"What about this gambling thing?"

How does it relate to greed, selfishness, money, etc.? Actually, this is all I really need to say about gambling, but I just want to elaborate on my thoughts regarding this subject.

I would say that some time during this past year, there have been gambling machines placed in gas stations, grocery stores and other establishments around town. This is making it easy for people to waste away their hard earned money by trying to win more. Would you say that is greed?

Many people who have managed to break the gambling habit, are tempted to start up again; in fact, have started the habit again, because those machines are in all of the grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores and even some of the dollar establishments. These people had gambling habits so bad they were loosing their whole paychecks, borrowing money from savings, gambling away bill money, thus loosing pretty much everything they own.

Attempts here in our city to get rid of gambling machines and to have them removed from the different establishments have caused the courts here to battle the issue over whether or not to have them removed because of the revenue they bring. It is feared that millions of dollars will be lost if these machines are taken out. My question is “what were they doing before these machines cropped up?" Someone said to me that they have helped small businesses, and other businesses have begun to rely on that money for support, etc.

A thought came to my mind just last night: I believe it is the plan or purpose of those companies in charge of the machines, and the gambling casinos to allow their clientele to win a certain amount of money,(it could even be some thousands of dollars at a time, and this may happen several times), encouraging these people to continue to gamble away more money trying to win. It is my opinion that casinos will eventually gain back the money they have allowed people to win and will probably get back even more. People who gamble may even know this, but the fact that they need/want money for bills, hospital bills, credit card bills, house notes, food, fancy cars, many material things, and whatever will prompt them to try over and over again to win money as they did before. People even gamble the fact that they are going to win big, and the casino owners will allow them to do so to keep them coming so they can use them to create revenue.

"If I Were in Texas, I would..."

be interacting with my grandson. He is so unique and has a personality all of his own. He is not only cute on the outside but his personality enhances his overall being. I have been concerned about the fact that he is afraid of a great deal of things. I can picture myself sitting and talking with him, having the right eye contact, and coming to him on his level in a way that will let him know that I am trying to get inside of his thoughts just to find out what makes him afraid of things. Some how, with much prayer, I would really like to have a long grandma/grandson talk about those things and to prayerfully let him know that he need not be afraid.

Since he is afraid to go to a movie because it is dark inside, it is my desire to talk with him in a way that would help him there is nothing to be afraid of, and hoping that he would trust me enough to believe me when I try to convince him to not be afraid. Because he attends a church school and is receptive to his teachings about the Lord I would use the approach that Jesus will keep him safe. Not that his parents haven’t already told him, but it might just be a reinforcement coming from someone else as well as mommy and daddy. I guess I don't have to tell you how I feel about "K."

"On This Day..."

This morning when I woke up, the first thing on my mind was Jesus as it is every morning. I wanted to thank Him for seeing me through another night and giving me another day, another chance to live my life in Him, another chance at salvation. I have acid reflux disease and my stomach has been bothering me for some time. I thought to myself, "this must be something more than reflux because it's been going on a little longer than usual". Since I've been tested for everything that has to do with the stomach and those tests have come out negative, I believe that the LORD spoke to me, telling me that I must be worried about something. It came to my mind that it has to be my concerns about the transplant that is about to occur in May regarding my number three granddaughter. My biggest concern has been trying to raise the money to help with the transplant. I believe the LORD came to me again, reminding me that I have put her His very capable hands and I MUST believe that not only is he going to bring her through and heal her, but surely I must believe that includes the cost for the transplant. I feel much better now, knowing that God is in control. *Tears in eye,* *tears of happiness, Amen.* It's just that easy because all you have to do it believe and you will receive. Thank you my Jesus!!!

One other thing, I had to remind myself that God did not give us the spirit of fear. Due to the number of deaths and funerals I have had to attend lately, I have been afraid that something may happen to someone I love and afraid that I will receive some bad news about someone. It seems as though the deaths are still happening to people I know around our community. This too is something I must lay at the feet of God and leave it there. I ask for your prayers also. Thank you in advance.

Senior Moments of the day: This morning, I was dusting my furniture and realized that I needed to get the furniture polish. I went to the kitchen, opened the pantry door, grabbed a spray can and proceeded to dust. It seemed as though this polish was really doing a good job because the piece I was dusting was shinning like new money. I looked at the can to see what brand I was using (I only buy the cheaper brands), and,low and behold, it wasn't furniture polish at all, it was the "cooking spray."

(While I was typing this little excerpt, I had to go to the kitchen twice, once because I couldn't remember the words "furniture polish", and two, I couldn't remember the words "cooking spray.")

Unrelated thought: I don't think I have to tell you who did my new picture do I?

"A Comment to Fran"

I have been trying to comment on Fran's blog but for some reason it fails and I cannot get my comments posted -- so here's to you, Fran -- I'll just blog my comment to your today's post and hope that you get a chance to read it.

Fran:
Sounds as though you are venting, and I hope you feel a lot better now that you have gotten it all out. I'm sorry that you are having to put up with that problem. I always say to pray. He may not answer right away or when you need it but he will intervene in his own way. I have learned to pray for those people that I consider to be enemies. I'm not saying your aunt is your enemy but apparently she is causing stress in your life and you must pray for her so that she can get herself right with God especially. There are a lot of Christians out there who have the same problems as your aunt. That is the reason we need Jesus. I would say that Satan is more so in the church then anywhere because he does not want those people to be save. Church is like a hospital; people are there to get well. If all Christians were perfect, we would not need Christ. Hang in there young lady.

"I DID WHAT?!!!"

The other night, I was trying to get a battery out of the drain in my tub. My bathroom clock fell from the wall into the tub and the battery went down the drain. Several attempts on my part to retrieve the battery failed. I knew I needed to get it out before taking a bath and before accidently pushing it down further. I didn't need another plumbing bill. I thought and reasoned with myself on how to go about getting it out without loosing it down the drain. Suddenly an idea came to mind. I had some "super glue" in the kitchen. I thought to myself "all I have to do is get something and glue it to the battery, and when it dries, I can pull the battery out. This worked perfectly; I took an emeory board the glued it to the battery and later, it came out. While I had the tube of super glue, I saw that the border around the bottom of the tub was pulling loose so I decided to glue that back. While conducting this little task, I didn't realize that I had gotten glue on a couple of my fingers, so when I was done and tried to pull those two fingers apart, it wasn't happening. YES, I HAD GLUED TWO OF MY FINGERS TOGETHER!! I sort of panicked because I thought of some of the T.V. Sitcoms where people had glued parts of their bodies to something and couldn't get loose. I have always thought these scenes were exaggerations, but to my surprise, it happened to me. After running water and soap on my fingers I was able to pry them loose but the glued stayed on for a couple of days.

AN "ATTITUDE" BEFORE COMMUNION

Today we had communion at church. It is a very sacred ceremony and should be taken as such. I almost felt guilty about being involvedd in it today because I started out with an attitude. I am a Deaconess and we have certain functions as such. We also wear white outfits that were made by one of our congregants. Since I just came on board last year as a Deaconess in training, we have been having trouble fitting me to one of the outfits because of my size. This morning when I arrived at church, I learned that there was a fitting last evening after we practiced the ceremony. I was unaware of it because I hadn't been told, therefore, when we tried to find one that fit me, the head deaconess gave me a dress that was sort of big on me and it looked downright terrible according to my opinion. She told me it would be okay. I copped an attitude and went into the closet and found one that fit perfectly, only to find out that someone else had chosen it. Again, up came the attitude. "I am not going to wear that dress that she wants me to wear, it looks terrible on me and it's too big." "You must wear the dress because they all have to be the same," said the head lady. I went into the closet, found a white uniform that fit just right, only it was not like the others. I approached the head lady and told her I wasn't going to wear the other dress, and she explained to me that the ceremony is sacred and I needed to wear the other uniform because they all needed to be alike. I told her that the dress I had was white and I did not want to present myself to the Lord just any old way. So, I wore the dress that fit me. I began to feel guilty about my attitude and questioned myself about whether or not I was being vain or was I really particular about the way I presented myself to the Lord, so later, I asked an Elder of the church about it and she said that as long as I had on white, it didn't matter. I determined that it was a little bit of both. I am asking you all to pray that when it comes to the LORD, that I will always serve him in the right attitude and always present myself in the way he would have me to.

"Top O' The Morning"

Erin go Brah! to all of you. Have you got your green on today? Don't partake of too much "green" beer, those Leprechauns may be watching you. Enjoy your day and may you all be blessed by God.

I must go now -- maybe I'll find my pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Yes, we may not look like it but we have Irish ancestors on my mother's side of the family. Sooooo. How do you like those green three-leaf clovers!!!

My Sickle Cell Presentation was Successful

Thanks for your input on my speech about Sickle Cell Anemia. It went well. I was afraid my memory would slip up on me and I would continuously forget what I'm trying to say. I whispered a prayer and told the story with only one senior moment, and no one could tell it. I have been asked to come out to another group of womenn at a local high school and speak about it again. It seems that most of the parents here are unaware of the disease. I would really love to get infomation out to as many people as I can. It may cut down on the number of babies who are born with it.

As I mentioned in my last post, Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited disease that is present mostly in African Americans and very devastating. If I can somehow get the message out that all children should be tested for the disease or the trait before deciding to get married and have children, or before deciding on having sex. People need to know whether or not they are carriers and also if their partners are also. If both partners are carriers (have sickle Cell Trait) there is supposed to be a one in four chance that the baby or babies will have the disease. Actually there are several families who I have come in contact with who have more than one child with the disease, such as three children. Sickle Cell disease is no joke and can be very expensive on a family.

"NEED FEEDBACK!"

I am scheduled to join a group of Des Moines Public School nurses at their staff meeting and will be delivering a speech about Sickle Cell Disease. What do you think of the following speech?

Thank you for allowing me time to come and speak to you about Sickle Cell Anemia, which is an inherited devastating disease of red blood cells that affect the hemoglobin and is predominately present in African-Americans. As you all know, normal blood cells are shaped like donuts but sickle red blood cells become hard and sticky and are shaped like sickles used to cut wheat. When those cells go through the small blood tube, they clog the flow and break apart. This is what causes pain, damage and a low blood count called anemia.

I became interested in trying to fight against Sickle Cell disease when two of my granddaughters were born with it. The older of the two has a more severe case of the disease than her younger sister. During her twelve years of life she has had to experience frequent hospitalizations every time she had a temperature as a result of a cold, etc., which in her case has been frequent. As a child gets older the disease will progress. Not only has she had to get used to taking many different medications, and pain episodes and has had to give herself daily growth hormone shots to help her grow and also help her go into puberty. Even though she is growing, she remains smaller than most kids her age. Additionally, a child with Sickle Cell disease will take longer than usual to stop bed wetting.

A few years ago, it was discovered that she was beginning to have strokes and that she’d had mild strokes as a toddler. The doctor determined that she would have to undergo monthly transfusions in an effort to eliminate the strokes. The transfusions worked for a while but she began to have occasional strokes again; therefore, becoming a candidate for a bone marrow transplant which was performed two years ago. The procedure was devastating because before the transplant, she had chemotherapy and radiation which was very hard on her. Shortly after the transplant, her body resisted the stem cells and the transplant failed; because the donor was not a sibling. She is scheduled to have a second transplant, using the umbilical cord from her 3-month old baby sister who does not have the disease, but first, she had to have brain surgery on both sides because she developed a disease called moya, moya.

The younger of the two, during this past year has suffered a few strokes and also has to have monthly transfusions. We are praying that her disease will not progress and by the grace of God, she can be spared of this.

While raising money for the transplant, I have met many people who either have the disease or have relatives with it. Some of them do not know much about the disease because there has been no publicity about it. I am here today to admonish the school system to include information about Sickle Cell disease as a part of the health studies and to make the students aware that they need to be tested for the disease or the trait before deciding to have children. If both partners have the trait (are carriers), the children can inherit the disease and will spend a great deal of their lives in the hospital.

Thanks for the Prayers -- He listened!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. I had a safe trip there and back. It was a wonderful week. My three-month old granddaughter is a doll, just like her sisters. My daughter-in-law was a gracious hostess and a lot of fun. We have a very humorous family. We clowned and laughed all week long, and the daughter-in-law passed her class. I didn't do much Monday through Thursday because I watched the baby, which was definitely my pleasure. After the first day she got used to me and was pretty good the rest of the week. She loves to eat and mom teasingly calls her "Piggy Piggerton," I will blog more about this later on in the week.