early October. He will be preaching in two sessions during the the conference.

Side note: They chose speakers from each decade of graduates... 1950s, 60's, 70's 80's, 90's and 2000. Chip was selected as the preacher for this current 2000 decade.

Please pray for Chip as he prepares and then delivers the Word of God to those young people who are preparing for their lifetime of ministry.

Jaden and Cailyn Playdate

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.


Jaden and I enjoyed a playdate with Cailyn and her Grandma Lucille this morning. The kids swam and played while Lucille and I visited and got a little better acquainted. We are new friends and this was our 2nd time to get together for fellowship. It was a fun morning and lunchtime with our friends over today.

Happy Birthday to Kay!!!

Proverbs 9:11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

My friend, Kay, is celebrating her birthday today. I won't say how many, but she is some 2 years and 2 months younger than I am. :) She was the church secretary at our home church way back in the 80's. I had the privilege of working with Kay in the church office and enjoyed a friendship with her as well. She eventually left us, got married, is a mom and lives a very busy life. She is today's version of "Erma Bombeck" and I so much enjoy her daily emails with stories of her life as Dan's wife and Ryan's mom. As my Dad always said about Kay, "She's a sight!! "Happy Birthday to you, Kay ~~ and many more!! Love ya! ~~Susan

DAY OF EVIL: 9-11-01

Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Jeremiah 17:18

I am sitting here watching FOX NEWS as they replay the 9/11/01 morning news show from that awful day six years ago. And I am crying. To see that first tower on fire as they report that a plane has crashed into it brings back the feelings that surged through me that day. It was a terrible tragedy and we wondered for a few minutes about how that could have happened. And then the 2nd plane slammed into the 2nd tower and we realized that something terribly wrong was happening right here in America. The tears in our eyes, the fear in our minds, and the chill in our hearts came upon us....

Watching the replay of Andy Card as he comes in and interrupts President Bush while he is reading to school children.... chills all over again.

Watching the footage of men with the NYFD as they approach the towers on fire and to know that many of those men in just a few minutes would perish and enter eternity either saved and in heaven or lost and in hell as the mighty Twin Towers crumbled and crashed down upon them.... and the tears flow more.

Watching the replay as the newscasters report that the Pentagon had been hit and then the plane crash in PA and wondering who and what and where was next...chills all over again.

The evil was everywhere. It permeated that very day.... chills all over again.

Watching the replay of President Bush as he gives his first address on the news and how he rose to the occasion as our Commander in Chief. How thankful we were that he was in that Oval Office and NOT Al Gore.... chills all over again.

May we NEVER FORGET the terror that was perpetrated on every American on that September morning.

Our churches were full on Sunday, September 16, 2001. We all cried and begged God to have mercy on America and to please help us through the dark days of the aftermath of the attack. The churches weren't quite as full on the following Sunday. And soon we were back to our mostly normal numbers in attendance and back to an almost normal way of life. (It will NEVER be like it was pre-9/11.) But we Americans were strong. We wanted to get back to normality... back to the business of our daily lives, back to our fun past times. We wanted to forget that there was (and still is) an enemy out there seeking to destroy us. Basically, that enemy hates us because we love God. (As ungodly as America by and large is becoming day by day, we are still known as a Christian nation. May God please help us, His faithful Remnant.) As I watch Fox News this morning, they have the banner reading: 9-11 "The Day America Changed." I am reminded and am so thankful that we serve the True and Living God Who NEVER changes.

May we never forget that this is a spiritual war as well as a physical war. May we never forget our men and women around the world who are fighting for our freedom. Our enemy is empowered by Satan and seeks to bring down America and all that is good about our Country. Thank God that we know the END OF THE STORY and WHO wins the final battle to be fought on this earth. Let us all be busy about our Father's business for who knows how much longer our freedoms will stand that enable us to labor for the Master.

Welcome to our Campus Daughters

Lamentation 4:21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter...

Richard and I were so very blessed to have our six new freshman campus daughters as well as our 5 other campus daughters over for Sunday dinner and afternoon visit in our home. It was the first time to get together with our new girls, and we found that we have the sweetest and most lovely girls from all over America as well as from two foreign countries. After lunch, we had a "family meeting" and planned a lot of activities for our get-togethers throughout this school year. Here is a little bit about our daughters this year (not in order as pictured): Freshman Julie is from Texas and is majoring in commercial art; Sophomore Darla is from Tennessee and is majoring in medical office systems. Freshman Kelsey is from Tennessee and is majoring in commercial art. Freshman Kaylee is from Tennessee and is majoring in music education (voice). Sophomore Melissa is from Wisconsin and is majoring in Nursing. Senior Katharina is from Canada and is majoring in youth ministries. Freshman Candiace is from South Carolina and is majoring in nursing. Sophomore Melannie is from Peru and is majoring in nursing. Freshman Jess is from Connecticut and is majoring in elementary education. Freshman Jennifer is from Indiana and is majoring in music education (strings). Second semester sophomore Diana from Ohio is majoring in pre-med. These girls are great group, and I know we will have a wonderful year together. The picture of the girls was made at our house on Sunday afternoon. Interesting Note: the girls on each end (blue top and black top) are twins: Kaylee and Kelsey. Melannie (in black in the front middle) was honored as the September birthday girl. It was a fun afternoon with our 11 campus daughters!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Jaden is 99% potty trained. We have worked on this all year (since he turned 2 ~~ and that's about the time that this picture was made) and honestly, he just was NOT interested. Well, the child recently decided on his own that he was ready and about 2 weeks ago and got much more interested. He told his teacher at church on Wednesday night, "Miss Dorothy, I have to go potty!" and so she took him to the bathroom in the 3-year-old area and he got his clothes down, pottied, and pulled his clothes back up. He has been dry for me the past 2 Wednesdays and has been dry at school all this past week. Amy finally put him in his underwear for nursery school (instead of pull-ups) as she figured out that he does much better in his real underwear. I think he has to go 10 straight days at school w/o wetting his pants and then they will move him right up to the K3 nursery program. YEAH!!!!!

He was outside playing on Saturday afternoon and came running in our house saying he needed to go "CaCa" and Grandpa said Jaden hopped right up on that toilet and pooped. He wasn't early about it (he will be 3 on November 2) but better late than ever!!

Jaden has heard his Mommy and Grandma say, "We are SO so proud of you!" and we are!

My Friends in the Hospital

Matthew 25:36 I was sick, and ye visited me

After the Friday morning Bible Study at A/T, I met another friend and we did some hospital visitation today. It was a joy to see our friend from church, Dee, as she is recuperating from surgery on Wednesday. There was a chance that she had cancer and we all rejoiced and praised God that it wasn't! Dee is a lovely wife and the mother of five children: high schoolers down to 2 years old. She is a lovely Christian woman and it was truly a blessing to visit with her today. She is set to be discharged on Saturday and we thank God for the healing He is doing in her body.

Our second visit was with a dear friend, Angie, who suffered a stroke last week. Angie is approximately 82 years old and was planning a trip to the French Riviera when she was struck down by her stroke. She is unable to communicate but is making some tiny improvement as far as being able to squeeze your hand on command. She is such an active and adventuresome Christian woman, and it was difficult seeing her in that shape today. She will be getting a feeding peg put in her stomach on Monday and later next week, she will be discharged to a nursing home. My heart goes out to Angie's daughter, Ronda, as she and her brothers make these difficult decisions regarding their lovely mother. We remain in prayer for God's will to be accomplished in Angie's life.

It was such a joy to make those visits with my friend Dorothy today. We enjoyed a late lunch at Olive Garden; and when I took her home, I got my first tour of her's and Dan's brand new home. It is so very lovely. They built next door to their son, daughter-in-law and 2 grandkids so I KNOW how full her heart is with God's blessings.

Reunited with my cousin, Sharon

Hebrews 13:1 ¶ Let brotherly love continue.

I saw a cousin last evening whom I had not seen in at least 25 years. It was such a sweet reunion with Sharon. She is my only girl cousin on my mom's side and we were just 5 months apart in age. As kids and young teens, it was always so much fun to get together. She lived in Georgia and we lived in Alabama and those get-togethers didn't occur too often, but I loved her.

Sharon married young and after that, I didn't see much of her. Our lives took different directions and we grew apart. That is not to say that through the years I haven't thought about her and wondered how she was getting along, but that young bond had been broken and we had grown apart. So what a surprise it was to hear from her that she was here in our city visiting someone. Sharon had lost her husband in January and was eager to hook back up with family. We made plans to get together on Wednesday for supper and then she went to church with Richard and me. It was so nice to reconnect and catch up. She will go back to life in another state and I will go back to my life here. We didn't even exchange addresses, but we have each other's phone numbers. I hope we can stay in touch.