The Gig

Still Having Trouble Logging In and Commenting

2007-04-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I reset my password and was able to post and even make comments on a couple other blogs; however, a couple days later I attempted to write a post and comment on other blogs, but kept getting a message that my password was invalid.

Today I got my password reset but don't know if it will stay. Hope to be back into the blog set soon without having problems with it. In the meanwhile I shall continue to try. Have a blessed week.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN???

2007-04-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

Right here all along. Somehow my password got messed up and I have been unable to post and/or comment on your posts. Tonight I had time to investigate this situation because I MISS YOU ALL!

My grandson was born on March 20th. He is really little and is a cutie!! What have I been up to???
SPOILING THE GRANDSON!!! YIPPE!! He has big pretty eyes and his dad's appetite, ha, ha
God has been good to me -- I LOVE KIDS, especially my grandkids.

STILL WAITING FOR GRANDBABY!

2007-03-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

THE BABY HAS NOT COME YET!!! Perhaps the doctors calculated the wrong date or maybe they were given the wrong date. Grandma is still waiting patiently (or impatiently) as this will be number seven grandbaby, and I also have a great grandbaby. God has been good!

To all you Leprechauns and Irishmen/women out there -- hope you had a happy St. Patrick's Day! How many of you found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? :-) I found the pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow in that as a Seventh-Day-Adventist Christian, I went to church and spent quality time with the Lord. We had a wonderful Communion service. When I heard the testimonies of my fellow Saints, it just gave me clarification that to have faith in the Lord and believe, he will pour out many blessings upon you.

Yesterday, my number two son and his wife came to visit and they had a video camera. They wanted me to talk into the camera to the baby and take a tour around the house and show the baby where daddy grew up at. I went from room to room, even the basement and told the baby about daddy's lack of doing chores. We got a good laugh about that one. Also we went outdoors and taped the surroundings in the neighborhood where daddy played, the bike trail, the neighborhood kids, and where they played baseball which was in the street right in front of our house. It was fun to do -- my number two son is a comedian also. What can I say -- a familly of comedians??? I love it. :-)

Mz Gig - Anxious???

2007-03-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a pest, calling so much,” but I went to prayer meeting tonight and had to turn off my phone while we were praying and I was afraid you might call while the phone is off.”

“Don’t worry, if anything had happened we would have called you.”

“I love you mom, and when the baby comes, we will call you.”

“It just seems as though whenever I am expecting a call, I will be home all day and as soon as I step out, even for a few minutes, that’s when the call comes.”

“The baby hasn’t come yet and nothing has happened.”

“When you called me I was at school conferences and my wife was at work, so we couldn’t answer our phones, and if we can’t get in touch with you when the baby comes, I will send T after you.”

What is that all about???? Number two son and his wife are expecting their first baby who is due today and I want to be there when it happens. This will be my seventh grandchild, plus there is a great grandchild. You would think that after having four sons, six grandchildren and one great grandchild, this would be old to me.

Here’s the scoop – At first, my daughter-in-law said she didn’t want any children and number two son went along with it even though he wanted them. When his wife got pregnant, he was sooo excited. He has been very nervous and this has been humorous to me.

“I don’t know if I can change diapers; give the baby a bath, etc.”

So his wife arranged for him to take a class for fathers where they had real babies to learn from. I got a big kick out of that one.

In my mind, I could picture him being a father but it is quite amusing because he is a big athletic football player and coach, and believe me whenever he does anything domestic, it looks awkward, therefore, I cannot wait to see him as a dad, plus the wife did not want to know before hand what gender the baby is so I am anxious to know about that too.

While at prayer meeting this evening, I was supposed to sing special music. It was special alright but not exactly what I intended it to be. I have acid reflux and my throat was messed up, therefore, so was the song. What an ordeal.

Who's In Control??

2007-03-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last evening I had the privilege of joining some of my Christian brothers and sisters at a young people’s worship service. This is something that we do the second Sabbath evening of each month. The adults and children get together to enjoy praising the Lord in song, prayer, topics of discussion, and food.

After the song service, we have a circle of prayer in which everybody young and old offers a prayer. The topic of our discussion last evening was on “control;” whether or not we or God is in control of our lives. This subject is very thought provoking and several people offered their opinions. After much discussion, we pretty much agreed that God is in control.

In my opinion, God gives us a choice. He does not force us into anything. However, he has given us a book of instructions that he intends for us to follow. It is up to us whether or not we decide to follow his word or not. We determine the outcome of our lives by the way we chose to live. I believe that we make our choices by the way we are taught as young children. It’s kind of like when you set out to do a project, you may work hard to make it come out right. You may mold it and shape it, put everything you have into it. You do everything to perfect it by giving it all you have because this is something you love. You are not going to neglect it or half heartedly do it, and if you are determined for it to be a success, you will make it happen. That is the way your life should be from the time you are born until you leave this earth. Yes, God is in control of everything, but he gives us the privilege of choice; he directs our steps, his Spirit is here to lead and to guide us into all truth and righteousness, but it’s up to us whether or not we want to follow the Lord’s instruction. A co-worker once told me that the acronym for the word BIBLE is Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. God wants us to live by his word and if we do so, our lives will be what we want them to be. He says in his word that we should seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all of these things shall be added unto you, Matthew 6:33. God is in control but he wants us to allow him to control our lives.

ICE, ICE, ICE - EVERYWHERE!

2007-02-28T02:43:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to post since Valentine's Day. Was unable to get into blogger to post because they want me to set up an account through Google, and of course I had trouble with it. I think one of my sons came to my rescue. We'll see what happens in the next few days.

I've missed all of you. You know a person needs to revisit their life when they love to come to the blog, and when they see the same friends in their comment section, it pleases them, and visiting their blogs and commenting.

We are expecting yet another bad storm here in Iowa. We had an ice storm last week and pretty much everyone was snowed in. Churches were cancelled, including mine. Well, the Lord has given us a couple of days to recuperate and then we are going to have fun this weekend too. Please pray that no one looses their power. A lot of people lost their power and our Lt. Governor was on television warning people who still have no power to go to shelters or if anyone knows an elderly person who has no power to take them in. Our storm was supposed to start last night and be bad today and so far it looks normal outside but that's the way it looked last week, and when people went outside, they were slipping and sliding, and cars were iced shut, and Brotha Buck, who lives in Texas had the nerve to call complaining about 40 degree weather, saying "it's cold here." Can you believe it? He should be used to weather colder than that, after all he grew up in Iowa.

Well here we go again, another storm -- hey Buck - come home for a visit, I'm sure you will enjoy yourself -- ha, ha

One of my neighbors was kind enough to clear my driveway with her snow blower the day before we were to return to work. The snow plows came and blocked our driveways with snow piled high and the next day when we both went outside and tried to get out of our driveways, we couldn't.

God knows best and I will trust that he will watch over all of us.

BLESSINGS ON VALENTINE'S DAY!!

2007-02-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone out there in blogland is having a great day of love and appreciation! Some of you perhaps got an engagement ring; perhaps you are celebrating a anniversary, or maybe getting to spend some quality time with your loved one.

Today I went to work in a mischievous mood. My job takes me to a special program for at risk girls. Believe me these girls are some characters, but I love them. Oh yeah, I get quite disgusted with their belligerent behaviors, lack of respect, yelling and screaming, disrespect to staff members but they can also be pleasant. Of course I can feel this way because I am the Administrative Assistant and don't have to impose consequences on them so I do not get the negative actions as I mentioned above. Anyway, I made a small red smock or top, and on the back I drew dots; at one of the dollar stores I found a head band with a lady bug on top of it. On my computer, I made some coupons that said the coupon is redeemable for a hug on Valentine's day or any other day and this was from the "hug bug" as I called myself. When each student came in, they all received a coupon and a hug which they all got a kick out of, plus each staff member did too. Later, just before they left for home, they received a valentine card with two snickers in it. All in all the day was fun for me. I guess I enjoy it every time I get to show off my humorous side, especially for the kids. You can say that I looked absolutely ridulous and enjoyed every moment of it. My co-workers (and even my boss)thought it was cute, and actually so did the kids. (Having a cheerful heart today).

Kids are some of my favorite people. They can be quite a challenge but they can be some pretty neat folk. I wish that people could go back to raising their kids like they want to, letting them know who the parent is. I don't condone child abuse, nor do I condone parent abuse. I do; however, sanction tough love.

Anyway -- where ever you are today, may the LORD be in your hearts, minds, and souls. Remember -- God is Love so that makes today his day. Take a brief moment, tell someone how much you really love them. If you have had a disagreement or if you have been holding onto a grudge with someone -- say a heartfelt prayer, pick up the phone, call that person and made amends and mean it. If they don't respond back in a positive way -- at least you will receive a blessing from God.

LOVE YOU ALL - Ms. Gig

BUSTED? NO EMBARASSED! "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

2007-02-06T18:43:00.000-08:00

This past Christmas eve, I spent the night at number two son’s house. Early the next morning, we exchanged gifts. My daughter-in-law had made things so fun and cute. Outside of our main gift, she brought a stocking for each of us and inside were some very nice stocking stuffers, plus she gave us other gifts beside. It was very festive and pleasant. One of my gifts was a couple of CD’s of old soul music from back in my day. It came in a package with a square key chain that played part of “When a Man Loves a Woman” when you pressed a button in front of it. Instead of putting my keys on it, I kept it in a little valentine shaped box where I keep a few keepsakes.

Last Friday, my number 4 son’s wife called and told me she was coming to town and was bringing the grandkids with her. Of course that made my day, in fact, my whole weekend. I always look forward to having my grandkids come to town and spend time with me. I guess you might say that this is my pride and joy. Anyway, I made arrangements to take the two older ones with me to church for Sabbath School and then mom would pick them up before 11:00 Worship services because she and her best friend had planned to take the girls out for the afternoon. In order to do this, I needed to give my her the key to my house and she would bring it back to me when she picked up the girls from church. I wanted to put the key on a key chain so she could keep track of it, therefore, I grabbed the one I got for Christmas, slipped the key on it and gave it to her. After Sabbath School, mom came, picked up the girls and gave me back the key to my house.

I placed it in my purse and went into the sanctuary for 11:00 Worship Service, where I sang special music and presented the children’s story to the little ones for the Children’s Ministry segment of the service. While the pastor was preaching the sermon, I felt a need to take a cough drop because my throat became dry. I began digging in my purse to get a cough drop out and accidentally hit the button on the front of the key chain and the music “When a Man Loves a Woman” began playing fairly loudly, at which time several people looked over at me (and if looks could kill, I would have been a dead duck). I looked up and around, and proceeded to walk out; removed the key and placed the keychain in my little classroom and stayed out in the foyer, while all along my mind was thinking about my position as Children's Ministry Leader, Deaconness, Singer, and all of the things I do in the church and in one split second, I was busted as a worldly person. ("How could this happen?") -- Will people judge me as a bad person now?

When the services were almost over an usher came and asked me if I was going to go back in. I told him I was too embarrassed to go back in. This usher, who happens to be a very pleasant person with a sense of humor, told me in his pleasurable way not to worry, that things happen and told me to go back in. I reluctantly re entered the sanctuary. After the service, I started back to my classroom to get the key chain and heard the song going again, at which time I looked up and a couple of the church kids had gotten a hold of the chain and pressed the button again. I quickly retrived it and placed it my coat pocket. Later I found out that people thought it was my cell phone and was, I explained the key chain situation and how it came to be in my purse. It is now back in the little heart shaped box where it should have been the day it went to church with me. What an experience; and an embarrassing one at that. Can you imagine how the pastor must have felt when this music all of a sudden drowned him out while he was preaching? :-( Well, as Forest Gump says: “Gump Happens".

I would like to read some of your embarassing moments. They are not funny at the time but it's good to laugh about them later on. :-D

What to Eat or Not to Eat - What Does the Bible Tell You?

2007-02-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

This evening my dad, his wife and I had a conversation about the Bible. While we were talking, we touched on the subject of what we should or should not eat.

I referred to I Timothy Chapter 4, verses 1 – 5 that says:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils:
2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron:
3. Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

I also went to Romans Chapter 14 where it reads:

Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another who is weak, eateth herbs.
3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord, he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks: and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not and giveth God thanks.
7. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

What in your opinion, what are these scriptures saying to you?

JUST A REMINDER

2007-01-22T18:39:00.000-08:00

Cell Phone Govt Do Not Call

I got this reminder as an e-mail at work from a co-worker and wanted to share it with my bloggie buddies.

>>REMINDER ....12 days from today, all cell phone numbers are being
>>released to telemarketing companies
>>and you will start to receive sale calls.
>>.....YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
>>To prevent this , call the following number from your cell phone : 888-382-1222 .
>>It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of
>>your time.
>>It blocks your number for five (5) years.
>>
>>You must call from the cell phone number you wish to have blocked .
>>You cannot call from a different phone number.
>>HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS OR GO TO:
>>www.donotcall.gov

Is He a Black Jew?? No, He Just Believes in Them Part I

2007-01-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

As a young girl, my older brother and I were raised in a strict religious home. My dad would read the Bible to us, and on Friday nights we had devotion. We sang religious songs that my dad taught us. He had a little black board he used to teach us about the Bible. My mother also joined in and would sit me on her lap and teach me religious songs. I can still almost hear her singing “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam to shine for him each day.” (I have tears in my eyes due to remembering my mother, who passed away in 1995). Additionally, as youngsters, we attended a Jewish Sabbath School for a while; however, we weren’t able to understand most of what was being taught because they read and talked in their own language. Our religious beliefs were the same as the Jewish religion but we believed and still do believe in Christ. Our Sabbath has always been on Saturday but at that time we were not Seventh-Day Adventists. In fact, we hadn’t heard of the Adventist church until my brother met and married a young lady who was an Adventist, and she invited us to attend her church on many occasions.

My dad, in his teachings about the Jews being God’s chosen People, has always had very high feelings toward the them, and to this day, has become very close to them. One of his best friends is a Rabbi who keeps in close touch with my dad. Through reading the Bible pretty much everyday, “daddy,” as I still call him, is invited to celebrate the Passover and to the Synagogue to celebrate various holidays with them. I attend some of these occasions with my dad often. Just last week, we attended a Bar Mitzvah of a thirteen-year old son of the Rabbi. This was the second time we were invited to help the Rabbi and his family celebrate a son turning thirteen. This is a big occasion, and a lot of people attended. There was a feast, singing, dancing and the young man who was the guest of honor repeated a long speech in the Hebrew language. They were very receptive of us as usual and friendly as they think the world of my dad.

Listening to Words and Songs for the Lord

2007-01-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

As I sit here reading blogs, I can hear the television going in the living room. I have the Trinity Broadcasting Network on and one of my favorite songs is playing "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Not only is the music beautiful, but the lyrics are great. I love listening to music, especially gospel music. I can't imagine how people can come up with the wonderful ways they praise the Lord, such as in song, i.e., the words they use to lift Him up, words to show their love for him and to show their gratitude for what He has done for us. So many wonderful ways to sanctify him. Even though we sing His praises, write poems, testify of His love for us and the magnificant miracles and wonders he brings to our lives, not to mention how he always rescues us from many bad situations; situations that seem hopeless, there are really no words we can express that could really touch the awesomeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been blessed lately to actually be able to comprehend and understand more of what I read in the Bible than I have most of my life. The majority of my beliefs come from my teachings at home and from listening to my dad read and explain the Bible to me. Now I am trying to read it for myself so as to get my own understanding of it and of course I have been talking to the Lord before I read. Sometimes I have to read some sentences over and over again and perhaps say a little prayer before I can comprehend it, but the Lord is helping me to slowly catch on. I have a long way to go but I believe that God will help me get to where I want to be when it comes to him.

Incidently, I have many favorite Spiritual songs but I believe the most beautiful I've ever heard is, indeed, "The Lord's Prayer." God Bless you all out there in blog land.

To All Prayer Warriors Out There

2007-01-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

I am asking for prayer for a Christian brother who goes to my church. He is pretty ill and needs prayer. I don't know exactly what the matter is, but really don't need to know. The fact that he is ill is enough. God knows the whole circumstances and will take care of it. His name is Robert, and is one of those guys who we can always depend on and is always more than willing to do his part. He is fun to be around and makes everyone laugh. Also he is a very nice Spiritual person. He has a wife and children so they will need prayer too.

I believe that if there is little prayer, there will be little power, more prayer is more power and much prayer is much power. I thank you in advance for talking to our Lord on behalf of Robert. I claim healing for him already. God bless you all.

Understanding an Alzheimers Patient

2007-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

My Ex-sister-in-law has Alzheimers disease. I had visited her at her home a few times while her mother went bowling. She doesn't talk but would chuckle sometimes when I talked to her.

Recently she started to fall down a lot and was refusing to get into bed. Her mother couldn't get her up and into bed. After this started to happen a few times, her mom decided to place her in a nursing home (something she had never wanted to do). I have visited her in the nursing home and have tried to talk with her but I'm not really sure if she understands what I'm saying. I don't know how to go about communicating with her. I would smile and perhaps talk to her in a empathetic way and she would look at me with a blank expression. Since being admitted to the nursing home; it seems as though she has almost shut down (I'm just guessing). The other day I went to see her and she just looked at me and then stared into space.

Tonight I went to visit her and she was at dinner. When she saw me, it seemed as though she recognized me as someone she knew. Again she didn't talk, and I hadn't heard the little chuckle at all. I talked to her, trying this time to act normal like I used before she contacted this dreadful disease. I hugged her and showed her some affection when she began to regurchitate her food. I brought a picture album and showed her pictures, talking to her and reminding her who everyone is. She seemed very interested and at one point, she chuckled.

If anyone out there can tell me anything about a person with Alzheimers disease and how to communicate with them; if they possibly understand when you talk to them even if they aren't talking, I would appreciate some information that would help me to relate to her. Thank you in advance.

Why the Tears???

2006-12-31T07:26:00.000-08:00

So why in the world did I get tears in my eyes when I read about Saddam Hussein being hanged? He was one of the most brutal individuals I’d ever known of. When I read the article on the internet, I guess it hit me but why I do not know. I never have liked capital punishment but even I agreed with his fate when I heard about it, sooooo why the tears?
Well it must have something to do with the fact that he has been in the news so much; it’s almost as though we lost a famous movie star, maybe??? No! that’s not it -- I think it was when I read about his insistence on not wearing a hood and shouting “God is Good!” That is what brought the tears to my eyes, because I could envision this man hanging on the gallows without the hood (how gross that must have been). Anyhow, I also thought about all of the people who suffered and died at his hand and how he had to suffer the consequences of his own actions, just like some of the villains in the Bible.

Do you realize how you are witnessing history and will tell your children and grandchildren about the historical events taking place today (Gulf war, 911, a president who was impeached, Iraq war, President Bush, etc.)? These are all unpleasant events but one day your offspring will ask you about it as it will be part of their history lesson. I remember when John Glenn first walked on the moon, I had just delivered number three son. When President Kennedy was killed, I was in our living room vacuuming the floor when the news came on that he had been shot (was pregnant with number 1 son). I remember how stunned I was and how hard it had hit me when the announcement came on television that he had died. Programming was off for three days due to the news coverage of the events surrounding his death and I can still hear in my mind the beat of the drums and the horse and carriage that carried his body. I remember the evening news about Robert Kennedy being assassinated. President Eisenhower’s inauguration and the presidential elections way back then when he ran twice against Adelaide Stevenson and won both times. I can still remember when Malcolm X was killed, Hawaii became a state, the March on Washington, also when Martin Luther King was assassinated, when Emmett Till was killed, and many other historical events.

Tiired of Apologies

2006-12-29T20:12:00.000-08:00

My patience has run out on PMP because every time I turn around, he is apologizing for something. This past week, I called to ask his wife if she would tell the children’s story for the kids in our church. During the service we have a short segment for the children and we have them come forward and sit on the front seats while someone either tells or reads them a story. Since I am the Children’s Ministry Leader, it is my responsibility to schedule people to do this. Since I didn’t want to wait until the last minute I called SP's home to ask her if she would do it. When the phone rang, PMP answered and was quite abrupt when I asked to speak to his wife, he cut me off short, stating that she was talking to an aunt who was here visiting and he would have her call me back. I then asked him if he had a good Christmas, and he again cut me off stating he was in hurry (or something like that). That was this past Wednesday, and today is Friday; church is tomorrow and I have not heard from her yet. PMP is kind of forgetful; therefore, it is my assumption that he forgot. PMP has offended me in several ways in the past three to four years he has pastured in our church, and every time, he apologizes. During the past few days, I have decided I’m tired of the apologies and just simply don’t want to hear another one from him when I go to church this Sabbath. I feel as though I either want to avoid church this week, which would be a mistake, or just ignore his apology.

God has a way of influencing me through my thoughts. He reminds me how I am always asking for forgiveness every time I sin. What would I do if God decided he was tired of hearing me apologize and turn his head away or ignore me? Because of my carnal nature, I want to give into my foolish pride because it will hard for me to go to church and hear another apology that to me seems to mean nothing. As mentioned above, I was planning in my mind to not only skip church, but also cancel the children’s story this week for lack of someone to tell it. I reasoned to myself that this would send them a message that they need to step up to the plate or there will be a vacancy in the position of Children’s Ministry and let them decide for themselves who will do it.

Again, the little voice I believe to be the Spirit of God came into my thoughts and reminded me that this is not the way to handle it, for Mark 11: 25, 26 says: And when ye stand praying , forgive if ye have ought against any that your father also which is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in Heaven forgive your trespasses. It is amazing how He brought that thought into my mind right “on time.”

God Knew What he was Doing When he Gave a Little Mother Four Sons.

2006-12-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

Approximately a month ago, I had planned to do nothing on Christmas day but just sit at home and for it to be just another day. However, as my dad has always told me, "The Lord knew what he was doing when he gave a little mother four sons." That is definitely true. A couple weeks ago, I received a call from number two son inquiring what my plans were for Christmas? I shared with him my plans to do nothing; but he wouldn't hear of it. He invited me to accompany him and his wife to their church on Christmas eve. I quickly accepted the invite as nothing being better than praising the Lord on Christmas eve. "B" also told me he wanted me to spend the night and spend Christmas day with them (Wow, something to look forward to). He then invited my number three son who is usually not particularly open to spending a lot of family time together. However, he joined us and we had a fantastic evening of dinner, going to see the holiday lights at a popular park here and church (at 11:00p.m.).

The next morning we slept in kind of late but upon arising on Christmas day, we had a wonderful circle of prayer, opening presents along with taking pictures (at which time I became ornery and started to put rabbit ears behind my daughter-in-law and that started a chain of rabbit ears in the pictures and a lot of laughs). Ohhhh and the presents, they started giving me presents and I thought they would never stop coming. We had a great time exchanging gifts. After eating breakfast, we went to visit other members of her family and this went on pretty much throughout the day. My other sons called and we exchanged highlights of our day and it seems as though everyone had a great Christmas.

To all my blogging buddies -- I would like to hear about your Christmas -- also I pray that each and everyone of you will be blessed from this day forward.

Received some shocking news towards the end of the day: We lost a great musician who was one of my favorites during my teen years, James Brown.

What about Hope?

2006-12-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

David Cho, one of our Blog buddies, wrote a post on “hope,” a fascinating post in which he put a lot of thought into. He more or less ask those who commented to write a blog on what we feel hope is or means. Here is my version of what “hope” means to me.

Webster’s New World Third College Edition Dictionary says “hope” is a feeling that what is wanted will happen; desire accompanied by expectations.

I believe that hope means that someone wants something to happen whether it is good or bad. One may hope for or want a new car, a new house, etc. The Bible says: “ask and you will receive it, seek and you will find; knock and the door shall be opened to you”. Someone may hope for revenge on another person for a negative act against them. The Bible says: “Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord.”

Colossians 1:27 states …which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. Psalm 71:5 says for thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou are my trust from my youth. After reading a few scriptures on hope, I came to the conclusion that the Lord God is our hope.

Hope also means to me that “There could be a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Does Still Water Run Deep????

2006-12-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the saying "still water runs deep?" Well one of my sons proved this to be true. In his younger years as a child growing up, he was very quiet and shy (so everyone thought). I didn't get calls from the teacher because of his acting out behavior except once when he was in high school, the teacher called to tell me he was talking too much in class with a young lady who had a crush on him. I didn't get on his case because I was so happy to hear that he was talking.

Oh how I thought I was raising an angel (WRONG). When he was in second grade, he wrote a love letter to a girl in his class -- it said "I love you -- you give me goose bumps." I still have the letter to this day that has his drawing of him with the goose bumps. After all of my angels (so I thought), became adults and no longer had to fear being punished for their negative behaviors -- guess what. I have had the pleasure of hearing the truth from their own mouths. All of this happening while I was at work; thinking my sons were at home behaving themselves.

Actually, they were some fairly good guys. I enjoyed all the things we did together from little league to helping them find their first car to graduation day, etc. I could actually go on and on with this post but I will cut it short.

From Obituary Reading People/ To Who is Expecting the Birth of His First Child?

2006-12-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

I have noticed that when a person picks up the newspaper, one of the first places they go to is the obituaries to see who has passed away. Even though no one wants to see a friend, relative, acquaintance die, I believe the object of going into that part of the newspaper has to do with curiosity -- looking to see if anyone you know has died lately and wanting to be the first to tell someone to see their reaction. It seems to me that during this time of year, deaths of people we know are on the increase. Between last November until this date, there has been approximately four people I know who died in Hospice. I have never had to visit anyone there until this past year. Presently, an old friend of mine who started school the same time I did as a little girl is now in Hospice and of course the first reaction to hearing that news is one of sorrow, thus knowing that person will die within the next day or two or perhaps in a couple of weeks to come. I have often wondered if anyone has ever left Hospice as a result of being healed -- another chance at life.
What a morbid post, but this is what was on my mind.

On a much happier note, my number two son and his wife are expecting their first baby in March. At one time, the wife didn't want to have children, and number two son went along with it out of love for his wife. Now, at age 40, he's excited he's going to be a daddy. This is my football playing, all around athlete son who looks very awkward doing anything domestic other than playing sports. Now he has to learn how to change diapers, bathe, feed the baby and stay up all night when he/she wakes them up every night for the first "I don't know how many months."

Insomnia

2006-11-17T03:55:00.000-08:00

Woke up at about 4:40 this morning -- another bout with insomnia. Said morning prayer, turned on television for the weather and here I am on line. Nothing particular to say. Had a little drama going on yesterday but I put that like I do everything else in the Lord's hands. I guess I had a lot on my mind. Hope you all have a blessed day.

Cho Cho, if you are reading this, I know you agree with me about putting Brother Buck in the hands of the Lord? I do it everyday.

A Couple Little Tidbits

2006-11-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

Last evening I attended a religious concert where my number three son sang a few solos. Afterwards I returned home and decided to watch a VHS movie. I turned on the television and the VCR/DVD player, then set it up to play the movie. I got pretty frustrated because it appeared the player wasn't working. I kept pushing the "play button," and turning the set off and on plus working with the remote control. Finally I decided the system was broke. When I turned around to go do something else, I discovered the video was tucked under my arm. DUH Ms. Gig -- you need to put the video in if you want to see the movie.

Today when I got to work, my supervisor let me in the door as I was carrying some papers for the office. Shortly after I got to my desk, I said "oh no, I left my purse in the car" I'll have to go back out and get it. After putting the papers on the desk, there was my purse in my hands. MZ GIG, WHAT'S UP WITH THAT???

A Triibute to Ed Bradley

2006-11-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

At this time I would like to join many others who are remembering Ed Bradley, from 60 minutes who died this morning of Leukemia. I was shocked when I saw it on the news while attending the birthday party of my brother's step-daughter. Ed will be greatly missed and always remembered as the intelligent awarding winning CBS'anchor man on 60 minutes, the first black White House Correspondent, and someone who represented himself and his country well. His life story is very interesting; something I was unaware of until tonight when I came across his story on the internet and watched the coverage of his life on the news. I saw him on 60 minutes many times and to me, he was a newsman like Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather, etc. It's strange how you really don't know a lot about a person until they pass away.

To the family, friends, co-workers, and fans of Mr. Bradley; this is indeed a sad day, but we know that his life was a legacy and he will not be forgotten. You are all in my prayers.

Who Reads Instructions?

2006-11-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Certainly not I -- at least not all of them. I was so angry with myself Friday afternoon. Approximately a few weeks ago an intra office memo went out to all staff through our e-mail account, inviting us to a birthday party for our CEO who is turning 40. He is such a nice personable person and I really like him; therefore, I was looking forward to attending his birthday party. The night before, I went out and got some little "over-the-hill" type gag gifts and a humorous card.

The invitation had been sent out to us several times reminding us not to forget the party. I knew the time and the date so on Friday, I mapped out my plans -- I would go to the store on the way to the southeast branch of the company I work for. I work in one of the west side branches and it takes at least 15 minutes to get from one to the other. I went to the store and purchased a pecan pie, which was on sale. All the time I was planning to myself things I would say to tease the CEO about turning 40. I got to the Southside branch at about 11:20 and the party started at 11:15. Oh five minutes late, not bad. I went into the office and spoke to the receptionist who looked sort of puzzled and began chatting with me. She then asked what I was doing out there and I said to attend the CEO's party. She looked at me sort of puzzled and told me it wasn't there, it was in fact at one of the other west side locations. I then remembered that I had not read the whole flyer we received but only part of it and just assummed it was on the Southside. I was "hot" but had no one else to be mad at but myself. I argued with myself all the way back to the west side and was almost an hour late. It was a fun party and everything turned out well.

Another incident was when I decided to make some hot cereal in the micro-wave. Again I didn't read the instructions, saying there wasn't enough time to do so; therefore, I guessed at how much cereal and water, etc. to put in the bowl and started the oven going. When I heard the bell go off, I went to the kitchen, and took out the cereal. It was hard as a brick. Again, I ruffled my feathers about not following instructions. I believe he Lord gave me a moral to this story. Instructions are given to us so that we will not make mistakes and have to pay the consequences. He gave us the best book of instructions ever which tells us how to live a full, healthy wholesome and most of all Spiritual life; but we must read all of the instructions and follow them to a "T" and the outcome will become eternal life.

About African-Americans and the "Motherland"

2006-10-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Part One: The following is my opinion of how I have perceived things in the past and now in the present:

It should be noted that this post is not meant to offend anyone or any race -- it is just my perception of how I viewed this subject as I grew up.

Last week I overheard someone on the radio ask why African Americans name their babies such names as: Tyshika, Nakeisha, Deiondre, Tanisha, LaTisha and so on. I was unable to listen long enough to hear a response to that.

Therefore, here is my response, or opinion. Years ago, the Black community accepted the fact that their ancestors are from Africa. I would say that there was probably a time that we were not too proud of that. Whenever there were films shown about the African people, especially in school, they were poorly dressed, the females running around half naked, people living in huts, giving us the impression of an uncivilized place of uncivilized people who wore what looked like large wooden ear-rings in their noses and circular or oval pieces of wood in their lips or they just plain had big lips. The impressions of the African people we saw back in our days were embarrassing. We did not have the privilege of seeing the part of Africa where there are offices, schools, homes and where the country looks like any other part of the world and is beautiful.

At that time, the "negro" or "black" population did not realize that our ancestors were from Africa, thus making us have African blood running through our veins. I can remember when we became aware of the fact, that we were decedents of Africa and became proud of it. Therefore, it became our privilege to learn of that part of our heritage, and this became publicly known around the country. As a part of becoming proud of our ancestry, we became "African-Americans" instead of "negros" and decided it was time to take on names that were similar to African names. This was a part of our pride, again, our acceptance of our heritage; we belonged to a group of people. The African people are beautiful, intellegent,suffocated; a proud people. Actually the names are beautiful; they may be hard to spell and pronounce but those names represent us as a black African race of people. We need to be accepting of those names because they identify us as a people.

Unrelated circumstance: Speaking of senior moments: I generally call my phone at home or at work to remind myself not to forget to do this or that. This past week, I called my phone mail twice to leave a message not to forget something but forgot was I was going to remind myself to do.

To Have Faith or Not to Have Faith -- That is the question?

2006-10-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's been approximately one week ago tomorrow since I encountered the second snake in my basement and I haven't been down in the basement since. What makes it so bad, I have been going out on faith about pretty much everything else, such as flying to Texas when I swore I would never fly, going on a cruise which I thought I'd never do; going in the water with the stingrays in the Grand Cayman; paying tithes even when it seems as though the money would not stretch, but it does. I have actually been satisfied with myself for going out on faith about a great deal of things and when I pray, I just leave it in his hand and go on without worrying; so...

Why can I not go out on faith, trust God and go down in my basement where I had put some clothes in the wash and there they are still in the washer. I didn't get a chance to start the washer. I have been having flash backs and keep seeing those snakes in my mind. I keep telling myself to have faith and go downstairs, but I simply can't do it. This is a way of telling God i don't trust that there will be none down there. On my way home from church one evening, I was listening to the radio and I heard someonne repeat a scripture "God did not give us the spirit of fear. I know that must have been a message to me not to be firghtened and lean on God. This is a situation that needs serious prayer and I am asking you all for prayer. Thank you in advance.

ANOTHER SNAKE IN THE BASEMENT

2006-09-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

I AM FURIOUS!!!! ABOUT READY TO JUMP OUT OF MY SKIN!!! THERE IS ANOTHER SNAKE IN MY BASEMENT AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!!! I CAN'T GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE FAST ENOUGH, I HATE SNAKES AND AM VERY FRIGHTENED OF THEM. ACTUALLY I'M STILL HAVING FLASH BACKS FROM THE LAST TIME I SAW A SNAKE IN MY BASEMENT!!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!! "YELLING OUT LOUD!!!" WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! I'M LIVID, JUST LIVID!!!

Using My Time Wisely ?????

2006-09-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

When I was in Elementary School (it was called "grade School" then) the grades on our report cards were: S = Satisfactory, I = Needs to improve and U=Unsatisfactory, with the "S" being the highest grade. Each time I received a report card it stated something like "doesn't use time wisely." I often wondered what they meant by that, after all I did well at school so how could they possibly say that I wasn't using my time wisely.

Now that I am MUCH older, I can see what they meant. I will start something and before I finish one thing, I've switched to something else. Whenever I plan to get a lot done around the house, I end up doing everything but. Take tonight for instance, I am supposed to be doing some extensive cleaning and throwing out things I don't need because I put my house on the market to sell. I want the house to look very nice when people come to see it. HOWEVER, what am I doing???? Blogging of course. I got some things done between watching television among other things. I suppose I'd better get back to what I'm supposed to be doing and try to stick to it, after all, it's almost my bed time.

"Why These Dreams?"

2006-09-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

What's up with these dreams? This is unreal; do they mean something? This has been going on for quite a while. Here's the scoop: I was married for approximately 17 years, and that was a little over 40 years ago. We were divorced in 1980. We both eventually moved on with our lives even though there were four sons born to this union. We never see each other but maybe once a year and that is in passing. I fell in love hard with him back then, even though there were a lot of issues in our marriage. You might say he was my first real love. Soooo why do I have periods of time when I dream about him night after night after night. The man in my dreams is the young good looking one that he was when we were married. I believe him to be long gone. The guy he is today has let himself go and his appearance leaves nothing to be desired. He’s an alcoholic -- need I say more? I am actually ashamed to let anyone know that I was once married to him. Granted I’m not judging a book by his cover, he had a great personality when we were going together; however; that changed some time during the marriage.

I have not figured our why he appears in my dreams a lot. I'm not in love with him any more and I’m generally not thinking about him when I go to bed. One night I dreamed about him and I almost felt as though I was developing feelings for him but after I thought about it, the problem was I couldn’t get the dream off of my mind. Incidentally, the person in these dreams is the one I married years ago, not the person he has become now. When I woke up, I became frustrated and kicked him out of my dreams by asking the assistance of God to help me stop dreaming about him. Soooo, I haven’t dreamed about him since. But guess sometimes I may be missing his appearances in my dreams; after all, we usually have a great time; just llike back in the day; however, I really shouldn’t invite him back – he no longer exists.

Learning to Post Pictures

2006-08-25T08:57:00.001-07:00

I am presently learning how to post pictures on my blog. This is a picture of my youngest son and his youngest daughter. We were in one of those stores where you choose a bear or a doll and dress it (can't remember the name of the store). We decided to put one of those doll wigs on "Q" to see what she looked like in one of them. We have a lot of fun clowning with the kids.

As School Starts, the Holiday are Just Around the Corner

2006-08-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

School is starting back in Iowa. It seems like yesterday that the kids were let out and excited about summer. "We are moving right along" as I always say. Also one of my sayings is "right after school starts, we are looking at Christmas." Actually, I'm still trying to balance the budget from last Christmas. Ha, Ha,

Can you believe it? The holidays are pretty much upon us. Right after Labor Day, we will be going right into the season. Have you ever looked up the history or origin of the holidays? They all have pretty much originated from some kind of religious background. I have friends and/or some members of my church who claim that the holidays are pagan, and that may very well be. I know if you look it up in the encyclopedias, some of them are considered to be pagan. The Bible speaks against paganism, however, I'm not saying holidays are sinful. Even though there are some people in our church who do not believe in celebrating Christmas and Easter, I really don't know what to think, or maybe I just don't want to go there or face it since I enjoy them. I know that due to the way I was raised, and some of the religious teachings that I have had, plus some information I have gotten off of the internet, some of those holidays could be less than desirable, spiritually and most of all, Halloween. When I was a child, we had no thought of Satan as being the reason for halloween. We just enjoyed dressing up and going out begging for candy with our friends and comparing treats when we got home. In those days, people in the neighborhood went all out, they baked cookies, made popcorn balls, candy and all sorts of things and we didn't have to worry about anything being contaminated or harmful and the treats didn't have to be in packages from the stores. There were, however, pranks being played in those days and more so back in my parent's days, such as kids going around toppling over outhouses, jumping on the back of trolley buses and pulling the trollleys out of service and of course, soaking your windows if you had no threats. Also back in my days, we actually were given the opportunity of doing tricks for treats; however, now a days, there are so many kids who come to your door at once, there's not enough room or time to let them all do anything, plus you are afraid who may be coming to your door and why; plus parents now have to escort their children around just to keep them safe. One more thing, We enjoyed creating our own costumes and didn't need to go to the department store and buy expensive ones. We came up with some pretty funny and original ones and enjoyed every bit of it.

I don't know why I chose this direction to post on today, but I think that while I was commenting on school starting and the holidays being just around the corner, my mind just kept going on in this direction. I really don't like to be one of those people who find fault or bad in everything that is good or fun, but God is the most important factor in my life, and if I want to prove my love and loyalty to him; I must pray that I will seek out His Will about everything and be more than willing to obey.

"The Great Grandson"

2006-08-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

Met the great grandson and he is a doll and very hard headed. He's only a year old and goes up and down stairs, jumps off the couch, is all over everywhere, and loves his little uncle "K." It's so funny, he latches on to "K" hugs him, follows him whereever he goes and "K" loves it. "K" is jealous of any attention we give to the grandson and makes sure that he is right in the middle of any interaction we give to little "T." "K" keeps telling me "T" likes me better than he does you."

My granddaughter is getting married next February, so we went looking for wedding dresses. That was fun. She is very pretty and looked wonderful in every dress she tried on. Yesterday I was ill and could not go with them but they found a dress and she was pretty excited when she got back. They will be leaving today so I probably won't see them again until February. She has matured somewhat in that her cooking is pretty good. However, some things never change.

My daughter-in-law has given her some very good advice about taking her marriage seriously and making a commitment to God. My daughter-in-law is very Spiritual and lives up to her beliefs. Maybe that is the reason she can put up with Buck like she does, he he he

"It's HOT in Texas!"

2006-08-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Went for a walk this Texas morning. It was on it's way to HOT. By the time I got done, I was sweating and water was dripping down my back and my hair feels like I just rinsed it. The weather will be in the hundreds pretty much all this week.

Oh oh, friends, I have just been summoned by the grandson to play with him and his toys, and that is an offer I cannot refuse. We have played hide and seek pretty much all day the last couple of days, watched a couple of movies, plalyed hide and seek, read books, played hide and seek, did a little math, (he is smart as a whip, cute as a button, and has more energy than all of us put together; plus he can't sit still a minute), and we played hide and seek.

The great grandson is due in this evening with his mother (my oldest granddaughter) and I will have to let you know how that goes; in the meantime, I need to go entertain "K" who just came in with a silly pair pf plastic glasses with a big nose, mustach, and beard.

One of my Worse Fears Came to Light Today...

2006-08-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

If I can quit feeling jigger and jumpy, maybe I can complete this post. Anywho, today I was in the basement and had just put a tub of clothes in the washer when I looked over across from the washer and spotted a snake. OHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY, that is a complete "no, no" I was able to run past it and get upstairs but was quite jumpy. I called my dad and he decided to come over and kill it. He brought a shovel with him and we went downstairs, both of us were scared, I mean really scared, only I was worse off then he because he has killed snakes before, using a shovel. When I saw it move, I began to scream and he was hacking at it and chopped it into, and he grabbed my clothes out of the washer because I was not going to put them in the dryer and have to go back downstairs. Anyway, on my way out to the car, I opened my front door, only to see lots of wasps flying around, so I had to rush to my car, went to the store and purchased some spray to get rid of the wasps, therefore, when I returned home, I had to spray my way into the house. I'm glad that I am flying to Texas tomorrow for two weeks, and I will not return home for sometime after I return from Texas. Excuse any typo's, mispellings, etc. I am too shook up to proof this post.

"God's Miracle/Biird in House

2006-08-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

God has done it again! Wow I love him so! I was really upset earlier today because I thought someone had stolen some money out of my purse and I owed this money to someone. I searched and searched but to no avail. I didn't have enough money in my checking account to replace it; therefore, I took on some added stress. I decided to just not worry about it because I was sure God would handle it for me. I knew it would take one of those awesome, right on time miracles that the Lord does in times like these. What do you think happened? Yes, I found the money and had more. I had let go and let God and he came through as usual. "Thank you Jesus"

Another thing, after I got home from church I proceeded to open my front door but before I could go into the house, a bird flew past me into my home. As far as I'm concerned, birds are not welcome inside the house -- only outside. I panicked and left right back outside. I went to my next door neighbor's house and knocked on the door. Because it seemed as though he wasn't home, I approached another neighbor whho was walking his dog. I asked him to help me get the bird out and meanwhile my other neighbor, who came over and tried to shew the bird toward the door. Meanwhile thhe other neighbor came in, and between the two of them they got the bird out. I wish you could have seen them, they were being very cautious or shall I say kind of scared themselves. It was so funny to see.

"What Have I Done Now???

2006-08-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

While on my way to church this past Sabbath, I came to a stop light. A woman drove past me going in the opposite direction. I looked up and it appeared that she was angry at me about something as I could tell she was kind of yelling and waving her hands at me. I looked really puzzled because I could not figure out what I possibly could have done to make her annoyed at me, so I drove on to church. After the services, I went to my car, got in and proceeded to drive off of the driveway when all of a sudden, I looked in the side view mirror and saw a fellow member waving her hands to me, trying to get my attention so I would stop. After stopping, I rolled down my window and asked what was wrong. She told me that one of the tires on my car was flat, really flat. I parked the car and looked at the tire and indeed it was very flat. At that moment, I remembered the woman earlier who appeared to be yelling at me and decided that she was just trying to tell me my tire was flat. OH NO!! I didn't drive all the way to church on a flat tire did I??? Well I guess I did and didn't feel the car wobble or anything. DUH!! What am I coming to?

"The Crazy Things we Do and Laugh About"

2006-07-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

One of my daughters-in-law and I have a unique relationship in that we share funny tidbits about ourselves with each other. We both have funny senior moments, laugh and try to blame it on the fact that those funny things happen as a result of us being around each other.

When I was there helping with my granddaughter who recently had a bone marrow transplant to be cured of sickle cell disease, we kidded, joked and crummed on each other for the whole two weeks I was there. It was therapeutic.

Some of the things we shared were stupid little habits we have, and it was funny when we found out that both of us do those crazy things, for instance: I don't like to see people sleeping with their heads buried in a pillow because I'm afraid they will suffocate; consequently, if I happen to put a stuffed bear, a doll, or etc. on it's face, I will turn it face up as though I actually think it might suffocate, or I don't put boxes of food upside down on the shelf because if a human being is on his/her head too long, the blood will rush to it. It's almost as though I think everything has feelings like I do; however, I really know better. As we were sharing these funny little habits, my granddaughter began to laugh at us, and she decided that for my sake, she will make sure that all of her dolls are face up.

About a week ago, I went grocery shopping. Among my groceries, I purchased a can of beans. When I opened it, the first thing I saw was a bug floating on top. In order to make sure it was a bug, I took it out with a spoon and it began to move. Therefore, I got a sandwich bag and put the bug in so that I could return it, along with the beans to the grocery store. But wait, "this bug may suffocate in the bag" O thought;" therefore, I punched a whole in it so the bug could breathe.

My daughter-in-law and I usually have what I call "senior moments," such as looking all over for my purse and it's on my shoulder, putting something in the refrigerator that should be put in the oven,looking for her glasses and they are on top of her head, etc. Sharing these little tidbits can be amusing, and laughing at them between the two of us is therapeutic. I enjoy my time with her because we have this kind of relationship and we laugh at ourselves a lot, plus we have crazy fun times with the kids. She cracks me up because she knows every word of the songs that her kids listen to on CD's or the radio.

Today, I was talking to one of the secretaries at work and she shared with me that last night she got a sweet tooth and wanted something sweet to eat but there was nothing around the house; therefore, she happened to have a container of icing and ate all of it. I fell out laughing because I have done that same thing several times.

There are so many other "dumb" things that we do, and laugh about when we share them with each other. Actually, it is funnier when you hear us tell it because we are able to put more umph into our stories.

It's Time for the Grandkids Again - Happy Grandma!

2006-07-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Talked to the "Little Man" last evening. He sounded so grown up. Mommy said he's getting taller. Dad says he looks like Mommy's dad. I can't imagine; I still see the little guy I visited last summer. It's hard to watch the little ones grow away from you. He will be five this year but I bet he still has that prize winning personality. Mommy and dad have kept him busy this past summer with soccer ball, and T-ball, basketball (which he enjoyed tremendously and was good at it too), and whatever else he was doing; *grandma is smiling from ear to ear.* Little T is such a happy little camper, you can hear his smile when he talks to you and his laughter in the background when talking to the parents (between the yelling "get down from there," "don't do that," "eat your green beans," and whatever kind of trouble he is getting into. I must say, he is all boy.

This summer I will have the pleasure of seeing my great grandson for the first time. I'm looking forward to that. Will that be a pleasure? well, from what I hear from mom when talking to her, it's going to be quite a challenge, but who cares? I'm grandma -- I can deal with it. *smiley face*

I'm Not Sure How I am Feeling

2006-07-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not angry or mad. Am I sad? No, livid - maybe, disappointed, outdone perhaps, or maybe just a little peeved, I guess.

After my mother's death 10 years ago, I have been more or less tip towing around my dad and pretty much anyone I love because I'm afraid if I say anything wrong to them, tell them "no" about anything or basically let them know when they have upset me, that they may die before I have a chance to make things right and I would feel guilty.

A few years after my mom died, my dad re-married. Even though I was in my fifties, I didn't take to the person he married, and most of our family felt the same way. It seemed as though she was unfriendly and just different. I might even say that there have been red flags. She is a lady Evangelist and seems to be a devout Christian. The reason I feel sort of funny about her is because my dad has always and still tells me things that made me feel that way, before and after the marriage. I will not elaborate on it, but there are several things going on in their marriage that makes me uneasy. Like I said before, my uneasy feelings are a result of things my dad has said, especially when he needs to vent. Usually, I'll just say, he puts me in the middle of their situations.

There was a situation just yesterday that involving my dad where he again put me in the middle, and apparently I either said something or my body language relayed my disapproval. Even though their affairs are none of my business, because I love my dad, I just want him to be happy and not taken advantage of; therefore, when he takes me into confidence and tells me something that he's perhaps unhappy about, I will make negative comments, and complain about her. I do; however, treat her nice when I am around her so she would have no idea that he's been talking to me.

Yesterday I picked him up from church and took him home. That's when the conversation came up. Later that evening, he called and told me not to say anything about what we talked about, which he always does after one of his venting sessions. He tole me I act as though I don't accept her, but my brother does, and I am causing problems and I need to give her a chance. I was frustrated because I think I told him that the reason I feel the way I feel is because of what he tells me. In my opinion, it is him causing the problem by venting to me and expecting me to ignore what he is telling me. I am no doubt wrong because I allow him to do so, but I just want him to feel he can talk to me when he needs to. I then told him that I don't want him telling me anything else about them and he agreed. I need to know if I am in fact causing a problem. Need some advice

"He Sang His Presentation"

2006-07-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

What can a mother say when one of her sons has made yet another great milestone in his life. Last week, number three son went to Wisconsin for the whole week to prepare to get his Master's Degree. Apparently they had to work in groups for the week. Each day some of the students had to do their presentations. There were approximately 500. They did their presentations in their own groups, and when it was "T's" turn, he sang the first part of his presentation. He is a vocal music teacher and has a talent for acting and singing as well. Somehow it got around that he could sing and then he was asked to sing in front of 500 or more people which he did. He kept getting compliments on his singing the rest of the day.

Also, I would like to wish him a very happy birthday and may the Lord continue to bless him and his siblings throughout their life time.

"Living With Guilt"

2006-07-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Guilt -- it can eat you alive! Today was "G's" funeral as he was cremated just after his death and we have been waiting for his family to arrive from out of town. It was a wonderful service. I sat there and listened to the music, comments, and just took in the whole service. All of a sudden my eyes were fixed on a small porcelin type square container. I knew right away that his ashes were in there. It gave me a feeling of sadness because knowing that was what was left of him.

I have been in my own way mourning him. He was my cousin and someone I really cared about. No matter how he lived his life, he always made me laugh and everyone else he came in contact with.

The guilt I'm feeling today is the fact that after being in a nursing home for about a year or more, he finally got out and was renting a cute little house. He came by one day to visit me and told me where he lived and asked me to come by some time. I said I would. He came by again some time later and visited with me but since I was on my way (I think to church), I couldn't visit with him very long. The last time he called me, he was inebriated and I can hardly remember our conversation, but I do remember him mentioning to me to drop by and again I said I would. In my travels about town, to and from work, out to the lake to walk, to the store and other places, I did intend to go by and visit, but I never made it. In my mind now I wondered if he was lonely and just needed someone to talk to. I keep thinking that perhaps if I had gone over there a few times, maybe he wouldn't have been drinking and maybe I could have made a difference. I know that God will relieve me of this guilt some time soon, but in the mean time, I keep think of him and tearing up. Please pray for me.

"I'm Not Doing Anything Without My Dad"

2006-07-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

She exclaimed as she told me her happy news. I was very touched as I listened to my oldest granddaughter tell me how her boyfriend took her to dinner, and proposed to her, after he asked her dad for permission to marry her first. As we talked about the wedding plans, she blurted out -- "I want my dad to be there." "I'm not going to do anything without my dad." I beamed as I heard the love in her 23-year-old voice, as she sounded like a little girl who truly loves her dad.

When she was three and one-half months old, she came to live with us. A beautiful little baby girl who was quickly spoiled by our family. Her dad was in college and took on custody of his little girl and as young as he was, he was like both mother and father to her. I remember when he was in college and how all of his classmates admired this young student who was not only the "student of the month" the whole time he was there, but prevailed in his classes while raising an infant child. He even received notes from his peers about how they admired him.

Just before the graduation ceremony, there was a program that took place where a taping was shown of each student, their accomplishments and their goals. Afterwards there was a social gathering kind of like an open house. Dad had his little girl right there with him, she was dressed to a "T" and dad was proud.

Number one granddaughter presented many challenges throughout her life (and that's putting it mildly), but dad hung in there with her even throughout the drama she presented constantly, etc., even when he sometimes felt like giving up. She always knew who she could count on even when she was angry with him and disrespectful.

I cannot leave out the wife as she was strict, but loving and "S" needed that even though at times she resented her step mom, but in the long run, she learned to appreciate her and looked up to her as a true mother figure.

I have seen her grow in several ways during the past few years and now she is a mother, and I would say a pretty good one. The love between "S" and her is a very unique one as it is with most "daddy's and daughters." I am happy for her and hope the LORD will bless their marriage. God bless you "S" and I love you.

"Deep Thoughts"

2006-06-30T02:43:00.000-07:00

Early this morning I woke up and could not get back to sleep. What was in my thoughts? I was thinking about my cousin, "G" who died last Monday and how I found out yesterday he had already been cremated. My thoughts were on last Monday when I was at Hospice the night before he died. I guess you might say that I am livid because one day he is a living soul with a body and mind. I was able to talk to him and he was able to think and feel. I could look upon his face and see expressions, even though he was dying and it was absolutely horrible to see him that way, it was him in the flesh. Three days later, he is just ashes. I keep thinking about how one day you are living your life in your body and three days later you could be ashes, as though you never existed at all. I remember talking to him, kissing him on the forehead, brushing his hair back as I tried to say everything I wanted to say to him before he would pass away and I just cannot get over the fact that he's not him anymore.

I know this does not make much sense but to me, this is deep thinking. I have never experienced anything like I did last Monday. However, while I am typing, the Lord is helping me to understand because he brought to my mind that if he had never been cremated, "G" would still not exist anymore and would still not be a living being, but I guess the reality of my thinking is that at least there would be a body to prove that he was once here. I know that this is morbid, and probably doesn't make much sense but I just needed to vent and what better way to do it then on the blog, that way you could share your thoughts without bothering someone else that needs their sleep. I know that God will bring me through this like he does everything else and I must listen to my thoughts from Him.

Now I think about his siblings and how they were all at odds with each other and yet, now they have to come and bid him farewell without being able to make amends. How terrible that must be to be at odds with someone, never be reconciled and next thing you know they are gone. I can imagine how his four siblings must feel. There is one sister and you can say she's the backbone of the siblings. My cousin was angry with her for something she didn't do and she is the only one who was not at odds with any of her siblings. She is a believer and has Christ in her life. People cannot take God for granted; life is too short that is why while you still have a chance you should make peace with those you are at odds with, especially if are family. I must learn to listen to God and not trust my own thinking. Thanks for putting up with my morbid venting.

"A Very Sad Time"

2006-06-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

I spent most of last weekend at the hospital with my dad and he got out on Sunday (6-25-06). The next day (6-26-06)after returning from work and spending some time just at the house watching one of my favorite sitcoms, "Friends" I received a call from one of my cousins telling me that his brother had been in the hospital and they were transferring him to Hospice and that he wasn't going to make it this time. This cousin drank a lot and had gone to the hospital several times. Once he fell down the stairs backward and almost lost his life but he recovered. Later he ended up back in the hospital because of his drinking and as a result, he was court-ordered to a nursing home where he spent pretty much a year. While there, he was not allowed to drink. Whenever I went to visit him I would try to reason with him about his drinking from the standpoint that he had gone a long time without taking a drink so he could go from now on, and when he got out, he should not drink. However, he had to get a lawyer to help him get out of the nursing home. My dad and I visited him several times and he was back to his old habit, telling me he was only drinking beer. In my eyes, alcohol is alcohol whether it comes in beer or whatever. Anyway, a bunch of us all met at Hospice and gathered in his room. He was not coherent but could hear us talk to him. The staff member told us what to expect and to talk to him because he could hear us. He also informed us that this would be our last chance to say whatever we wanted to say to him. We spent the evening talking to him, praying for him, reading scriptures and we also got him to accept Christ as his Savior. At 4:44 a.m. the next morning, he passed away.

"You Said What?"

2006-06-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

I returned home from Minnesota last Thursday (6-22-06). My granddaughter is doing well and taking her situation like a real trooper. Pretty much on my arrival at home I got situated and decided to check my phone messages. Among those messages was a fellow congregant telling me that there will be a rehearsal for communion at church on Friday (6-23-06) at 6:30 p.m.

The next day I went to work but had to report to a different office for the day. At 4:00 I left work and went home to get ready for church. I checked my phone messages and there weren't any so I went on to church. When I arrived, the pastor was just ending a Bible lesson and afterwards he began the rehearsal by informing everyone how they will participate in the communion service and then I heard him say a couple of names of people who will not be there. All of a sudden I heard one of our deacons mention my dad's name and said that he had been rushed to the hospital earlier that day and had surgery. I was startled and looked at him, saying, "are you talking about my dad?" He said "yes" and repeated it to me. I had not been aware of the circumstances at all. I asked to be excused and went directly to the hospital where I found my dad and his wife. He said he had tried to get me at work and on my home phone and I told him I was working in another department where I work occasionally and I had not gotten a message on my home phone, plus he has the phone number of both offices.

It was definitely a shock to find out that my dad was not only in the hospital but had undergone surgery. He had a cyst on his hip that had gotten quite large over a couple of days. His pressure went way up and they were having trouble getting it down and because they couldn't stop the bleeding from his surgery earlier that day, he had to go back to surgery and have the bleeding stopped. (Wow, what an ordeal). Thanks to God answering prayer, everything came out fine and after a two day stay at the hospital, he was released today.

My dad will be 86-years-old in July and is a work-a-holic. He has always been a very busy person who has retired four times. He just cannot function unless he is working. The last time he retired which was last year, I think will be the last time; however, he is very active around the house. The doctor has told him to slow down and to not carry heavy things which he wasn't supposed to do anyway, but has never stopped doing. It is my opinion that he will continue to do more than he is supposed to do because he was supposed to be keeping still in the hospital but was wandering around all over and busying himself in spite of our trying to stop him.

"I'm Outta Here"

2006-06-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going to Minnesota to help my son and his wife with M while she re-cooperates. She is doing well and was released from the hospital early. I can't wait to see the girls. I will be back on the 22nd.

I have been up all night with insomnia. My son offered to drive me to Minnesota. I guess I'll have to take him up on that. It has become quite pleasant for me on the highway because it seems as though the other drivers are playing a game such as passing each other. I will pass someone, a few minutes, they will pass me and probably another 20 min. There's another car playing the game with me. (I'm sure that I'm the only one playing this game). TA DA!

"Once a Year, My Dad and I Together"

2006-05-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

This Memorial Day, I was blessed to spend some quality time with my dad. I have not always been thrilled to spend a lot of time with him, because he would usually do or say something that would rub me the wrong way, however, I have felt what I would say is the “Spirit of God” reasoning with me about my dad.

I took him to the cemeteries yesterday to put flowers on the graves he has so diligently decorated over the years. I can remember him, my mother, grandmother, and grandfather going out to decorate graves every year. Then one year “grandpa” passed away leaving this task to the three of them, and several years after that, my grandmother passed away; leaving my parents to do the same ritual. Some of those relatives (on both sides of the family) died many years ago, but “daddy,” as I still affectionately call him is very determined to continue remembering those people each and every year. My mother passed away in 1995, thus passing the torch to my dad and me. Every year since we have gone to the graveyards and remembered our loved ones together.

Yesterday after I picked him up and we headed toward Glendale Cementary, I relayed to him how much I cherish this time we get to spend together and that I consider this our time.

I have been blessed to have him for 85 years, most of which I have been angry with him for things he did in the past. By the Grace of God, even though he can still work my nerves, I am starting to realize how much I really love and appreciate him. At least as I have said in a previous blog, “at least he is still here to work my nerves as do many parents to their children.”

“Daddy” has a bladder problem (as do I), but his is much worse. He constantly has to use the bathroom. I remember when it aggravated me whenever I took him places that I would constantly have to wait for him to use the restroom. However, yesterday, I didn’t mind it and believe me, he must have used it about four times at Glendale Cemetary. We spent approximately two hours there trying to find graves we decorate every year; but it did not bother me as it would have in the past. After we left the one cemetery, we went to Sunset Memorial Gardens where my mother is buried. After another trip to the restroom,we took care of a few other graves. After that, I spent approximately an hour and a half trying to help him find a park where our church was having a picnic. He kept saying to me “I’m sorry I’m being a burden/nuisance to you. I told him to “quit it,” I don’t mind," and I meant it.

After I took him home (as we did not find the picnic spot), I watched him climb the steps to his house as he slowly went up, holding on to the rail. It brought tears to my eyes to see a man who has always been so active and a workaholic, take so long to climb the stairs. “Will this be our last year going to the graves together?” I certainly hope not and I will always look forward to this past-time with him as long as God allows me the pleasure to do so.

"From One Granddaughter's Cord to Another Granddaughter's Marrow"

2006-05-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!

During the recent cord blood transplant my granddaughter had, she underwent a week of chemo-therapy before the actual proceedure. Mom had combed her hair the night before and it started coming out.

Journal

Thursday, May 25, 2006 8:36 PM CDT

Yesterday we played beauty shop and got rid of all the extra hair on "M's" pretty little round head. It was hard to sit there and comb out all the hair she had grown back in two years, Daddy also had a hard time with it, but "M" like the trooper she is decided to be the life of the party. She told us how many cartoon characters she looked like with her hair gone. Daddy said she looked like "Crocker" from the "Fairly Odd Parents". We all laughed and took it in stride because it didn't bother "M" one bit. She was a little calmer today, a little more nauseas. Her white count is .1 (that's good in transplant terms). Hopefully things will continue to progress positively.....!!!

This was the last update we received on my granddaughter's website concerning the cordblood she received from her baby sister. She had beautiful long hair. This is her second transplant in her fight against Sickle Cell Anemia. Asking for everyone's prayers for her. Thank you.

"DOING BETTER TODAY!"

2006-05-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the LORD, my little girl is doing better today. We have been playing with her Bratz dolls and other stuffed toys. We talk for them and have made up story lines just like the soap operas. The girls love it when their silly grandma plays dolls with them. Okay, okay -- I am a kid at heart. Little Ms. "M" and her younger sister "O" have a lot of Bratz dolls and they know all of the names. There are boys and girls, plus little baby Bratz. These dolls play together, go together, date, have arguments, make up, go to time out for being bad, go to school, get kicked out, go to games, dining, dancing and to the movies. I was afraid for a minute that the nurse might have me committed, as she was laughing at us having such a great time playing dolls. When "O" comes today, we will resume the next episode with the teenagers in our sitcoms. ha, ha, ha -- I love my grandchildren, they are bright spots in my life.

Oh, oh, I haven't talked to "K" yet this weekend. I'm having withdrawals. I must call and have my weekend conversation with him so we can sing each other songs and talk about his T-ball and soccer games.

The Day After Transplant Day

2006-05-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Today started off very stressful. My granddaughter developed a rash (hives) shortly after the transplant yesterday. This morning those hives started to itch and burn. She was so very uncomfortable and started to cry. It was so bad that I thought she was going to loose it. We told her doctor and she ordered some kind of medicine, but it took so long to get it. The Benedryl that had been put in her IV was not working today. It was very hard on grandma to see her that way. I can say this... Sickle Cell Anemia is NO JOKE. My granddaughter told me that this was about the worse thing she had gone through; that it was worse than the radiation she had undergone during the last transplant. After they finally got the medication in here, she was able to relax and she became her sweet little self again and her pleasant personality came back. I was praying a lot and asked for prayer. May God bless little "M" and keep her well and safe.

"TRANSPLANT DAY!

2006-05-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day in the life of my granddaughter. She had a "Cord Blood" transplant for the cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. Oh God, we are praying that it will work out and she will be healed and that there will be no complications and that her body will not reject it. We have every confidence in you and that everything will be successful.

Prayers for my Granddaughter

2006-05-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

I am at this moment sitting in the hospital room next to my precious little granddaughter. Tomorrow she will be receiving a bone marrow transplant for the cure to Sickle Cell Anemia. This will be her second transplant because the first one didn't take. She has a lot of prayer going up for her and I have every faith in God that this one will take. She is 12-years-old and very strong. This has been a long hard process for her because she has had to undergo chemo therapy and will have radiation before the transplant. Please pray for her and our family. Thank you

"MOTHER'S DAY BLESSINGS TO YOU"

2006-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is a special time that brings families together in gratitude and love. Here's hoping you all received many blessings on this day. If you are a mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle, single parent -- you have all been entrusted with the care and raising of some precious beings. Here's hoping you all had a happy mother's day and many more blessings to follow.

Excited about the new movie, "Superman Returns" Why?

2006-05-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about the new movie that is coming out "Superman Returns." It will air in June. Why am I so excited? It's a movie just like any other movie. I haven't really been into Superman movies that much since George Reeves starred as Clark Kent/Superman of the "Daily Planet" Newspaper in a weekly series of Supermannn many years ago when my brother, friends and I sat in front of the television each week to watch the program.

So why would I be so interested in this new movie "Superman Returns?" Because the star, Brandon Routh, is from Iowa. His dad, Ron Routh, was a co-worker of mine only a few years ago. When I first heard about Brandon being picked to play the new Superman, I called his dad and asked "can I speak to the dad of the new superman?" He laughed because he recognized my voice right away as we used to kid each other a lot when we were co-workers. He would tell me about Brandon's accomplishments and I would in turn, share with him the accomplishments of my sons. I don't know Brandon personally but I am proud of him.

"Not Much Time to Blog" "Kids are so Cute"

2006-04-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Whew! The days are going by too fast and so is time. It seems as though no sooner than I get home, do a few things, then it's time to go to bed. I have been trying to scrapbook my cruise. I love to scrapbook but it is time consuming.

The little "Cradle Roll" room at our church where I teach the little kids up to age seven, needs a little pick me up; therefore, I have been trying to create little things to put on the walls. I have been teaching the little kids during Sabbath School for years and I still enjoy it. They are so cute, even though they may become a challenge from time to time.

I have a cute little girl who joined my class a few months ago. She is either two or three (going on 21 as they say). I would say about the third time she was in my class I gave her a sad face for not doing as she was told. Later on that day when we went back to church for evening programming, I saw her with her mother and she looked at me with those big eyes and a frown and said "you gave me a "mad" face." I fell out laughing because I have never heard it called a "mad face" before. She told me that about three or four times that evening. Her mother and I got a big kick out of that one and mom explained to her why she got a "mad face." I still smile when I think about it.

"PRAISING OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST"

2006-04-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a day! Blessings all the way! Actually it started this past Friday night while watching the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), where there were several different cruifiction stories. I didn't know that there have been so many different movies made on that magnificant story. Later that night I fell asleep on the couch and slept there way into the middle of the night, yet I could hear the programming and music but didn't quite know what was being said or done, but you know, when I woke up and turned off the T.V. and went back to bed, I felt a certain peaceful atmosphere as though I could feel myself being blessed throughout the night, and you know, I really was. All the next day, I felt the same way and I believe that was even better than watching any other movie. It's kind of hard to discribe. I feel as though I have learned a lot over this weekend because I went to church with my number two son and his wife. It was held in "Veterans Memorial Auditorium" here. There were approximately ten thousand people who attended. The program was awesome. They were lifting up Christ, praising Him, worshiping Him, singing for Him and even had three large wooden crosses at the front of the stage with a replica of the crown of thorns on it. I have seen and heard the story over and over again this weekend and I could see it again and again. As we entered the auditorium, we were given a packet and inside the packet was a glow light shaped like a pen and each person had a different color of about five colors. At the end of the ceremony, we were told to hold up our lights and wave them. As we looked down and all around us we could see all the beautiful glow lights waving in the honour of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There's nothing like being reminded of what a awesome God we have and his sacrifice for us. It was such a tremendous sacrifice, I cannot even think of a word that would describe it as it should be. Here's hoping you were blessed on this day of rememberance of the reserection of our LORD.

"The Kid in Me"

2006-04-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

has been inside me all her life,
hiding behind the tender brown skin God gave me.
Sometimes she comes out to get a breath of fresh air,
making me smile, laugh and act downright giddy.
I was born one autumn day many years ago
when the leaves were all different and beautiful colors.
At that time the kid in me slept all day and night
It just wasn’t quite the time for her to blossom
But about a year later, she came to light.
Walking, playing with dolls was her delight;
Smiling and singing; and playing hop scotch
Bouncing a ball and picking up jacks;
Jumping rope, joking, playing hide and seek
Reading books, drawing and watching T.V.
Rocking on the couch and sucking her thumb
Watching my favorite cartoons was a lot of fun
Where has she gone, is she far away?
No – The kid in me is with me each and everyday.

Yes, I believe that there is a kid inside of everyone no matter how old you are.

I still like walking, playing with dolls with my granddaughters, joking, playing hide and seek with my grandson. I still like to sing, and draw. My favorite cartoon today is Walt Disney’s “The Jungle Book,”however,back in the day it was Cinderella. Rocking on couch is something I do when I am nervous.

How about you?

"Beautiful Day"

2006-04-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

It was simply a geogous day in our town today. It was almost perfect; however, nothing is perfect but the LORD. I went out to my favorite place to walk (Gray's Lake)and there were a lot of people out walking, running, skating, bike riding, and walking their pets. It seemed as though we were all anxious to get back into the swing of things. The wind was blowing just enough to keep us from getting too hot in the sun. So far this week I participated in water aerobics on Monday and walked at Gray's Lake yesterday and today. Gray's Lake is 2.6 miles around once and that is all I walked both days and am trying to get back into shape so as to go around twice like I was doing last year. Yesterday while walking, we had some of our clients with us. About three of them started to run and they were way ahead of us but were not far behind their caseworker who was also walking. By the time we got up close to them, I noticed one of our girls on bend and knees trying to catch her breath. The teacher I was walking with went to her and tried to get her calmed down but she was unable to and couldn't talk. Many people walked up to us and asked to help. When we tried to get her to the van we were riding in, she kept falling down and continued to try to breath, almost as though she was hyperventilating. Several of us tried carrying her, and finally we called 911. The ambulance came and picked her and the caseworker up and took them to the hospital. Later the client returned to school and was alright. Later I found out the she was alright but was sort of faking to get attention, although she still almost hyperventilated.

Also I like Daylight Saving's Time, but first I need to get used to it and then I hate when it's time to go back to regular time in October.

"What about this gambling thing?"

2006-03-31T15:13:00.000-08:00

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..."

2006-03-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

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..."

2006-03-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

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"

2006-03-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

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?!!!"

2006-03-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

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"

2006-03-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

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!"

2006-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-03-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Leaving Town Again

2006-02-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving town again to visit the grandchildren. Will be gone for a least a week. Will miss blogging and all of you. Pray for traveling mercies for me and my family.
I am looking forward to this as I always do when I get to see all of my grandchildren.

Have you Ever had a crush on a teacher?

2006-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

I get a daily devotation from prayermanager@liveprayerr.com. The writer of this devotation is Bill Keller. His devotations are usually very interesting and thought provoking. Today his subject was about students who get crushes on their teachers and how common it is becoming for students and teachers to have sex. He talked about how regularly this is happening and the news coverage of it.
In his devotation, Mr. Keller asked if anyone had developed a crush on a teacher. I began to think. Wouldn't you know that I remember having a crush on a second
grade art teacher, Mr. Evelith. He was tall and slender with dark hair. In fact all the girls at that school had a crush on him.

Question: Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Describe the teacher and what attracked you to him/her? Tell us about it.

"To Blog or Not to Blog"

2006-02-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

I had decided to leave the blog spot and give up posting. I started by deleting a great deal of my posts, but then I realized there were too many to delete. While I was pondering my decision to quit, I went back and began to read some of my old posts and then the comments. While reading all of your comments to me, I had a warm feeling come over me. How can I possibly give up writing, reading, commenting and receivng comments from such a great bunch of people as yourselves? Sometimes I do feel misplaced because of my age as I am a senior citizen blogger and am about two and a half years away from retiring. I can, however, relate to you all because I am young at heart and since I work with youngsters at work and church, I usually end up feeling like and calling myself everybody's mother and at work, they get a kick out of it. Whether I continue to blog or not, I must say this has been a wonderful experience for me and I'm not sure I can give you all up, but in the meantime, I consider you a fun bunch and I have learned to care about all of you. Love and Prayers, Mz. Gig

"A Pecan Pie and I"

2005-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Oh why oh why did I buy a pecan pie?
It was so tasty, so sweet and good
My taste buds could not let go of it
Even though I thought they should

One piece, two pieces, I don't need more
How can I resist this tastiness
I'll get another piece for sure

The pie, it says "have another piece of me"
"It won't hurt I did agree,
a little sliver won't bother me

All through the evening and the next day
I couldn't get away
from pie I got for the holiday.

Little by little it began to disappear
"I will get too fat" this was my fear
Don't fret my lady, be of good cheer
You will get rid of that weight next year

So the rest of the pie I finally ate
And now I'm hoping I won't gain weight

This poem was inspired by a true story; however, there are no names to protect the innocent.

Innocent? There's no innocence here. :-(

"Reminicing the Holidays Past"

2005-11-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

It’s funny that I can remember things way back when I was a child, but can’t remember something I may have done an hour ago or can’t remember a word or two in a sentence when talking to someone. I guess you might say my long-term memory is great but can’t say much for my short-term memory.

I have such warm memories of the holidays when I was a child. “The Night Before Christmas” was a regular part of the holiday season. In fact it became real to me because I believed that once I fell asleep on Christmas eve, I would be able to reach up and grab one of the sugar plums dancing in my head and would always be surprised when I didn’t have any the next morning.

Back then there was no Santa Mouse, no Mrs. Santa Clause and we didn’t leave a snack for Santa. We were rushed to bed with the idea in mind that if we didn’t go to sleep, Santa wouldn’t leave us presents or if we were bad we would get a piece of coal or ashes in our Christmas Stocking.

My dad eventually became a Saturday Sabbath keeper and we began attending a church with strict rules and were taught that it was a sin to celebrate Christmas. We were no longer allowed to have a tree decorated but our parents would wake us up in the middle of the night to give us gifts instead of the next morning.

Even though our parents told us about the tooth fairy, which was another beautiful time in my life, awaking up the next morning after loosing a tooth to find that the tooth fairy had left a nickel under our pillow or knowing that if we didn’t go to sleep when our parents put us to bed, the sand man would come and put sand in our eyes to make us fall asleep.

Today, many people believe it to be wrong to “lie” to your children about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, etc. They believe that somehow this would be harmful to their children. I believe that having these little fairy tales in my life actually made me enjoy being a child, and I have grown into a normal adult. Although I do understand the religious belief that these things can become more meaningful to kids than God and that is definitely wrong.
It was fun for me to provide Christmas for my children and I believe they also have fond memories of the holidays.

A REALLY CUTE POEM!

2005-11-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

I received this poem from a co-worker and wanted to share it. Have a blessed Thanksgiving to everyone!

T'was the night after Thanksgiving and I just couldn't sleep,
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white,
but I fought the temptations with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation, the thought of a snack was
infatuation.
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,

and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes, pickles and carrots,
beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round, 'til all of a sudden,
I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky,
with a mouthful of pudding and handful of pie.

But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees...

Happy eating to all - pass the cranberries, please.

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump,

may your 'tater 'n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,

may your holiday dinner stay off of your thighs.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

GOD HEARD THE PRAYERS!

2005-11-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

GOD IS GOOD

A testimony about my daughter-in-law. YT was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday night because she was pregnant, and due to complications she had to be induced yesterday morning. My daughter-in-law risked her life to carry this child in order to save the lives of her two other daughters who suffer from Sickle Cell Disease. During the pregnancy, YT had much pain and discomfort. Last night when I talked with my son, he told me that the baby was born weighing 4 pounds but she was okay. However, he told me that mom was not doing well. During the delivery she lost a lot of blood and they were unable to stop it. At one point they got it stopped but it started up again. She had to have a blood transfusion because she almost lost all of her blood. Her face swelled up and her hemoglobin went down. Additionally, she had fluid in her lungs. This did not look good at all. She was going to have to be in ICU for several days and was not to have any visitors. After much prayer and supplication a good part of the evening, and throughout the night, I received a call this morning from my son telling me that YT was better. He said he was able to talk to her and he told her what she went through. She didn’t remember a lot of it. He was even able to joke with her and she laughed. I called the hospital and checked on her again and the nurse told me she was doing really good. She is a very good mother. To you, YT -- I love you and look forward to seeing you again so that I can tell you in person and get some hugs. Also thanks to all who prayed for us.

For some reason while all of this was going on, even though I prayed I still stressed very much over it. I knew that if I wanted God to hear my prayer, I had to believe, but I couldn’t stop fretting over it. In fact, I took it very hard. I did talk to God and asked him to forgive my unbelief. I wanted to just pray about it and leave it at his feet but somehow I couldn’t do that. He heard my prayer anyway. GOD IS GOOD. THANK YOU JESUS.

One Month Early

2005-11-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight when I got home from the beauty shop I had a message on my phone from number 4 son. He informed me that they were going to admit my daughter-in-law in the hospital to have her baby. She has been having a hard time with this pregnancy. Please join me in praying for her that she will be okay and that she will deliver a healthy whole baby. Her name is Shawnee. Thanks in advance for your support.

"Are You For Real????"

2005-11-13T17:39:00.000-08:00

Today a fellow church member and I went to a small suburb of Des Moines. She recently put her house up for sale and wanted to check out Indianola, Iowa as a possible place to relocate. It took us approximately 35 to 40 minutes to get there. By the time we reached our destination, she had already decided against this particular move. Afterward she wanted to try a couple of other areas around town. She is not originally from Des Moines; but is from the islands, and has lived here for only a few years, so I was more or less helping her to find different areas to check out. We came to one really nice area on the South West portion of Des Moines. There were several houses for sale, and a few open houses. We went into one really lovely home, got the paper work and looked around. It was so funny because after we checked out the house and walked out, I told her ("what if they think we are gay; two women looking at a house). We cracked up laughing. It's funny how people can come to the wrong conclusion about situations. After we left the house, we discovered another "for sale" sign just around the corner. As she backed her car out of the parking lot, and turned the corner, we discovered some people standing on the porch of one of those houses. They were staring at us as if to say "oh no, what are they doing out here?" "Are they going to buy a house in our neighborhood and make the value go down?" We chuckled as we passed by and watched them as they seemed to stare us down as we drove by. We teased -- what if they were thinking that these two women who are probably lesbians and Black ones at that, are thinking of moving out here and corrupting the neighborhood? What can I say? Of course we are not lesbians, but two friends who work in the Children's Ministry Department at our church.

Another incident happened just the other night as I visited yet another church member's home after he lost his aunt of whom he was the care taker. Not only are we just friends but we kid and joke a lot with one another. He was a little buzzed, apparently from the whatever he had been drinking, and was joking around with me, as he always does. The next day i took food to the house and was basically there to give my respects to him and his family. My 85 year old dad, bless his heart, asked me if that was my boyfriend? "NO, I blurted out, we are just friends." People can certainly come to the wrong conclusions about things they think they see. *chuckle*

All in all, it turned out to be a beautiful day with a walk at Gray's Lake which is 2.6 miles around. It was rather warm even if the wind was blowing. Beautiful weather, beautiful! What are we in for????

"Billy Graham's 83rd Birthday"

2005-11-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight while watching T.V. I turned the channel to the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). They were celebrating the 83rd birthday of Billy Graham. I was so touched by all the well wishes he was getting from many famous people and ministers, as they told how he had influenced their lives and brought them to Christ. He has brought thousands of people to Christ. As each person wished him well with a short speech, they would also play short excerpts of past sermons. I never knew much about Billy Graham because as a child, a young teenager and a young adult, I’m sad to say that I always turned the channel when Billy Graham’s crusades came on.

One night as I watched TBN they were telling his story, how he started preaching at a young age and televising many small excerpts of past sermons. I became very interested in learning about him and his dedication to Christ. I enjoyed hearing the speeches as they were broadcast on T.V. Tonight as I watched the celebration of his birthday, I marveled at this person who spent his life sharing the Gospel with people all around the world. This was truly a blessing to me to watch this program on TBN tonight. Billy Graham is truly one of a kind and I'm glad that I have had a chance to learn all about him.

At one point in the night I picked up the phone to use it and discovered there was a message on my phone. Someone had called earlier when I was out at the Laundromat. When I listened to the precious little voice on the phone reciting Psalm 100, tears came to my eyes. My little grandson had learned this verse and was excited as he repeated every word. I thank God that he is doing well in his new school

"To Be Loved"

2005-11-03T17:34:00.000-08:00

To Be Loved

Today while at work I had a moment to just think about things. I thought back when I was in Texas this past summer and began to reminisce the fun I had with the grandson. A big smile came on my face as I thought about all the little things we did together from playing games, hide and seek, to when we were making faces at each other which was so precious to me. He would say “watch this” and when I looked at him, he would be making a face, then I would say “watch this” and I would make a face and we would laugh.

Later while in my car driving, I thought about my family, each and every one of them came to mind. I felt so loved; a beautiful feeling came across me as I thought about how much we all love each other. To be loved, I mean to be loved to the place where your every being means something to someone. Someone being totally in your corner and always there when you need them no matter how close or far away they are. Love can be a beautiful feeling, and to know that you are loved, I mean to know that someone really cares about you can be overwhelmingly wonderful.

Wow, that is heavy; my heart is heavy, so why do I get depressed at times? One reason is because I miss my grandchildren, and my sons who live far away. There are two precious beings in Minnesota who I haven’t seen since this summer. I need to see them, to hug them to interact with them; hear their laughter, watch them argue with each other and that I might intervene, to play Bratz and Barbie dolls with them and play out our little skits with them. How wonderful. Being a grandmother is as awesome as being a mom. Someday I would like to see the great grandson.

God is love; he is all those things I mentioned above and more. Isn’t it great to know that there is such a God who loves us so much that he made the ultimate sacrifice, just for us, and he will forgive us of anything. Isn’t it great to know that you love God too; that he is above all things and you appreciate knowing you have him in your life? Yes -- GOD IS LOVE!

This post is dedicated to my wonderful family and I thank God for them.

"You All are Awesome"

2005-11-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank all of you for your encouragement. I thank the Lord for leading me to such wonderful bloggie friends. It is much fun blogging,getting comments having a chance to read your blogs and comment, and being able to find out things about you. I will not give up and I pray that I will catch on to something soon without always asking Brotha Buck to do it for me.

"My baby steps to blogging"

2005-11-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

Trying to learn the ins and outs of blogging is frustrating. I have spent time trying to figure out how to do different things on my own without asking Brotha Buck to do everything for me. I woke up early this morning as a result of having insomnia; got on the computer and decided to learn how to restore the links I had lost when I changed my template. I was so excited that I changed my template without help. When I returned to my home page, all of your links were gone. "No," I didn't unlink any of you. I have spent an hour trying to read instructions on how to restore you all back to my template. I thought I came across some instructions on re-linking, and typed in Brotha Buck's blogspot address and thought I had saved it by clicking on "post." (That made sense to me). "Oh boy" I thought, Brotha Buck will be proud of me that I was able to do this by myself." However when I checked out my home page, there was no link. This is just downright discusting. I usually start out okay with what I'm trying to accomplish, but I run into "roadblock." It's as though I can't understand the instructions and as though they are in a different language, but they are not. Sometimes I feel as though my mind is dull and I ask God to make it brilliant because I know that anything is possible with him.

Now that I have done my whinning for the day, I hope you all know that I didn't kick you to the curb -- I was trying to learn how to change my template on my own. Have a blessed day.

2005-11-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

"Pondering What to Do?"

2005-10-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I have a dear friend who is a member of the same church as I. Her daughter recently re-located to Missouri with her 7-year-old son. Before she made her move, her husband of approximately three, maybe four years passed away from cancer of the brain. He was verbally, mental and physical abusive. R. was very unhappy at the time, yet she is having a very hard time adjusting to his death. After moving, R. got a good job and attends church there with her young son.

I recently talked to a friend who was a former member of our church who had also relocated to Missouri. When I asked about R and her son, P, informed me that R. is not doing so well and relayed to me in confidence that she and her son are behaving in rebellious behaviors which was not ike R. before she re-located. The former member asked me not to tell anyone, including R's mother.

If my friend ever found out that I knew something disturbing about her daughter and granddaughter and grandson, she would be furious at me because she feels that I should let her know what's going on with her child. I feel I should fulfill my agreement to not say anything as of yet, or possibly not ever. Yet I think about how I would feel if it were one of my sons and a grandchild having problems away from home. I would want to know if they were having diffiiculties.
Blogging friends, what is your take on this one?

"Is There a snake in my basement?"

2005-10-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Recently I had some work done on my house and that included plumbing. The guy did a fantastic job with the remodeling, but botched up the plumbing. We kept calling him to come and fix it but every time he came, he would work to try and solve the problem; however, after he left, I had the same problems. My dad, who used to be a plumber in his younger days came over and tried to fix it, but it wasn’t fixable; however, I ended up with a faucet that wouldn‘t shut off; therefore I had to turn off the water for a few days. Finally I got tired of this mess and my son called the plumber who came over and fixed it.

Part of the plumbing job included my washer, which hasn‘t worked since the original guy did the plumbing. While working on the washer, my son looked down behind it and I heard him say? “Is that a snake?” Right away I went flying out of the basement and up the stairs, frantically asking do they come upstairs? I then heard him say “it’s dead.“ The plumber said “no“ and offered up another explanation of what it was -- a piece of cloth or something like that. My son went along with it. The question is, was it really a snake? Did I have a snake in my basement? I wouldn’t know, I haven’t been down there since. Yesterday my dad asked me if the washer was fixed and I played it off by saying “I haven’t had time to check on it.”

"How to Maintain Your Marriage"

2005-10-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

The following has been taken from my daily devotation (Prayer Manager@liveprayer.com

I have a question for you men. When was the last time that you told your wife how beautiful she looked? When was the last time that you told your wife that she was the most special person in the world? If your answer is anything but TODAY, you better stop whatever you are doing and tell her...right now! Do you remember when you were dating, and how you couldn't wait to be with her? Do you remember how NOTHING in the world mattered but her? Do you remember that you would do ANYTHING for her? Do you still feel that way? If the answer is no, you need to get on your knees and pray for God to restore those feelings. Just because you are now married, you should feel the same way and even MORE. After all, this is the woman that God gave you to share your life with! She isn't like that putter you used to like, but now is somewhere in the garage...forgotten. You made a vow before your wife and before God to love her, and to care for her, and to nurture her, until death do you part. How can you take the most special person in your life, the one that God gave you, for granted? Let me give you some advice. You better get on the phone and send your wife some flowers. Why? For no other reason but to let her know that you love her and care about her. You better quit ignoring her and her needs. You better start taking the same amount of time with your wife that you do with the other things that occupy your time. Women need to be reminded that theyare beautiful. They need to be reminded that you care for them.While saying it is necessary, you better prove it with your actions. You are so wrapped up in your career, in your life, in the things that you are interested in, you are neglecting your wife. You better start making TIME for your wife. Make the effort to spend TIME with her, and TALK to her.

Ok women, it is your turn. When was the last time that you told your husband how handsome he was? When was the last time you told your husband that he was the most special person in the world? If your answer is anything but TODAY, you better stop whatever you are doing and tell him...right now! Do you remember when you were dating, how you couldn' twait to be with him? Do you remember how NOTHING in the world mattered but him? Do you remember that you would do ANYTHING for him? Do you still feel that way?If the answer is no, you need to get on your knees and pray for God to restore those feelings. Just because you are now married, you should feel the same way and even MORE. After all, this is the man that God gave you toshare your life with! He isn't like that food processor you used to like,but now is stored away in the cabinet...forgotten. You made a vow beforeyour husband and before God to love him, and to care for him, and to nurturehim until death do you part. How can you take the most special person inyour life, the one that God gave you, for granted?Let me give you some advice. You better stop by the mall and buy your husband a special gift. Why? For no other reason but to let him know that you love him and care about him. You better quit ignoring him and his needs. You better start taking the same amount of time with your husband that you do with the other things that occupy your time. Men need to be reminded that they are appreciated. They need to be reminded that you care for them.While saying it is necessary, you better prove it with your actions. You are so wrapped up in your job, in the home, in the kids, in the things that you are interested in, you are neglecting your husband. You better start making TIME for your husband. Make the effort to spend TIME with him, and TALK to him. Satan has done such a masterful jobof destroying the beauty and perfection of God's institution of marriage. He does it in so many deceitful ways. Making two lives become one is probably one of the most difficult things there is in life. It is always magical at first, but maintaining that magic is not easy. Making it last over time is the goal.That ONLY happens when Christ is the head of each one of your lives individually, and the center of your marriage. The greatest relationship that you will have in this life is with the Lord. After that, it is with your spouse. Just like you must take time to develop that close, intimate walk with Christ, you must also take the time and put forth the effort in your relationship with your spouse.There are two key elements in a successful marriage. TIME AND TALK. You MUST take time to be together each day, and you MUST talk to each other. Life is short enough, and when it is over, it is over. Don't waste one second that you can be together. DON'T TAKE EACH OTHER FOR GRANTED! If you love each other as God calls you to in today's passage of Scripture, your relationship with your spouse can be the most incredible thing in your life outside of your relationship with the Lord.

"Keeping Mom up to Date"

2005-10-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am from the old school and pretty much operate that way. To put me and technology together is like trying to mix oil and water. If someone had told me 22 years ago at the beginning of my present employment that I would be operating a computer, I would have laughed my head off. I started off on an old IBM Selectric II typewriter. We used Pica and Elite fonts and correctable ribbon cartridges, which were life savers to me. Later I was upgraded to a Text writer Word processor and was told the company was never going to get a computer. The word processor was complicated but once I caught on, it was enjoyable to use. However, it had very little memory. As time went on and a few supervisors later, things began to advance, and the next thing you know we were using the little (I think they were approximately 8 or 9 inches) Apple Macintosh computers, an LCIII, and finally, a Gateway PC, which most of us at the office operate now.

I was all set to work at my job, live a simple sheltered life of staying in Des Moines, not traveling much, not doing much and growing old that way -- However, my four sons were not going to stand for that. First of all, they talked me into getting a computer at home and helped me to get on the internet and I even had e-mail. Just this year, number one son got me into the blogspot. Next thing you know, my oldest granddaughter had talked me into flying to Texas, which is another venture I had no intention of ever making. This ol girl is getting to be a pro. Later, I learned to drive the highway which was quite an accomplishment for me. First to Waterloo (a two hour drive) and just this year, to Minneapolis! Wow! The only thing I just knew without a shadow of a doubt I was NOT going to do was to get a cell phone. I have no need for a cell phone, after all I have lived all of these years without one.

This past weekend, number three son bought me a cell phon. It is one of those phones that you use in an emergency. He and number two son decided that I need to have one in case I am out somewhere and need help. Okay, that makes sense. To my surprise, I was kind of excited to have it. This morning on the way to work, I got caught in a traffic jam. It must have taken approximately 15 minutes to get a couple of blocks toward my job. “Oh,” I thought, “no problem, I’ll just call my boss on the cell phone.” I reached over and picked up my purse, looked inside and guess what? You’re right, I forgot and left it at home. Well you can’t win them all.

And now, mom is headed for the big time — number 3 son and his wife are taking me on a Christmas cruise!

Related Thought: My dad has always told me that God knew what he was doing when he gave me all boys. I agree, he sure did. They are keeping me young. Moral of this story -- NEVER SAY NEVER!!

Devotion Concerning Halloween

2005-10-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

I receive a daily devotion from Live Prayer and written by a man named Bill Keller. The other day his subject was Halloween and suggested an alternative for the kids. I just copied and pasted this to share with all of you. I think it's a great idea.

HALLOWEEN (Part 2 of 2)***OCTOBER 31ST IS THE THIRD ANNUAL "WITNESSING FOR JESUS DAY." IT IS A NEWHOLIDAY THAT WILL BE CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR UNTIL OUR LORD RETURNS!!!A Christian's response to Halloween. As I was in prayer three years agoabout Halloween and what God wanted me to share during that time, part of myfocus was on satan and how he operates. The Bible calls him an "angel oflight." He is a great imitator. He takes the perfection of God andperverts it. So as I was praying, God poured into my spirit that it is timefor Christians worldwide to rise up on the most important day of the yearfor satan, Halloween, and claim that day for God!The first step, is to make it a special day for Christians worldwide. IfHallmark cards and candy companies can make up holidays to sell greetingcards and chocolate, why can't the church? I am proud to announce thatuntil our Lord returns, October 31st will now be "Witnessing for Jesus Day."This holiday was started three years ago by the 2 million worldwide who arepart of Liveprayer, and we will continue to promote it as well as followthrough to make this a legitimate, recognized holiday every October 31st!The goal is for Christians to share their faith in Jesus Christ with atleast 3 people during the day. If every Christian worldwide shared theirfaith in Christ with 3 people, it would literally turn the world upside downover night. The world will be "witnessing" their rebellion of God withtheir Halloween parties, their costumes, and satanic services. THIS IS THEPERFECT DAY for Christians to witness to this lost world that we live in,that Jesus Christ is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."What else can Christians do on our new holiday? PLENTY! Every communityneeds churches to put on "Hell House" or "Judgment House" productions tocounter the haunted houses the world promotes. Make sure your home is welllit and inviting for children out trick-or-treating. In addition to candy,give them a gospel tract or a little Gospel of John booklet. Also, praywith each group of kids before they leave. Your church should have theresources to get tracts and the Gospel of John booklets at a very low cost.NO CHILD SHOULD COME TO YOUR HOME AND LEAVE WITHOUT KNOWING THAT JESUS ISLORD!For those with children, take them out trick-or-treating! Have them dressup as Bible characters. Let them go door to door for candy, BUT, in returnfor the candy, they should give the homeowner a tract or a Gospel of Johnbooklet. GOD CAN USE THESE CHILDREN TO HELP SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST TOPEOPLE THAT WILL NEVER GO TO CHURCH!!!Churches, instead of holding an alternative to Halloween party at thechurch, should get the children involved in evangelizing theirneighborhoods! They have the perfect excuse to go door to door on thisnight. God can use these children to share the hope and love of Christ withpeople that will never hear the message any other way. DON'T UNDERESTIMATEHOW GOD CAN USE THE CHILDREN ON THIS NIGHT!!!So, let's review. We now have a new Christian holiday. It is, "Witnessingfor Jesus Day," and will be celebrated every year on October 31st. It willbe a day for Christians worldwide to witness to others what Jesus Christ hasdone in their life. We will have churches in every community putting on"Hell House" or "Judgment House" productions as an alternative to thehaunted house productions of the world. Christians will make their homesinviting for children out trick-or-treating, and in addition to candy, givethem a Gospel Tract or Gospel of John booklet. Children of ALL AGES willbecome mighty witnessing agents for the Lord. They will dress up as Biblecharacters and go out into their neighborhoods to get candy, BUT, will givethe homeowner a Gospel tract or Gospel of John booklet.I love you and care about you so much. There is no reason a Christianshould have to fear Halloween, nor is there any reason a Christian shouldhave to participate in the way the world celebrates Halloween. It actuallyis a perfect opportunity to go on the offensive and make this a day tocelebrate witnessing our faith to this lost and dying world. What betterday than the day the world celebrates rebelling against God, HALLOWEEN!!!I will be praying for you. I pray that you become bold and part of thethird annual "Witnessing for Jesus Day." For the Christian, sharing ourfaith is not an option, but is a commandment from God. It is something thatwe should be doing EVERY day. But there is no better day of the year forBelievers worldwide to share their faith in Jesus Christ with this lostworld. THAT my friend, needs to be a Christia's response to Halloween!!!In His love and service,Your friend and brother in Christ,Bill Keller***I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal emailatbkeller@liveprayer.com***ARE YOU 100% CERTAIN WHERE YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY? The fact is you willdie one day. At that moment, you will either spend eternity with the Lordor be cast into everlasting darkness forever separated from God yourcreator. To know for certain you will be forever with Jesus, go to:http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.html***GET YOUR FREE LPeMAIL ACCOUNT! Never miss receiving your DailyDevotional again. LPeMail is an effective email SPAM filtering applicationthat most ISP's charge $10/mo, for FREE! Get your LPeMail account now at:www.lpemail.com .***I am excited to let you know that the Liveprayer Daily Devotional is nowavailable via AUDIO each day. Simply go tohttp://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.htmlAlso, you can now listen to the Daily Devotional by phone by calling727-856-7055, or access it on your wireless device by going to:http://wapdd.com(C) Copyright 2005, Bill Keller Ministries. All rights reserved

What About Works and Grace?

2005-10-12T19:42:00.001-07:00

I'm confused

Even though I am a Christian, was raised that way and have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I do not have much knowledge of the Bible. In an earlier post, I mentioned having a short attention span as well as being unable to comprehend most of what I read in the Bible, some books and newspaper articles.

Recently I have been attending Bible studies or evangelistic meetings presented by several elders and deacons from my church. They are very interesting and thought provoking; however, at times it seems as though the Bible is contradicting. I get confused over the subject of Grace and Works. It is a known fact that our sins are covered by Jesus’ (Blood) -- Grace; therefore as I understand it, we cannot be saved by our works or by trying on our own not to sin, because we are to lean totally upon Christ, but by the same token, if we do not live according to God’s will, we shall be lost. In other wards, if we blaspheme the Holy Ghost, that is an unpardonable sin, and from what I understand, to continue to ignore the his warnings to us is to blaspheme him.
Upon realizing that we have all sinned and come short of the Glory of God and we all continue to sin, are we to give up sinning on our own, and if we think we can, are we wrong? In other wards what about people who continue to commit sins knowingly because they cannot help themselves? They know that they can continue to ask for forgiveness of Christ because they are under Grace. What if they decide to give up on the sin themselves? Is that wrong or are they to depend upon the Lord’s Grace and continue sinning?

"What a Coincidence!"

2005-10-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today after I returned home from church, I thought about my little grandson in Texas. I generally get an urge to call and talk to him each weekend. He is such a happy little camper and always upbeat. Of course I was disappointed when no one answered the phone. We played phone tag for a while and finally got in touch.

He goes to a Christian school and is learning a lot, as he catches on quick -- thank God for that. During our conversations, we usually sing each other a song and his usually consists of the ABC song. This time, he said the Pledge of Allegiance, The Lord’s Prayer and then the ABC song. When it was my turn, I decided to sing one of the favorites in my Sabbath School class “The Lord’s Army.” While I was singing the song (thinking he has never heard this one before) I heard him shouting in the background to his mom to come to the phone to hear me singing his song. Afterwards he sang the same song back to me. Mom informed me that he had just learned the song at school and had been singing it all week. I thought, what a coincidence that I would sing a song to him that he had been singing all week.

Why the Name?

2005-10-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging for quite some time now and have linked several other bloggers. The questions that keep coming to mind is, "why did you pick that name and what does it mean?" The first time that thought came to mind is when I first saw -- "You Told Harpo to Beat me" and "Kira's Slave." That's interesting.

Sometimes while driving, I spot cars with personal license plates. I love to try and figure out what they are saying or the meanings. It would be so much fun to have a contest just to find out how many of those each person can guess.

I don't think I have to tell anyone why I chose "Thegiget," because that name speaks for it's self. For those of you who are unaware of the meaning of giget, it means I am little. Ha, ha -- everyone walks up to me and says "wow, you are short." Not a midget but somewhat taller (as in giget), and to shorten it -- Mz. Gig; Get the drift?

Why did you chose your user name and what does it mean?

"A New Experience"

2005-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last night my two sons (who live here) and my daughter-in law took me to a belated dinner for my birthday. Of course they asked me to choose the restaurant. After pondering this a bit, I decided we needed to go somewhere new and different. I chose a Japanese Steak House called "Taki." I had only been there once with the older of my two sons and his wife. This was the first time for number 3 son.

We were seated shortly after arriving, and went into a room where several people were seated around different tables. Things were fairly normal as they would be in any restaurant. The waitress came and took our orders, and while we were waiting, there was a table of people seated beside us with one of those grills in front of them. We watched as the chef performed many tricks with the utensils he was using, and number 3 son took note of his juggling the eggs and tossing them up in the air and catching them with his spatula. He poured a littl oil on the grill, and all of a sudden, a large fire blared up from the table beside us. Number 3 son's eyes got big as he jumped up in a slight effort to move away, thinking something was on fire. He was completely unaware of what was going on. Naturally we cracked up at him and the expression on his face. We re-assurred him that everything was alright and this is something that is done all the time. The guy cooks the food right in front of us; the rice with all the trimmings, the chicken and beef and then the vegetables, all the while seasoning everything. A chef at another table close to us did the same thing by pouring some kind of oil on the grill and lighting it up, using a match, and that's when the fire flaired up, which startled my son again. After a while it was time to come to our table. I watched as my son was a bit uncomfortable. We tried to make him feel at ease by letting him know that it's not dangerous. After the guy put the oil on our grill, he lit it and the fire flaired up. Number 3 son jumped out of his seat and backed away. That's when he finally realized that it was okay. He finally pulled his chair back to the table and the chef teased him a little, he finally finished cooking and we had a wonderful meal and a great time.

Related Thought: You should have seen me the first time I went to "Taki."

You're being Tagged K. Slave!!

2005-10-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

What five songs are you currently loving? Can't wait to get your answers!

I've Been Tagged by the Clintster!!

2005-09-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

What five songs am I currently loving?

1) Donnie McClurkin/Yolanda Adams - Not real sure of the title but I think it's "Let This be Our Prayer"
2) Yolanda Adams - "The Battle is not Your's It's the Lord's"
3) CeCe Winans - Pretty much anything she,Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin sings.
4) Ray Charles - "Georgia on My Mind" Brother Ray was my favorite singer in the day. I am still loving his
music.
5) Richard Smallwood - "Total Praise," "Thank You" and pretty much any music he does

I know, I know I cheated a little but there's so many I had to really pick between. I agree with you, I also like "I can Only Imagine. You've got me on a roll. But I'll give you a break -- dat's all folks! *smiling*

I will be bloggin sporatically over the next few weeks and also I will visit all of your blogs sporatically due to the Bible Study classes I will be taking over these next weeks but I will always be around whenever I can.

I tag Brotha Buck, Chris & Lauren, Jane and Heather -- Love you all and God Bless

"OVERWHELMED WITH EXCITEMENT"

2005-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

This is great! I have never had so many comments since I started blogging. Brotha Buck -- you know you made my day. I feel like a celebrity. Who wants my autograph? ha, ha

I am having a fantastic day thanks to all of you, my co-workers, and family. I have been invited to have dinner with my dad and his wife tonight whose son also has a birthday today. She is cooking dinner for both of us. Tomorrow, another co-worker is taking me to lunch and Sunday, two of my sons are taking me to dinner. The only reason they are not taking me today is because my dad beat them to it. One of my co-workers made two cakes and brought ice cream, in fact (I almost busted them out while making plans for today) *wide grin.* The students made really cute cards and had them signed. They are on the wall next to my desk. What a blessed birthday! Again, thank you all for your wonderful comment and wishing me well. (Thanks again Brother Buck).
I just opened the gifts you, K and the wife sent -- Thank you -- I love CeCe Winans; thanks for the CD. Also Diary of a Mad Black Woman -- Can't wait to watch it. Also thanks for my plane ticket to come and visit the little man a few weeks ago. You and your family are "off the chain." I love you - God is really good.
*HUGS* to all of my blogging friends and thanks again. *biggest grin ever.*

Also, after dinner, I'm hoping to attend another Bible Study this evening. They have been enlightening and enjoyable because I am learning some things I never knew. I have a lot of questions which I must ask the LORD about in prayer. Well, it's time for me to go to dinnerr -- LOVE AND PRAYERS TO YOU ALL
MZ GIG

"The Bare Necessities?"

2005-09-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

When I logged onto the internet tonight, the first thing that caught my attention was a question on the AOL Top News. It said: If you needed to evacuate your town what would you take and what would you leave? That, I would say is quite thought provoking. After pondering it for a bit, I thought about Jesus -- how would he expect me to handle such a situation? He immediately brought to my mind a scripture, from his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:19 - 21 where it says: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth" (verse 19), But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven" (Verse 20), "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Many people are finding it hard to leave their treasures behind, i.e., their homes; things they have worked so hard most of their lives to achieve. They have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars not only in schooling but in their life's work to get the homes, furnishings, clothes, cars; all the necessities and luxuries they have always longed for. It's a hard decision to just up and leave it all behind, and for what? To save your life and the lives of those whom you love? Nonsense! What is a life without all those treasures you have worked most of your life to achieve?

What did Jesus do? He only gave his life and all he had to save us from eternal destruction -- so what!
What did I say??? Here's what I'm saying! Jesus' main purpose was to sacrifice himself and all he had for us, which is what he did. I'm sure as a person in the flesh, it was not easy, but because he was obedient he did his father's will -- HE GAVE IT ALL! (I'm not by all means minimizing what Jesus did, I'm trying to make a point).
Read Matthew 6: 24 and 25. Read Matthew 6:33 & 34 which sums up the fact that we should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you.

When Christ was here, he had no home or no place to lay his head, but he went about his father's business.
I say all of this to say: "If I had to be evacuated from my home, what would I take and what would I leave behind? (One of my favorite Disney movies is "Jungle Book") where Ballou, the Bear sings "Look for the bare necessities the simple bare necessities." What would your bare necessities be?

FAITH

2005-09-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

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. Hebrews 11:6

I would like to thank all of my blogging buddies for your kind words of support and prayers. God came through right on time. I felt his presence as he comforted me through a very stressful situation. He is good. I got my answer tonight, now I pray that things will continue to work out. LOVE YOU GOD!!!

Love and prayers to you all -- Mz. Gig

Waiting For an Answer

2005-09-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

God, I asked a favor of you tonight.
I have to believe if I want to receive.
What is your vision for me and what I am struggling with.
I have a decision to make and I don't know what direction to take.
I'm waiting for an answer; I must know you have heard my prayer
You want to see if I will hold out hope in my desperation,
leave it alone and let you do your work ; I know you will
These tears I have in my eyes, they can't be tears of doubt
Has my carnal body taken over and allowed me to question you?
Get thee behind me Satin in the name of JESUS!
Please dear Lord, tell me what to do.
I'm waiting for an answer and I must wait on you.

"The Pack Rat"

2005-09-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

I know there are plenty of pack rats out there, and allow me to introduce you to Momma Pack rat. In this case the old story about grandma’s attic is true. How many of you out there have to give the parents some grief about all the junk they hold onto? I have been getting grief about my junk lately, and one of my offspring has been coming around and giving me a boost in getting rid of stuff. In my basement in cardboard boxes stacked in a neat pile, I have all the mail I have ever received since I’ve been in this house. Every once in a while I decide to go through everything and throw out things I don’t need. You all know the routine of when sorting through junk, old clothes, mail and whatever else -- you start to pitch tthings; however, in the spur of a quick second, you think to yourself -- I’d better not throw this away, I may need it -- only the day never comes that you need it, plus the day doesn’t get here that you decide to pitch it.

Not only does Momma packrat have problems throwing away junk, clothes, mail, etc., but you ought to see my e-mail account, not only at work but at home. I bet I have approximately 35 to 40 messages on my home computer, and that is after I deleted a bunch off e-aforwarding mail I don’t have time to read but instead of trashing it, I keep it because I may need to refer back to it someday. I have approximately 111 e-mails at home -- same old story. Oh yeah, and how many messages do I have on my phone mail -- I’ll never tell.

I got into a conversation with a co-worker last week and we laughed our way through sharing our “pack rat” stories.
In my closet I have approximately 5 of those plastic containers with lids and the junk has been put in categories so it is supposed to be easier to find. Is it easier to find? Wrong -- I forget which container this category is or the other one; therefore; about four or five months later, I decide to go through the junk again and throw out things. Oh boy, I feel pretty good about the things I pitch; but it doesn’t take long before it accumulates and all the while -- time is flying…. So what’s a pack rat to do?

Painting myself or the Pantry?

2005-09-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

If you all could see me now, you would crack up - ha ha -- I have paint in my hair, on my arms (both arms) in the corner of my glasses and on my eyebrow. I haven't painted around the house for years. I used to paint the walls but that was a long time ago. Tonight I was painting the inside of my food pantry. It was funny because I have a ladder and was on the highest step possible and still had problems reaching the ceiling inside of the pantry. Good thing I put newspaper down because I dripped paint on it. Even though I tried to be neat about it, the paint and brush just wouldn't cooperate. I was so proud of myself and kept looking at the paint job I did. Anywho, I got most of it done and will finish tomorrow.

Now check this one out... The ladder I spoke about earlier? I can't reach the light fixures in my bedrooms (could it be that I'm too short?) I'll never tell. ha. ha

Unrelated thought: Some time ago, one of our blogging buddies blogged about the wife not answering her cell phone. Guess who else doesn't answer the cell phone (oh, did I say he?)

"It's Just Plain disgusting"

2005-09-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I got up rather early. Since I was going to a picnic sponsored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters, I decided to go out to Gray's Lake early and walk so that I would have time to get in my exercise, go home, get ready, pick up my "little" and go to Cottonwood Park which is in a beautiful area called Saylorville. It brought back fond memories of when I used to drive to Cherry Glen, (a recreational camping area where my parents used to camp) almost every weekend. It has been over ten years since I've been in that area.

While driving to Gray's Lake, this morning, I came upon the red light at an intersection probably about six or seven blocks north of the lake. The traffic was held up due to some kind of a "race for the cure" event. I don't know what charity this was for but (I definitely have nothing against the charity events, because if I thought for one moment I could be in one, I'd be right there with them), however, there were a great number of people running and the people who were directing traffic was not going to let us cross the street until all the runners were past. We sat there for at least ten minutes, maybe longer, waiting to be directed to cross the street. I thought we were going to be there most of the morning. Just before they finally let us cross the street, some idiot, (excuse me), I mean some person behind me got to honking as if to try and make us go. Can you believe it?

After the walk and on the way home, I decided to take a detour so as not to run into the same situation. I drove all the way to another side of town before I was able to find a clear route home, and when I got downtown, another idiot (I know, that's not nice, but I get carried away some times) decided to honk me out of the way again, which rattled my buttons quite a bit.

This situation is just the icing on the cake because the City of Des Moines has been doing a lot of construction work, building a river walk and just plain upgrading the city. The disgusting part of it is -- you don't know how to get anywhere because almost every street is "blocked off". Whenever trying to drive anywhere the streets are closed. Streets that were closed for a period of time and re-opened are "closed of " again. The freeways are blocked off and re-routed; therefore, getting across town is next to impossible. There are so many streets closed, its a chore trying to map out a direction to go anywhere in the city. It's a shame to be lost in your own town. "It's Just Plain disgusting!"