Wednesday, August 6, 2008

UPDATE ON UNSPOKEN BUT URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God


Thank you so very much for praying. God was very, very good during the phase one of this 48 hour process. Thank you for standing in the gap on our behalf. The next crucial time will be 8:30 am until noon CST on Thursday. We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers if God brings us to mind during this time.

A friend in need is a friend INDEED! Thank you for being that special kind of friend.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Susan's Prayer Request

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

I cannot share specifics, but please pray for this unspoken need. The prayer coverage is needed from Wednesday 5:00 p.m. until Friday noon. We would very much appreciate your prayers.

Blessings,
Susan

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Granny Meets Granddaughter


An adoring Granny Nonie gazing at her precious new Grandbaby Kelsey. SWEET!!!!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Emergency Telephone Numbers

Emergency Telephone Numbers
These are more effective than 911

When -
You are sad, phone John 14
You have sinned, phone Psalm 51
You are facing danger, phone Psalm 91
People have failed you, phone Psalm 27
It feels as though God is far from you, phone
Psalm 139

Your faith needs stimulation, phone Hebrews 11
You are alone and scared, phone Psalm 23
You are worried, phone Matthew 8:19-34
You are hurt and critical, phone 1 Corinthians 13
You wonder about Christianity, phone 2 Corinthians 5:15-18
You feel like an outcast, phone Romans 8:31-39
You are seeking peace, phone Matthew 11:25-30
It feels as if the world is bigger than God, phone Psalm 90
You need Christ like insurance, phone Romans 8:1-30
You are leaving home for a trip , phone Psalm 121
You are praying for yourself, phone Psalm 87
You require courage for a task, phone Joshua 1
Inflation's and investments are hogging your thoughts, phone M ark 10:17-31
You are depressive, phone Psalm 27
Your bank account is empty, phone Psalm 37
You lose faith in mankind, phone 1 Corinthians 13
It looks like people are unfriendly, phone John 15
You are losing hope, phone Psalm 126
You feel the world is small compared to you, phone Psalm 19
You want to carry fruit, phone John 15

Paul's secret for happiness, phone Colossians 3:12-17
With big opportunity/ discovery, phone Isaiah 55
To get along with other people, phone Romans 12

ALTERNATE NUMBERS
For dealing with fear, call Psalm 47
For security, call Psalm 121:3
For assurance, call Mark 8:35
For reassurance, call Psalm 145:18

ALL THESE NUMBERS MAY BE PHONED DIRECTLY.
NO OPERATOR ASSISTANCE IS NECESSARY.
ALL LINES TO HEAVEN ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY.
FEED YOUR FAITH, AND DOUBT WILL STARVE TO DEATH


Thursday, July 31, 2008

A "GRAND" DOCTOR VISIT


I was always an avid record keeper and kept stats on my kids as they were growing up. Well, yesterday I was able to garner some stats on Isabella and Jarrett from their visit to the doctor for their summer physicals. I am happy to report that they are very healthy teenagers. (Jarrett is 15 and Isabella is 13).

Jarrett's height and weight: 65-1/2" tall and 116.2 lbs. I looked up to see how that compares with the national percentile and here's what I learned: At 15 years and 1 month: Jarrett is in the 33rd percentile for weight and in the 30th percentile for height.


Isabella's height and weight: 59-1/2" tall and 92.6 lb.s.
At 13 years and 3 months: she is at the 27th percentile for weight and the 3rd percentile for height. (Glory~~ there is not an ounce of fat on that girl but a whole lot of muscle. She is working on her "six pack" and has a nice definition in her arm muscles. HA!)

Both made 20/20 on their eye chart exam and their blood pressures were very good.
I am thankful to the Lord for the good health that Jarrett and Isabella enjoy.

An Unbelievable Month of July....

Where has July gone? I can't believe today is the 31st. Where has summer gone? School will start back in a matter of days. (I can't get over my "old school" roots and the fact that we always started school the day after Labor Day. I still like that scenario and long for the old days. HA!)

I am enjoying Richard's retirement almost as much as he is!! We enjoy being together and doing things together but also respect each other's separate interests. He is an out-doors guy and enjoys working in his shed, working in the yard, working in the garage,. Whereas, especially in this summertime heat, I am an indoors girl and enjoy my housewifely duties and time on the computer. The later I spend far too much time with..... Anyway, we say he is puttering and I am fluttering. Hey, it works for us!!

We wondered if we could stay busy enough in our retirement years and have found that our lives our busy but with a different kind of busy. Here are the highlights of July 2008....


We had a wonderful 4
th of July over at Brian's and Amy's with Brian's folks and his 3-year-old niece, an evangelist and his wife and 4 kids, my friend Joyce from church, and another man and his two sons from church.






Then I celebrated my 57
th birthday on the 8th and enjoyed the doings with that and thank God for the dawning of another year of life.






We hosted our "D" Family Summer Reunion on the weekend of the 11
th-12th. We had a wonderful time with family from out of town in our home all enjoying one another.







The highlight of the 2
nd half of the month has been that of having Chip at home this week. We have had some sweet and precious family time with all of us together.






Otherwise this month, we had our dear friends John and Regina and their daughter Astrid over for a meal. Richard and I met John and Regina through Amy as she and Astrid were good friends in college. Astrid taught school in Herndon, VA since her 1997 college graduation but resigned at the end of this past school year as the Lord has led her to go to Saipan to teach in a Christian school there for at least three years. We enjoyed the fellowship with John, Regina, Astrid, Brian, Amy and our grandkids over dinner.


We were supposed to have Chip and his college students from their church in Huntsville over to our house for a cook-out on the 19
th, but it turned out that the insurance on their van didn't cover them coming into Florida soooooooooooooo,we took the cookout to them on the beach in Alabama. That was a fun evening!




Amy returned to work (elementary principal) on the 14
th so we have our grandson Jarrett (age 15) with us each weekday for 5 weeks until school starts. He and Grandpa have been working on lots of outside projects and have gotten a lot of stuff done which includes putting in two nice patios in our backyard using paving stones (that is the work in the picture.) Today they are starting the project of putting in a new shed. Belle and Josh are attending the Day Camp at the Sports Center (Belle is working there and Josh is a camper) and then Jaden is playing with his friends at the daycare for that age group.


Our very dear former pastor and his wife from back in the 80's dropped in from OK on the 22
nd to say "hello." Dr. E and Brenda were so dear to call and come as they were in the area. It was a fun 5 hours spent with them.





We attended a wedding luncheon for a dear couple in our church. That was sweet and we saw the newlyweds at church last night ~~ our first time to see them since the wedding.

I had a health scare this month but it all turned out to be "negative" on the 21st. I thank God for that.


After being off for 6 weeks, we started back having the Bible Study at the retirement center and it has been good to go there for ministry on Fridays. This dear lady is 103 years old and is such a blessing to us each week.




Yep... we seem to find enough to keep us busy and have enjoyed this start to Richard's retirement years. On August 5, it will be three months already since his last day of work. Unbelievable!!! We continually pray and ask God to use us for His glory and thank Him for each and every day that He gives us.

July~~~ you were a good month. We hope to see you again next year!!!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

A reader in India???!!!

India New Delhi, Delhi 8,231

I have a "site meter" which lets me see how many visits are made to my blog and from which states they originate. My readers have their privacy because I do not see names of who is reading the blog. Once in a while, I log into the site meter to check and recently saw that someone in New Dehli had clicked on my blog and that the reader was 8,231 miles from me. How cool but perplexing as well.

My "Susan's Stuff" is not a public blog ~~ meaning that it isn't advertised anywhere as a blog to be read. I just "Googled" Susan's Stuff and a lot of STUFF came up but I didn't see my blog listed on the first few pages I checked.

So>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I am curious as to who my reader was in India. I cannot fathom.

Dear Reader in India,
I am glad that you have visited my blog. If you happen to come back for another visit, I would be blessed if you would enter a comment so that I can hear from you and find out how you found my blog.

Blessings,
Susan

Monday, July 28, 2008

My Sister Nonie ~~ The Dulcimer-Girl


I received a nice picture from Nonie of her's and Tom's dulcimer group. For anyone who doesn't know my baby-sister-by-15 months, she and Tom are the couple to the far left. Here's the caption she put with the picture:

Here's a photo of our Waterloo Dulcimer Group which I took down at the Waterloo Senior Center. That's Tom, of course, standing behind me, for those of you who may not know my him. We play with them every Tuesday and every Thursday and then we play at some local nursing homes three times a month. We've sure had a great time with this group of folks :)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Welcome To Our World, Baby Girl..........

I received a phone call from one of my sisters last night and then this email announcement from her today. I'll let her tell you about her new grandbaby who is my new great-niece!!

Announcing the arrival of my newest grand-baby:

KELSEY TATUM

Born at 6:08 pm on Friday, July 25, 2008

Daughter of ETHAN & BRANDIE H.

Weight: 8 lbs 7 oz
Length: 20"

Please share in my joy at the arrival of my 4th grand-baby :)

"Granny" Sonja (Nonie)


"BIG" sister Kayleigh wants to hold her new baby sister Kelsey:




May God bless these little ones is my prayer.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner!

Our son Chip is arriving home tomorrow night for a week's visit!! We thank the Lord that he has a week off and will have some time for some R&R. Of course, we are all 8 of us thrilled that he will be headed this way tomorrow evening. Everything is "funner" when Chip is around. He is kind of our "family pastor" and we enjoy all of the spiritual interaction with him during these times.