The birthday "boy"

Here it is. If you look closely you will see Samson (aka: the birthday boy) coming closer to a one-candle lit half of piece of bread. That's his annual birthday ritual. We sing and give him an extra slice of bread that day. He was somewhat apprehensive about the fire (candle), but quickly realized it was bread which he totally loves!!!! He fits into this family very well with his love of bread :-)

Nothing special kind of weekend

What a HOT weekend we had. Heat index over 105!!! I really look forward to the weekends even though we usually have somethng on Friday or Saturday or both evenings. Jim works long hours through the week, but on the weekends we try to, at least, do something together one or all of the weekend days. It could be something just him and I, or it could be serving in some capacity by helping others. This particular weekend was with each other. We worked around the house. Saturday morning we went out for breakfast, and did some errands. We then came home, and I finished baking double batches of 4 different kinds of cookies (for campus ministry events and a church picnic). Jim worked outside in the HOT, HOT, sun. In the evening we had some wonderful BLT's made with fresh tomatoes from our garden, onion rings with watermelon, and had a dear friend join us for our easy, cool dinner. After our dinner we ended our evening with a movie in "Jim's" room (surround sound....etc), the sports room, remember we're big Philly fans!! It was a nice evening with our dear friend and being in our home.

Sunday we worshipped with our church family and had a wonderful afternoon at a scheduled church picnic. We then spent some lovely time with our neighbors in their pool and grabbed a bite of dinner with them. They just returned from a trip to Europe with their grandchildren and daughter and son-in-law as they went for a soccer tournament. We enjoyed the pictures of their trip. We then came home to our "king of the house", Samson, who turned 9 today!!! I will post his annual gift in a picture form shortly. Though he is a dog, he is definitely part of our family. We made him feel special, which with a dog, doesn't take too long and he snuggled right in. Started relaxing and enjoyed or at least watched the preseason EAGLES game :-( Oh well, it's just a preseason game, right!!!

So it was a "nothing special" kind of weekend, but it was one that we thoroughly enjoyed. Time together is what matters. Time with family/friends/loved ones, that's what is special and that's what is another daily blessing.

Enjoy your week. I'll have more later this week.

God gives us a positive spin on things

I just received this "chart" from a friend via email and I thought it was clever and something that is very useful in "Living R LivesTtogether" day-to-day for me personally! I hope you think this is applicable to your daily walk. I do not know how created this list so I am not able to give credit to anyone. I do appreciate receiving this chart. We hear so often the negative things in our daily world, it is wonderful to be able to share some positive. Receiving this email again reinforces having the Presence of God in all aspects of my life. He is the center of all things. Thank you Lord for your wisdom, unconditional love, and mercy.

Tina :-)




You say: "It's impossible"
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)
You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: "Nobody really loves me"
God says: I love you
(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )
You say: "I can't go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5- 6)
You say: "I can't do it"
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)
You say: "I'm not able"
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: "It's not worth it"
God says: It will be worth it
(Roman 8:28 )
You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: "I can't manage"
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)
You say: "I'm afraid"
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)
You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)
You say: "I'm not smart enough"
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)

Fall is just around the corner

Today I realized that Fall is just around the corner. We are still having a rainy cooler forecast and that is an obvious way of sensing Fall, but what has really brought it to light was some other factors. Jim and I have a great view (we think so) in our backyard and often take our dinner outside the sunroom on the deck to enjoy the beauty. As we are sitting and enjoying our meal together we hear the sound of crickets or beetles doing a humming-type sound that is more prevalent closer to harvest nights. We also see the wonder blooming of the fall mums that are sporadically placed around our home. What warm, glorious colors. We also have begun to notice that dusk is coming a bit earlier and our soft lights that are on dimmers are in need of being adjusted to this change.

Today was also my last day of teaching summer music lessons. We will now break until the 2nd week of September. This gives my students time to get into a scheduled routine with school and activities and honestly it gives me a little break too! I teach approximately 10-15 students ( I teach only 2 days a week now) ranging from beginners to intermediate students. I am privileged to teach piano and flute students presently. It is a joy that is hard for me to describe. Oops, I got off on a "bunny trail", sorry. This, the ending of summer lessons is also a sign of Fall.

Another opportunity that comes around Fall is the ability to serve approximately 50+ college students through the Campus Ministry Program that Jim and I are involved with. Jim serves on the Foundation board and I volunteer with all the mailings, keeping the database updated and making food for the students. The ministry provides a weekly dinner for the students with a devotional after the time of fellowship and food. Many people participate in preparing parts of the dinners. If you remember from a previous post, I mentioned our adopt-a-student and some others from the campus ministry were coming for a meal last week that we had to postpone. Jim and I LOVE having the college students with us and doing things with them. This ministry gives us that opportunity as well as speaking to area congregations about the ministry and how it is an influence in our area and how people can be part of the ministry.

Three other events make me more aware of Fall . I have the scheduled dates of my two weekly Bible studies and I'm so excited to share information from these classes with you in future posts. Also, a number of ladies from our church have gone every-other-year to the Women of Faith conference which is held yearly in Philly. We will be doing that the weekend of Sept 15th. This year a few of us will be attending the pre-conference in the morning as well. It should be a WONDERFUL way to begin the Fall schedule. I am SOOO excited about these three events.

I am again amazed how God works in our daily lives. The changes of seasons are a blessing for us. I did a talk several years about about the seasons of our lives for a ladies breakfast/talk and I also did a recent devotional talk at a MOPS program on this subject. We all go through all the seasons and we need to see that when we are in all the seasons we have a purpose in those seasons and we need to see God's plan in that time of our lives. I have preferences on certain seasons, but I truly am learning (and it's a process...remember the sewage story post), to see the blessings in each season while I'm in that particular season.

May you see God's blessing in the change of this coming season.

Tina

Family and Friend Times

This weekend was one of family and friends. It is the kind of weekend that is a favorite to all.

We were able to spend some quality time with both of our adult children and we enjoyed a baseball game, GO BLUE ROCKS!!!, with numerous friends. The weather, was picture perfect, including the rain that is coming down now as I post on my e-journal. Our weekend ended with a day spent with fellow Christians in worship at "our adoptive" first church home (we attended here our last year at NCJC) of Folsom church of Christ. Jim had the privilege to speak for the congregation because our dear friends were on a much needed vacation. We were able to see old friends and meet new ones while worshipping together. Our evening was complete with some time with one of our dearest friends in our home, as well as a one-on-one phone conversation with an equally dear friend.

SO, as you see, our weekend was filled with love. It is so good to have such a network, or circle of friends/family. These are the best daily blessings that God gives me; living our lives on a day-to-day basis with benefits of close friends and family. How awesome is that!!!

Col. 3:14 states, "Love is what binds us together..." This was seen in our weekend and how special is it to be in a family with Christ at the center. Jim and I are blessed. May I continually see God's grace and mercy in all aspects of my walk.

Blessings,

Tina

Failed, but still loved

What a morning!!!

Let me start at the beginning. Late last evening Jim heard some truck noises and was at the window for a long period of time. I was too sleepy to care. My night was very restful. I now see that it was God giving me the rest time because He knew exactly how I would react in the morning.

Jim left early for work because tonight we had plans to entertain a number of college students, including our adoptive-a student-daughter!! I received a phone call from our neighbor saying, "Don't flush your toilets. There is problem with the system somewhere on our street or near our cul-de-sac!!!!!" Of course at that precise moment I HAD to go to the bathroom.

My night of calmness went right out the window. I called my husband twice (that's our code for return the call immediately). I needed him to fix it....looking back on it, what could he do. I told him that there were four state trucks outside our home and they were thinking the actual problem could be between our house and our dear friends and neighbors house!!!!!! I didn't say it, but I wanted Jim to come home.

I have the privilege to teach and mentor to ladies from time to time and I share that God is in control of all aspects of our lives....we just need to let Him take the wheel so to speak. I found out again this morning, that I still have a major failing with my control of unexpected situations and letting go and letting God. Something as small (in the big picture) as a sewage problem, wrecking havoc with my personal body as well as my emotional body. You could say I almost was in a panic. I am ashamed to even share how I felt about this whole situation.

My ability for being organized automatically set in and I stopped the large oven roaster filled with chili for the taco salad/haystack dinner for tonight and I called our adoptive student to have her tell the others that our evening of fun, food and fellowship had to be cancelled. This was a good move. I then could not shake the fact that I was not able to do things that we take for granted like the use of the restroom whenever we need to or for that matter want to. I failed to see that even in this situation, God was in control.

It was a few hours later that I was told by one of the state workers that we do not have a blockage problem and that things were ready to "flow" again. At that point I did thank God for the result, but as I was thanking Him, I mentioned, that I know you won't give me more than I can handle. Though this situation is minimal compared to many struggles that are encountered in day-to-day lives, I realized by saying my thanksgiving prayer to God that He IS in control, even with clogged or thought to be clogged septic lines.

The scripture that came to mind to me was Paul's statement, about being content in any circumstance. Obviously, I never thought about "in any circumstance" as a flushing problems, but now I too am aware of being content in that state too.

My heart is cleansed because I know that God's grace covered my lack of faith in Him taking control of the situation. He gives us individuals here on earth to work His plan and today was one of those times. He even enabled the compassion of my neighbors as we were in this together. In the end, I shared some of the chili with this family as well as some of the homemade cookies that I had prepared for our get together with the college students. I also froze some of the chili and the cookies and this too is now a blessing for when my schedule is full and I have an opportunity to serve some others. It's now in my freezer ready and waiting to "serve".

Another positive outcome to this is that our daughter and her boyfriend, who she would like us to get to know better and we are enjoying getting to know him better are still coming this evening for a now, quiet family dinner of four.

Again, a blessing in the day-to-day living of our lives. Keep seeing your daily blessings.

Cashed In-Part 1

Fathers' Day is in June, but some presents, at times, need to wait to be "cashed in". I was hoping to have a picture of what we were able to enjoy last evening, but my camera was taken to the "waiting tank" until the event was over :-( No photography allowed!!!!

Jim is a fan of Allison Kraus and the Union Station Band. I saw that she and her band were going to be making an appearance at the Mann Center in Philly, August 14th back in May. So I decided what a nice surprise and got the tickets for him as his Fathers' Day present! He was VERY happy with the card to say the least.

What a great live performance she gives!! I was amazed with the clarity of her voice as well as the instrumentation and the harmonies. Well, it was deliciously enjoyable to say the least. My first preference is not bluegrass type music, but she has a way of making it musically enjoyable. I would definitely see her again in concert.

Being a Tuesday night, we would have never taking the opportunity to do this if we would not have purchased the tickets. Afterwords I mentioned that these types of gifts are two-fold. We stopped the hustle-bustle of the week and enjoyed some terrific music as well as stopping the outside world and just enjoying something together. Even though there were thousands at this concert, Jim and I knew that her performance was for us only :-) It was a very good evening.

Another time to be thankful for the small daily blessings that God gives all of us throughout our days. Remember, we just have to recognize the blessing of the moment.

Be continually thankful,

Tina

King of the Castle

This is Samson. He is going to be 9 years old in about 2 weeks! He has been the center of our home for those past 9 years. He is a greeter to all who enter our home. He has a wonderful manner about himself and he likes to be where the people are, unless it's 10:00 p.m. At that approximate time, he ventures to the upstairs to get ready for bed. He stands at the bottom of the stairs and waits for Jim or myself to say, "let's go outside" and then "it's okay Sam, you can go to bed now!" We could have 2 people visiting or 20 people visiting. when he is ready to go to bed......that's what he does.

He LOVES to go "bye-bye" and enjoys walking (on low humidity, sunny days at home, but when on vacation, he walks anytime, anywhere), and has a morning ritual. which consists of going outside to do his business, a half piece of whole wheat bread (any type of bread will work), that is what is in our pantry, then back to bed for a little while or next to "his mom"--ME, while she begins doing her things for the day.

He is a protector of our home, especially when he is inside looking out. He hides behind us when walking and encountering the same things he protects us against when inside :0). He has a tendency to bark more frequently then we have liked over the years, but we have found a device recently, a high-pitched whistle, that when blown immediately calms our "savage beast" and he even, at times, retreats to another floor of the house.

All in all he is a daily joy to us.

Again, look for those daily joys in your life. They are plentiful even when your are going through trials and struggles. God always has a light of joy for us. Phil. 4:4, "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice". When we rejoice we are joyful. Our situation may not have changed, but our hearts did when we hold to that rejoicing in Him. He is the true daily joy and He gives us tangible things, like our Samson, for a "dose of joy" daily.

Just another day....or was it

Friday was not just another day in many ways, but in many ways it was just another day. I began with my quiet time and then proceeded to make some cassseroles for breakfast for a group of 35 or so, that our son is chaperoning for a day of fun 'n' sun at the beach.




After dropping off the food at the church building I went to my close friends' home to assist with preparations for a dinner/party for her husband, who turned 50 today!! After all the preparations were ready I came home, made my veggie side for the party and did some usual cleaning up and some quilting (I'm working on a king-size quilt that I personally pieced). Jim arrived home and we left for the dinner/party.




Basically, just an ordinary day, right!!! We had a great time of fellowship and fun with others at the party and enjoyed the celebration with our own children even present. The invitation was to a few close friends and family. Then, the last gift was a CD "down memory lane" that was given to both of our friends, by their daughter and son-in-law, because their wedding anniversary also is close to this significant birthday. We all enjoyed watching the CD, seeing how their lives together grew and two families became one. Many of the pictures caught my heart and teared my eyes, but then there were pictures of us, Jim and I with this couple, with the family, and though there were other friends at this party, the pictures were of us as part of the family. We love this family dearly and feel like they are truly our family. Tonight, we saw that even their adult children feel that we are there true family and know that we will always be there for them and theirs. That's what family does!!!!!




I know that God planned for us to meet this couple. Many years ago we were introduced to this family and instantly, we became like family. Our extended families even see how close we are and the bond that we share so deeply. God is so good to give us many types of relationships, but those of the inner circle kind are the greatest. Not many people find those closest types of friends, and to find a couple like that is a God-thing!!!! We are so blessed to have family so close to us that we can share in those "just another days". This day makes me think of a scripture in Colossians 3:14, "Love is what binds us together...."

Truly this was a remarkable day.

God is SO GOOD

This is one of the beautiful places we were able to enjoy this past year. You can't deny how Great and Wonderful God is! Enjoy the splendor of your surroundings. Have a wonderful weekend.

Trying Again

Well, I'm trying this again. It is hard to believe, but it has been almost one year since I wrote anything on our blog!! Our days are full of usual happenings, but we are thankful for those "small unnoticed moments". We have learned through the years to appreciate the "usual happenings and treat them as daily gifts from God. We have had some losses and some wonderful moments since my last blog. Jim's dad passed away suddenly in November. Also we celebrated our oldest living relative, Mammy's 90th birthday. What a lady!! All generations were there and the suprise party and it was a great time. We had 4 generations, Mammy, Mom, Myself and Megan! Family as far as Michigan made it to PA for the celebration.

We have enjoyed taking trips to FL, PA, NC, MA, and nearby towns the past year. We have been blessed with good health and continue to watch what we eat and exercise...it's that time of our life!!! We are planning a trip in a few months to IN, where Jim will be attending a conference and I will be enjoying the sights of Indianapolis.

The fall season will bring more steady music students for Tina and Jim will have his continued work at the college. We both enjoy our work activities and feel we not only give professionally, but we are able to share our faith through our daily work.

I plan to do more "journaling" in the coming days. I will be involved in two great Bible studies this fall and I look forward sharing some thoughts with you from time to time. I look forward hearing from you.

Blessings,

Tina