Lunch with Mary, Sharon, and Ann

A gracious woman retaineth honour..."
Proverbs 11:16

I have had such a nice day. It started off with the Bible Study at the retirement center and serving alongside two woman as the three of us conduct the study there. It was a blessed time as we met with our senior citizen friends there. After the study, I met three other friends for lunch at Chili's. What fun we had for nearly 3 hours eating, talking, sharing, laughing, and encouraging each other in the Lord. The biggest topic of conversation: our GRANDchildren. (We grandmas are always glad to talk about our children's children. :) I thank God for the "gracious women friends" I have in Mary, Sharon, and Ann and for the positive influence for Christ that each of them has been in my life. I pray God's richest blessings upon my friends and their families!!!

~~Genesis 7:14~~~

They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind,and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

I'm so thankful that God preserved his wonderful creation of animals, birds, AND mankind by putting pairs of each on the ark before He flooded the earth and every living thing perished except for those saved on the ark. On Thursday morning, I was entertained by the hummingbird activity at the feeders outside my kitchen window and enjoyed snapping pics. As you can see, my cat Bandit was bird watching right along with me. Thankfully, those little hummers are quicker than the cat. It was a time of worship in my heart as I watched God's creations (both feathered and furred) in action. HE alone is worthy to be praised!!

Farewell to our new friends~~ The Schulers

2 Corinthians 13:11 ¶ Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.



It was HARD to say good-bye to the Schuler family this morning (picture at right). Mark, Susan, and Joel were here in our home for a little over a week as they attended missionary candidate school, met with the mission board, and became our "official" missionaries to Roatan, Honduras out of our church and from our GoForth Mission Board. During that time, our hearts were knit with their hearts, and we bonded as friends as well as brothers and sisters in Christ. They will be traveling around the Country on deputation as they seek more support for their ministry until such time as they return to Roatan on September 8. I know they would appreciate your prayers for their safety as they travel the highways and byways of America and then fly back to Honduras. May God smooth the way and prepare hearts as they meet with God's people for the next three weeks. They look forward to getting back to their ministry in Roatan. Please pray for that ministry and for those they minister to while the Schulers are away. And one more prayer need: They are very interested in what Hurricane Dean is going to do as Roatan is an Island off the coast of Honduras.

Bye Mark, Susan, and Joel. We love you guys!! ~~Susan

Hurricane Season is Heating Up... and Other Weather Woes

Isaiah 25:4~~ For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

It's so neat to know that God is in control of the weather here on this earth which He created. While Tropical Storm Dean and Hurricane Flossie continued to churn in the central Atlantic Ocean and close to Hawaii, respectively, Tropical Storm Erin came into being in the central Gulf of Mexico today and is poised to dump massive rains on an already soaked Texas Gulf Coast. Of course, we here in the Florida Gulf Coast will continue to monitor Dean (I don't like that name for a hurricane!). I am keeping my grandson Josh on Thursday and think we will get out and do a little "hurricane preparedness shopping."

Across the United States, a large dome of high pressure once again baked the southern Plains and South. Widespread triple-digit heat was experienced with numerous places setting or tying daily record highs across the Deep South. Temperatures were not that extreme over South Texas due to the presence of clouds and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms also soaked parts of the Gulf Coast and Florida. Despite the passage of a cold front and the arrival of cooler air, a disturbance was responsible for bringing showers and thunderstorms to the northern Plains. The cold front itself was the culprit behind rain and thunderstorms starting the day over the western Great Lakes. The front later passed mainly dryly through the rest of the Great Lakes. To the east, an area of high pressure promoted plenty of sunshine and low humidity to the Northeast. Meanwhile, monsoonal moisture and daytime heating touched off thunderstorms across the Rockies and Southern California in the afternoon. The Northwest had a dry day with hot air in place across the interior. With the immediate coastline being the exception, temperatures also became quite warm west of the Cascade Mountains.

We are hot here (it is 94 this afternoon with a heat index of 99), but we haven't reached the century mark on the thermometer this summer. Our temps have been nothing like our family and friends have been experiencing back home in T-Town where the temps have gone above 100 degrees for several days in a row. We need to pray for those who are so very severely affected by the extreme heat and for those who will be adversely affected by the tropical storms and perhaps even hurricanes in the coming days, weeks, and 3-1/2 more months of hurricane season. We shall keep an eye on the weather news and be ready to board up should a storm be headed our way. And to think, God already knows the outcome of all of our weather woes. We can trust Him!!

The Blue Angels ~~ Flying High in the Sky This Morning...

Psalm 37:4~~~ Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Sometimes you just have to do fun things with a teenage missionary guest and a teenage grandson who are staying at your house. This morning, it was my fun privilege to take Joel Schuler and my grandson Jarrett out to the Naval Air Station to watch the Blue Angels practice. The Blues do this a couple of times per week and it is so much FREE fun to go out and watch. Their practice lasts for 45 minutes and is pure exhilaration the entire time. After their practice, we made our way to the Museum where the six Blue Angel pilots assemble to sign autographs after their flight time. Joel (age 16 ~~ pictured below) has aspirations to be a missionary pilot so he was especially awed and inspired by the BLUES today. I am going to remember Joel in prayer as he has one more year of high school and then will be pursuing his desire to serve the Lord in missions aviation. As for me? I love the Blue Angels and consider it a privilege to see them any time that I can ~~ just 20 minutes from our front door. WOW!!!

Schuler (Missionary) Family Update

....Distributing to the necessity of saints.... Romans 12:13

It is certainly our blessing to host the Schuler Family in our home this week. As servants of Christ on the Island of Roatan, we count Bro. Mark and Susan as dear new friends. Their son, Joel (light blue shirt) is a neat 16-year-old kid. Their son, Brandon, (age 19) who is a sophomore (music major) in our college this fall, has spent some time at our house this weekend. This evening, he played his banjo for us. He is VERY good!! Besides banjo, he plays trombone, dobro, guitar, and the mandolin. His music major is performance/trombone.

We are glad that the Schulers' stay has been extended for a few days and that we will have the pleasure of their company until sometime mid-week. May God bless them as they raise financial support for their continued work on the island of Roatan ~~ off the northern coast of Honduras. (NOTE: Thir oldest son, Matt, is in Roatan for the summer but will be returning to college next month for his junior year. We look forward to meeting him!!)

May God bless the Schuler Family as their labor for Him.

Update on Julie ~~ friend in car wreck in July

Mt 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

A sweet young friend of ours ~~ Julie ~~ was hit by a drunk driver on Sunday afternoon, July 29, as she was enroute to a Sunday School Teacher's Meeting. Julie spent that afternoon/evening in the ER but was discharged that night with the doctor's report that she would be sore but fine in just a few days. Well, she wasn't fine and didn't get any better. Julie has continued to have problems, and this is the report I have received from her Mom (my dear friend) today~~~

"I think I told you that Monday Julie's new X-ray shows she has a broken and dislocated rib. We just got back from the doctor this morning and he has her new recovery as being 4-6 weeks. So now we know what we are dealing with. Julie is very weak and pretty much unable to do much for herself."

I would appreciate your prayers for Julie during this time and for her Mom who is taking such good care of her during this time. God is able and we know God is good. I shall look forward to posting a "PRAISE" in a few weeks that Julie is well.

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY TO BRIAN AND AMY

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Ephesians 5:23

Where have the years gone?
Ten years ago today, Richard walked our beautiful daughter-bride down the aisle and gave her to Brian. The bride and groom each left their parents' homes and began one of their own. It doesn't seem possible that ten years have passed.

Ten years... and four kids later! And one of them is 14! Parents of a teenage son and a daughter who will be a teenager in 8 months. What will another ten years bring? Jarrett at age 24 will be a grown man and out on his own~~ perhaps married. Brian and Amy could conceivably be grandparents at 41 and 42 years old! Isabella will have just graduated from college. Josh will be entering college, and Jaden will be just 2-1/2 months away from his 13th birthday.

With God at the helm of their marriage and with Christ as the head of their home, there are lots of wonderful blessings awaiting Brian and Amy as the years unfold. Happy Anniversary, Brian and Amy!! May God grant you many more!

Love,
Mom

Grandsons Joshua and Jaden ~~ Our Day Together

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children. Psalm 103:17

I haven't kept my grandchildren much this summer. Amy was
home for her 6-week break and, of course, wanted her children home with her as much as possible. Since she returned to work 2-1/2 weeks ago (or was it 3-1/2 weeks ago?) I have kept some of of the grandkids here and there. Next week is their last week of summer vacation so I will try to keep more of them more often as my schedule allows. I think I can accomodate them on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I have a lunch date with friends on Thursday and then have the Bible Study on Friday mornings. Anyway, I asked for Joshua (8) and Jaden (2-3/4) today and have enjoyed them immensely. We hung out here at home for the first part of the morning but at around 10:00 we loaded up and headed off for a stop at the post office and then on to a McDonald's clear across town ~~ the only one I know of that has an inside AIR-CONDITIONED PlayPlace. The boys had fun playing, and we enjoyed our lunch. The boys wanted an ice cream after lunch, but the line at the counter was long so we decided to come home and eat ice cream sandwiches as I had some in the freezer. We ate our treat, I bathed Jaden and got him down for a nap, and now Josh and I are watching Animal Channel. (Well, I AM watching it with one eye!) I love my GRANDS and have very much enjoyed Joshua and Jaden today.

Our Missionary Guests This Week ~~ The Schuler Family

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19

{teach: to make disciples, or Christians of all nations}

Richard and I are so very blessed to have a missionary family staying in our home this week. Bro. Mark, Susan, and their son Joel (age 16) arrived on Tuesday evening and will be with us through Saturday morning. We have so much already enjoyed our fellowship with them. They are missionaries to Roatan which is an island off of Honduras. They are coming on board as missionaries with GoForth Baptist Missions and are here this week attending candidate school. I am sharing their missionary card (front and back) as well as a pic I made of them this morning. If you would like to mention them to your pastor, Mark and Susan would be blessed to come share their heart for ministry with your church. Their contact information is on the back side of their prayer card which is shown above. May God bless them as they continue their established work in Roatan.

P.S. If you click on the pic of Mark and Susan at the top of this post, they are standing on the deck of their home in Roatan and that beach scene is what they view daily.... God's gift to them as they minister to the Roatans!!