Well, Bo & I finally made it home. We went to visit my family after we left the convention and had a very nice visit.

First we went by to visit my PAJ and Dorothy and enjoyed seeing them. Here's me & PAJ:



Then we went to eat Mexican food with Mary Helen, Gendy, John & Rudy:



It's always so good to see my family!

Here's How they Got up & Down

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Bo & I are at a cattle feeders convention in Grapevine, TX at a BEAUTIFUL hotel and having a great time. We are on the ninth floor and here's the atrium view from our balcony:




Pretty impressive, I think!







This morning I went out on the balcony and saw this. (Yes, they are putting up Christmas decorations already).




If you click on the picture and make it bigger, you will see little men sitting on those steel beams. Over nine stories up! Wow.






Here's one up close:




Those are some brave guys!







Well, I'm heading out for a walk around the lake outside. It's supposed to be around 80 degrees today and beautiful. I am loving this!!

Maybe I'll post some more pictures later. I sure am lucky to have such a sweet husband to take me to such cool places as this.

I got to go trick or treating with these guys tonight. They were Greasers. You know, like from the movie, Grease.














It was fun and there were LOTS of trick or treaters out.

Happy Birthday to my Boy

The Amazing Mason

One more

Mason started back to college on Monday taking Surgical Technology this time. Today we went and bought him some scrubbs to wear. Here he is:










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It's Been Raining!

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Yesterday morning Corbin, Lam & Quan came over. I was so glad to see them all. They were hungry guys so I made them some bacon & eggs for breakfast. Afterwards, we decided we would head out to Palo Duro Canyon. It was a nice cool day and that's what you need when going to the Canyon. Hiking around in the hot sun can be exhausting.

We stopped off at Subway and got some sandwiches to take with us. When we got there and starting to take off on a trail, we noticed it was pretty muddy because of the rain the night before. Ugh, that's was no good. So we got back in the car and drove around.

We pulled into the outdoor theater where they do the world famous play "Texas." Well, maybe not world famous, but famous in these parts anyway. We walked back stage and looked at all the staging equipment. It was pretty cool. I kept thinking, we probably shouldn't be back here, but we didn't see any signs that said 'keep out' or anything, so we kept wandering around and even took some pictures.












And then we looked up and there was a man with a mean look on his face. Uh-oh.

"You folks need to get out of here!" He said.

"Yes, sir! We are sorry, and we will leave right away."

He seemed very agitated at us and just stood there staring.

"You're not supposed to be in here." He said.

"So sorry Sir. We didn't take anything."

And we hooked 'em to the car. Whew! That was scarey. LOL.

We went across the street and got out of the car to try another trail. Corbin couldn't find his water bottle. He had given it to me to hold while I was taking their picture when we were backstage. I sat it down to take the picture. Oh dear, ----we left it there.

"We don't really need the water bottle," Corbin said, not wanting to go back over there.

I would have just said to forget it, but this water bottle was Cody's water bottle that he had while on the football team in high school. It says "Roye #32" on the side of it. I've had it for 10 years, and I wanted to keep it. O Brother.

So we got back in the car and headed across the street to find the boss of the outdoor theater. We waited outside for a few minutes because we sure weren't going back in there without permission. He finally came out.

"Sir, We left our water bottle in there. Could we go back inside and get it?"

"You left your water bottle?" He said.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes Sir. Could we please go get it?"

"Sure, you can." He said as he cracked a big smile.

"Whew! Thank you!"

And one of the twins (don't know which one, I still can't tell them apart) ran inside and got it.

We finally did find a trail to hike, so we did that and then went to the gift shop and looked around for a while.

It was a fun day.

We took this picture as we were leaving the park.








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Today was a busy day, but a very nice one. Friday is my day off, but there were a couple of things that really needed to be done, so I went to work for a couple of hours after going for a nice early morning walk. At noon, I left work and went to have lunch with Cody Lynn and Corbin at Chili's, and of course I loved that. After lunch, Corbin, Lam, Quan & I went swimming. I actually got in the water and swam. It was so hot just sitting on the side in the sun, and it was really fun.













After swimming, I met my friend at an Al-Anon meeting, which I enjoy attending, and it was a good meeting. I saw an old friend and his wife there, and they told me that her son had died just two weeks ago of a drug overdose, so she wasn't doing very well. Oh my, so sad. After the meeting, Rhonda & I went to eat Mexican Food and had a nice visit.

I got home and Haley, Mason's new friend is over visiting. Here's a picture I took of them.













It was a great day off!

I Love The Gospel

We have been visiting a ‘Calvinistic’ church the last few weeks, the only Calvinistic church I know of in our area. It’s the same church I wrote about a few months ago here. We decided then that we would not attend because of what we perceive as ‘works’ preaching.

I believe in gospel preaching. Preaching Christ and him crucified, and there is some of that going on at this church.

I decided to try the church again mainly because I wanted Mason to be around other young people, young people that have morals and values. And Mason likes the young people he has met there. I do too. In fact, Mason met a young girl there that he really likes. Her name is Haley and he has been hanging out with her quite a bit. A very sweet young girl. All the people at the church have been so nice and friendly. I genuinely like them. I went to a ladies gathering with them last Wednesday night, and talked at length with several of the ladies. Such nice people.

I’ve had a nagging feeling though about going to the church because of the ’works’ preaching and teaching. I’ve been praying that the Lord would show me if I should be attending or not. When I talk about my concerns with people, I am told, you will never find a perfect church. ----OK. I’ll keep going, I think, knowing all along in my heart that I am not looking for the perfect church. I know what dreadful sinners all people are, me included, and of course there is no perfect church. I can live with an unperfect church.

But, I just think there are some core things that I must have in a church that I am going to attend. One of those things is no works preaching. I believe the bible emphasizes repeatedly how it is all of grace and none of works. And not just in salvation. Look at Galatians 3.

1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if [it be] yet in vain. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, [doeth he it] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

I don’t want someone telling me what I need to DO for Christ. I want to hear Christ preached. I want to hear about what Christ has DONE, not I what I should DO.

When I hear about Christ and him crucified, it wells up within me such love for him. That makes me want to do the right things. (Not that I always do, in fact I fail miserably).

This morning in Sunday School, the lesson was on evangelizing. Teaching us a method to use to talk to people about Christ, about how even though we don’t want to talk to others about Christ and it sure is hard to do, we are commanded to, so we must work hard on doing this.

And yes, we ARE commanded to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. I know this. But give me a lesson on what Christ has done for me and I WANT to go evangelize. Give me a lesson about how I NEED to evangelize and I feel guilty because I don’t evangelize enough, or I feel pumped up to get busy and go evangelize to make some points with God. ---And what good is that?

There is lots of talk at this church about repentance and sanctification. Do I believe in repentance and sanctification? You bet I do. But probably not in the same way it’s being teached there. I believe repentance means a change of mind, a change in our thinking, and of course, as that happens, there will be a change in the way we do things, but the main focus is on the change in our minds in the way we see the gospel. The main point being that Christ does it ALL. We no longer work to gain acceptance with God. We rest in Christ alone.

And I believe sanctification means: being set apart and holy, which we are if Christ died for us. We are set apart and holy, as holy as we will ever be. We do not become more and more holy as we go along. When we are in Christ, we are as holy as we can get. God sees us as completely holy and perfect because that’s what Christ is. We don’t work to become more holy. Although we do grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord as believers.

There are so many pictures or allegories in the bible about works vs. grace. I know it must be so important to God. He will have us relying only on Christ. Christ gets all the glory. We get none. I believe that’s what it’s all about. Resting in Christ alone. And that takes all the pressure off of me. I don’t have to do a thing. What a wonderful gospel. I love that gospel and that’s what I love to hear preached.

What am I going to do about attending the church? I don’t know for sure, but I’m leaning towards not going there, and that makes me somewhat sad because I sure like the people there. I’m still praying about it, but I feel in a way that my prayer has been answered already.

Mason & I left after Sunday School and listened to a sermon when we got home on the computer. It was called “Christ, our Hope,” and it sure was good.

I love to tell the story,
'twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

Pride is concerned with WHO is right. Humility is concerned with WHAT is right.

I found this quote today and I like it. Not sure about who said it, (I didn't), but it's a good one, I think.

A Good Sermon

Today we listened to THIS sermon and I thought it was so good. If you've got 45 minutes to spare and would like to, take a listen.

A Wonderful Summer Day

Two Different Jesus’s

It seems that in religion today, as long as you believe in Jesus, well everything is just fine and we can all get along and worship together, no problem. I just have one question about that. Which Jesus?

There’s the Jesus who loves everybody & died for everybody (even though not everybody will be saved). The one who desperately hopes all will accept him and be saved. The one who failed to accomplish what he really wanted to accomplish.

Then there’s the Lord Jesus who loves his people and died to save them (and everyone of them WILL be saved). His death was completely effectual. In fact, his death is the only reason they will be saved. He is the victorious king!

These really are two different Jesus’s, I believe. In the first one, what makes the difference in a person’s salvation is the person themselves, their decision to accept him, their work. In the second, what makes the difference is the Lord Jesus alone.

I do not believe God will accept a salvation in which a person makes the difference. Just as he would not accept Cain's sacrifice because it involved a work of his own. --But God most definitely WILL accept a salvation in which Christ makes the difference. Just as he accepted Abel's sacrifice because it was a blood sacrifice and picture of Christ. Christ will always get all the glory in the salvation of his people. Always.

Which Jesus do you believe in?

My Friday

It has been so windy here lately, but this morning for a few hours it was pretty calm. Yea! So I got out my bicycle and went for a ride. I only went five miles though. For some reason lately, I just don't feel like riding my bicycle. I get on it and go a few blocks and am ready to come back home. I don't want to get too far from home because I'm afraid I will get tired and then I can't stop until I get all the way back, so if I stay close, I can quit just about any time I want. --And it seems I WANT very shortly after starting. I don't know what's up with that.

Anyway, Corbin & his cousin, Max came over for a few hours this morning after my short ride.

They played outside with Lilly and took turns on the swing.









Mason worked from 6:30 until 1:30, then went and got a haircut, and has been on the computer all afternoon.

Doesn't his haircut look nice?? I think so.





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How Very Strange

Something very odd (to me) happened last week. My mother died. You might say, “Odd, how? People die all the time.” And yes, I know they do, but I’ve never had my mother die before. I stood by her bed with my siblings and watched her take her last breath. It felt so odd to be doing such. It happened exactly as the nurses said it would, those last couple of hours. Her breath got shallower and shallower until it finally just stopped. Several times she would stop breathing completely for a few seconds, then start again. Each time I would think, “….this is it. She is gone.” But then, she would start up again. A couple of times she made a loud gasping noise. But her breaths just got shorter and shorter and shorter. When they couldn’t get any shorter, they stopped. The nurse listened to her heart and said, “Her heart has stopped now. She is gone.” How very strange it all felt.

I kept talking to her as she was dying because people say the hearing is the last thing to go, and that she could hear me. I really don’t know if I believe that. In fact, I think I lean towards not believing it, or that if she could hear me, she probably couldn't make sense of what I are saying. My mother was on lots of pain medication and was talking out of her head some before she went unconscious, for one thing, and I guess I think that with all that was going on in her body, she probably couldn’t process very clear thoughts at that time anyway. But, I don’t know. I could be wrong. She may have known exactly what was going on around her. I just don’t think so, ....but that’s just my opinion.

I dreamed the other night that my mother was alive again, and was in the same miserable state she was in before she died. “Oh no,” I thought, “I don’t want this. I would rather her be gone and out of her misery." --I’m glad she is pain free now.

But I will miss her. Heck, I've only known her for 52 years! And she was a lovely, sweet lady. She loved me very much, I know she did. And I loved her too.

When I was in Tyler last week, Dorothy my stepmom gave me some bulbs to plant. They were Daffodils, Red Oxblood Lillies, & Red Spider Lillies. Today I got out and planted them in the back yard out my bedroom window. You can't see them all because some are just bulbs. ---Hopefully they will all come up.

Thanks Dorothy!


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Working Hard

Here's what I've got Bo out doing today:












And here's a front yard shot where he's finished already. Remember the trees we bought not too long ago. They're putting on leaves and doing good!











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Move On Down

I need to do a blog post to get that annoying picture to move on down, but I don't have much to blog about really. My forehead IS healing nicely and my black eyes are about gone, thank goodness.

Here's a funny picture of Lilly taking a nap out in the sun in the backyard.










And here's a cute one of Corbin & his friends. We took them to Palo Duro Canyon again for hike a couple of weeks ago.











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Aaaaccccckkkkk! Who Is That Woman???

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God's Justice

This morning I was driving along listening to a sermon on the radio from a local Baptist Church here in town, a BIG Baptist Church here in town. The preacher was talking about the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16. In presenting the story about paying all the workers the same wage, the ones that worked all day, and the ones who came in the eleventh hour, the preacher had this to say, 'The Lord is not just. He showed grace to all the workers, but he is not just.' He repeated a couple of times that God is NOT just.

Huh?? The Lord is not just? I must say, I just cringed as I listened to the man say this, because I believe the Lord is completely just. Completely. In fact, I rest in that justice, that he will always do what is right.

God sent his son, the Lord Jesus to this earth to die for the sins of his people because he IS just and and his justice demands that sin be paid for. And once the sins are paid for, God's justice demands that he accept the people that Christ died for because they no longer have any sin. They are as perfect as Christ, because God sees us 'in Christ.' He is our substitute. And because of God's justice, he can never change his mind or loose even one of those Christ died for because there is no reason to punish us. What a wonderful blessing and a comfort to know.

Because of God's justice, those Christ died for can rest easy. If God wasn't just, we would have much to worry about. I believe and rest in God's justice.

Here I am, and no, I didn't join a motorcycle gang or anything. A week or so ago when Whitney was moving, she gave Mason this little exercise wheel dealie.






.....And today I thought I would give it a try. Haha. Big Mistake. BIG mistake. I got down on my knees and gave it a push. Whoops! It took off so fast... my forehead hit the hardwood floor HARD. I was stunned for a few seconds, then felt something warm running down my face. Blood. Oh my gosh. I stumbled into the other room and looked in the mirror. I had a 2.5 inch gash on my forehead, it wouldn't stop bleeding, and my neck was really hurting too. What to do, what to do. I was at home alone. Bo was in Gruver, Mason at work. ......OK. I knew I needed stitches because it was a nasty looking gash. I got a wet rag and held it on the cut and drove myself to the Urgent Care center. Mason called in the mean time, and met me there, and Bo left the feedyard and started heading this way.

Yes, you definately need stitches, the Dr said.

Ugh, what about the scar, I asked.

Well, we could try using glue instead of stitches. Hopefully that won't leave as bad of a scar, but you will have a scar.

Great.

So he glued me up, bandaged me up, told me to watch for signs of a concussion, said I would have a sore neck for several days, and sent me home.

Didn't I just run my face into the garage door back in January??? Boy, oh boy. Seems I'm on a mission to destroy my face or something. Hopefully this is the end of that mission.

I got two monitors on my computer at work. Yea! I'm so excited.





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A Sad Tale

Today I picked Corbin up from school and I noticed he had a new haircut. It was really short and looked so cute.

"Hey, I like your haircut," I said.

"I might as well tell you right now Grana..... I got in trouble today and had to go to the office," Corbin said, with a big tear in his eye.

"Uh, oh. What happened?"

"We were in the library taking an AR test and my friends and I started whispering to each other, asking and telling the answers. The librarian heard us and sent us all to the office, and we each got a swat by the principal, and it hurt. Then they called Daddy and told him, and he said I would get in more trouble when I get home. I'm just so scared because Daddy told me not too long ago that the next time I get a spanking, he will use a belt. I've never had a spanking with a belt before, only by his hand."

Talk about a heartbreaking tale! I wanted to scoop him up, hug him, and tell him it's OK, I'll tell Daddy not to spank you. Of course, I would never do that and even think he needs to be punished in order to teach him never to do such again, but you know, he's my baby. LOL. We talked the rest of the way home all about how cheating is wrong, and whatever punishment Daddy and Mommy choose is warranted, and I hope he learns a good lesson, etc., etc.

When Jenny came to pick him up, he really started to cry and told her the whole story again. She had already talked to Cody, and told Corbin that Daddy would give him a punishment when he gets home.

Sniff, sniff.

I don't know what happened after that, but hopefully it wasn't too bad. And hopefully Corbin will not cheat on a test again anytime soon. Bless his sweet heart.

"The Price of Discipline is Always Less Than the Pain of Regret." ~~Nido Qubein

I found this quote today and I really like it. I don't know who Nido Qubein is, but I think that's a great quote!

We Have New Trees!

When we were in Tyler last weekend, we bought two trees at the Texas Tree Blowout in Canton. Woo Hoo!

Bo planted them this week. One is a Chinese Pistachio and the other is a Purple Leaf Plum. Don't they look nice?? (You may have to use your imagination, since one doesn't even have any leaves on it yet.)

Regrets, Responsibility & God's Sovereignty

Something I have been thinking about today is regrets. Do you have any? I do, but I also believe that all things are predestined to be just as they are, so then how do I reconcile the two, regrets and predestination? Why would I regret something if it happened just as God predestined it to happen? And I know that God always knows best.

The Apostle Paul went about killing christians before his eyes were opened to see the Lord Jesus. Surely he had regrets about that and the people he influenced. You could say maybe he reconciled his regrets by knowing that the christians just went home to be with the Lord (and they did, I believe), but what of the left behind family members? What about children that lost parents because of Paul's destruction and then grew up and never came to know Christ because they didn't have that parent around to instruct them. Maybe I'm reaching a little bit here, but that sounds like a reasonable regret for Paul to have to me, .....even though it was the Lord's will.

This is somewhat like the correlation of reconciling God's sovereignty with our responsibility. We are responsible, yet God is sovereign over all things. This has always puzzled me a bit, even though I believe both are true. It can seem to make sense that if we are responsible, we then must be free. Vincent Cheung, a man that I like to read sometimes, says we are responsible because God is sovereign, NOT because we are free.

This is an interesting quote from Vincent Cheung in his article 'The Author of Sin':

Moral responsibility (or accountability) has to do with whether God has decided to judge us; it has no direct relationship with whether we are free. In fact, if we were free from God but not judged by God, then we would still not be morally responsible (or accountable). In other words, moral responsibility does not presuppose human freedom, but it presupposes divine sovereignty. We are responsible not because we are free, but we are responsible precisely because we are not free.

I have to read that a few times to rap my brain around it, but it helps me to understand. We are responsible because God says we are, like it or not. God can do whatever he wants to do. He is the creator and we are his creatures.

Romans 9:17-21 says:
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Oh, may he be pleased to have mercy on me.

Three Boys & A Dog

Today Corbin & his friends, Lam & Quan came over for the afternoon. I just had the best time having them here. It was a gorgeous day and we stayed out in the backyard the whole time.

It got to be about 7:00 pm and I said, Well, I guess I better take you boys home.' One of the twins said, 'Oh do we have to? It's just so comfortable here.' LOL. So cute.

Lilly is worn out tonight. They kept her hopping. (literally).

Grandkids are so fun.

My Morning Coffee Thoughts

My sister gave me this cup a couple of months ago. It says Granna on it because that's my 'Grandma name.' I drink my coffee from it most mornings and I like alot. I like it because it's easy to drink from and has a nice handle to hold on to, but mostly I like it because while I'm drinking from it, I always think about two people that mean so much to me: Mary Ellen, who gave it to me, and Corbin, my grandson.

Mary Ellen is such a kind and thoughtful sister. She is a good friend and she makes me feel loved and cared about. I appreciate that so much, and Corbin, well, he's my most favorite grandson in the whole world!

Just thought I'd share that this morning, as I sit here drinking my coffee from my special cup. Have a great day!

Clarification

OK, you know in my last post when I said: I went to the gym and walked 3 miles on the treadmill at 6.6 miles an hour and worked out some on the other equipment, and as I was leaving, I noticed that I didn't feel tired at all and kept wondering if the treadmill pedometer was right.

Well, I've been to the gym twice since then and I now know that the treadmill pedometer WASN'T right. I didn't walk 3 miles at 6.6 miles per hour. For one thing, I wouldn't be able to WALK 6.6 miles an hour. The treadmill would be going too fast to WALK. I would have to RUN at that speed. LOL. I probably walked like 2 miles at 4.5 miles an hour that day.

I knew that was just too easy, too good to be true. But...... what I said after that is still true. I was and am still feeling very good, lots of energy and in a very good, optimistic mood, and I'm loving that.

I have been dieting since Tuesday, eating around 1,000 calories a day. I know what most will say, .....why are YOU dieting?? I am pretty thin, but I have gained 5 lbs since Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I think if I don't do something about it now, it will slowly begin to creep up again, then before you know it, I'll have 20 lbs to loose. I lost 20 lbs about 5 years ago and have worked hard to keep it off. It really does take a life change to loose weight and KEEP IT OFF. You can't just diet, loose the weight, then go right back to eating the same old way, I have found out, .....much to my chagrin because I LOVE to eat, and my downfall is chocolate and sweets. I love, love, love sweets.

Anyway, I was reading that antioxidants are such good anti-aging foods, so I have been trying to eat alot of them this week (since I AM beginning to get up there in years). I've been eating lots of sweet potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes & blueberries, and avocados. Plus I have not had a Diet Dr Pepper since Monday, and I've been drinking lots of water. Today I noticed that I had alot of energy and really felt good. I can't remember a time that I have actually noticed feeling much better while eating certain things, but I have to say that today I did notice that. I went to the gym and walked 3 miles on the treadmill at 6.6 miles an hour and worked out some on the other equipment, and as I was leaving, I noticed that I didn't feel tired at all and kept wondering if the treadmill pedometer was right.

I just wonder, could it be the foods high in antioxidants causing me to feel so good today? (I really didn't feel bad to begin with). Or is it giving up the Diet Dr Pepper's, or drinking alot of water? (I can't say that is a permanent thing. I like my Diet Dr. Peppers). Or is it just in my head?? I don't know, but hopefully I can continue with my good diet and keep feeling this good!

It ain't easy to eat 1,000 calories a day. Ugh. I'm hungry alot, but I keep telling myself that when I do eat normally again, I get to almost double that. Yea!

Wierd

I went to Walmart a little while ago, and as I was walking in, a man was coming out. He had a big black smudge of what looked like grease smeared across his forehead. I thought mmm, maybe he has been working on his car or something. No big deal.

About 15 minutes later on the soft drink isle, there was a very pregnant lady standing there looking at drinks. She looked up at me, and she had a big black smudge of something on HER forehead. I stood there for a few seconds looking at her just to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. ---Yep, a big black smudge. I started to say something to her about it, but decided against it.

As I got to the end of the isle, I kid you not, there was an older man with a big black smudge on his forehead. Now this is weird, I thought. Each of these people appeared to be all alone and I don't think had any connection with each other.

I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something.




POST SCRIPT: OK. Sister Mary just informed me that today is Ash Wednesday and some religious people mark their foreheads with ashes to show penitence before God.

Uh-huh. I bet God is REALLY impressed with that. LOL.

Bo & I took Corbin and his two friends to Palo Duro Canyon today, and we all walked the 6 mile round trip to the Lighthouse.

No, you're not seeing double. The friends are twins. Two little boys whose parents are from Vietnam. Their names are Lam & Quan, and they are very sweet, inquisitive and fun little guys, and of course, my Corbin is also. We had a great time hiking along and visiting with these guys. I could not tell the twins apart and so every time I needed to get the attention of one of them, I would call out Lam-Quan!, and they would both turn around. I never did figure out how to tell them apart.















We were all so tired at the end and so glad to see the truck again and get some water to drink.

Then on the way home I turned around and this is what I saw in the back seat.


That's about how I feel myself tonight, ----along with a few sore muscles.

Nothing Much

Today was such a gorgeous day here in the Texas Panhandle. It was sunny, 60 degrees and virtually no wind. YeeHaw! Days with no wind are few and far between around here, so I get pretty excited when we have one, especially in the dead of winter. Lilly & I went for a 3.5 mile walk around the neighborhood. I'm trying to teach her to HEAL. She is a strong headed little booger, but she is learning. I read that when you let dogs run out in front of you on a walk, they begin to think that THEY are the leader of the pack and you are the follower. They need to know that you are the boss and are in charge. So that's what I am working on. Letting Lilly know that she's not the boss.

After our walk, I went to the mall and walked around for a while, then bought some coffee and just sat and watched people. People are funny, your know. It was a nice afternoon.

Yesterday I was pulling out of the driveway for work when I realized I forgot something in the house. I hit the garage door remote and stopped the garage door from going all the way down. It stopped at about my eye level and I jumped out of the car and proceeded to RUN towards the back door. There was only one problem..... I forgot to duck under the garage door as I ran in. Boom! I hit the door with the left side of my FACE! Owwwww. That really hurt. It took a couple of seconds for me to get my bearings and figure out what a DUMB thing I did. Today I have a big knot on my forehead and red spot under my eye. Good grief. I amaze myself sometimes with my own stupidity.

Lilly, the Attack Dog

Confessing our Sinfulness

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us (our) sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

I used to read this verse and wonder how I could possibly confess or name all my sins to God. I sure can't remember them all, and don't even think about so many of them as sins, even though they are.

Also I have read this verse and others and wondered: ' I thought my sins were already forgiven at the cross, why am I to name them each day and ask for forgiveness again. '

Well, I now think that what this verse is talking about is professing and acknowledging always that I AM a sinner, and am in need of a Saviour. --Agreeing with God that I am sinful. Alot of times that will entail naming particular sins just because I am burdened with them and sorry for them and naming them is part of agreeing with God of just how sinful I am. But I do not have to worry about naming every sin everyday in order to have them forgiven. All my sins are already forgiven at the cross.

AND I think this verse is essentially saying that all those that do truly see their sinful condition and their great need of a Saviour already ARE forgiven. The confession (or agreeing with God) is the evidence of salvation, not the cause of it.

It is true, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's just that we won't confess or look at just how sinful we are, unless we are one of his. And if we are one of his, we definitely will confess our sinfulness.

I think that anybody that believes they can in any way contribute to their own salvation really cannot see just how sinful they are. If they could, they would know that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. No work we can do could possibly make God look favorably upon us. --Only the work that Christ has done. So..... I think the verse is saying: if we agree with God that all our deeds truly are sinful, we will know that we can do nothing to attain salvation and therefore know that only thru Christ can we be saved, and when we know this (thru the Holy Spirit's revelation), we know that we are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Hope my jibberish makes some kind of sense. And I pray the Lord will teach me and show me the truth, if that isn't it. ...........Goodnight.

Lilly Bug

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Where is your Assurance?

Do you believe you know Christ and you will go to be with him in heaven when you die? If your answer is yes, why do you believe this is so? Why do you believe you will go to heaven? Would your answer be that you prayed a prayer one time and you are resting on that act as your assurance? That used to be my answer to that question. When I would have doubts I would actually recall to mind the time that I prayed a prayer asking for Jesus to come into my heart, and I would feel better. I would feel assured that I was a christian. So many men told me that I could do that.

I believed that Christ died for all men, but his death on the cross wasn't enough. Something must be added to it. That something was me praying that prayer, me making a decision to accept him. I thought I had to DO something to make Christ's death effectual. I know now that that is such a lie. Christ's death was completely effectual. Absolutely nothing needs to be added to it. Every single person he died for WILL go to heaven.

And I believe that when a person is relying on that prayer, that decision, that profession, the Lord hasn't truly revealed himself to them. They don't truly know him. That's not to say that they never will. I don't know who the elect are. But I believe that if you are relying on ANYTHING but Christ alone, then you don't truly know him. I didn't truly know him for many years and I believed I did. Sometimes though, even now, I wonder if I truly know him. I believe that he died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people and that every one he died for will go to heaven, but sometimes I wonder if I am one of those people. Oh, I sure hope so. I know that my only hope is in Christ. If he sees fit to have mercy on me, if he died for me, I am one of his. I think that his revealing this knowledge to me lets me know that I am one of his. But sometimes I have doubts. I am such a sinful creature. It's when I take my eyes off Christ and look at my sin that I doubt. I know his death is completely sufficient to cover all my sin. I must just keep looking to Christ for my assurance. He is my only hope, and your only hope too.

I do know that salvation is in a person, not in an act. Praise the name of the Lord!

Today Uncle John died. He is Bo's uncle on his mother's side. He lived alone in Gruver, the town where Bo works and his extended family lives. Uncle John's wife died 11 or 12 years ago. I met her just a few times before she died. Uncle John had a stroke 15 or 20 years ago and had no use of one side of his body. His wife took good care of him while she was alive and everyone thought he wouldn't survive without her, but he did. He learned to take care of himself, but it was a struggle for him everyday. He was such a kind man, very friendly and thoughtful of others, never complaining of all his struggles.

Today a Meals-On-Wheels lady went to his house to take him lunch. He never came to the door, so she called Corky, Bo's dad. Corky went over to check on him and found his body still in his bed, but his spirit was no longer with us. We're so glad that he seems to have gone in a peaceful way, but sad that he's gone.

Bo, Jocelyne, & I took him lunch on Christmas Eve and visited with him for a little while. That's the last time we saw him. Bo has always been close to him, visits him regularly, and I know will miss him greatly. I will miss his smiling face too.

Goodbye Uncle Johnny! We are so glad to have known you.

The Last Day of the Year

Today was a busy day. It started out with plumbing problems at my house. The bathtub would hardly drain and the toilet backed up into the shower, so that was nice. (NOT!) Today was the day for my ladies to come clean so I thought I was going to have to call them and cancel and I wasn't happy about that, because my house was pretty dirty after all the cooking and extra folks around during the holidays, (which I loved having by the way). I got on the phone at 7:30 this morning and called Scottco, and wow! were they fast. They were at my house by 8:15 and had everything flowing again by 8:45. The ladies came about 10:00 and I left for work. I stayed there until 4:30 and got ALOT done because I was the only one there, which was nice for being productive. I came home and my house looked bea-u-tiful and that makes me feel happy and carefree (for a little while anyway). Then another guy from Scottco came over and ran a camera thru our pipes. I stood out in the cold and watched the little screen as the camera went thru. ......Very interesting stuff. Never seen anything quite like it before. The guy said it all looked good, and we are guaranteed a year's worth of 'no stop-ups.' That's nice. After that I ran to Walmart for a few things.

Tonight I am just sitting in my chair enjoying the quiet. Mason is watching a John Wayne movie he rented and Bo isn't home from work yet. Lilly is being a good little girl and taking a nap.

That's it for me. Happy New Year to You!

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Jenny, my sweet daughter-in-law.

Adam Wayne was born 26 years ago today. What a wonderful blessing from God!

Bo & I made a quick trip to Tyler on Thursday and got back today (Saturday). We spent most of the day on Friday visiting my Mama. She was doing pretty good that day and we enjoyed the visit very much. We also went over to visit Daddy & Dorothy. They were doing good and we enjoyed seeing them too.

We stayed with sister Mary & John. They put us up in their 5th wheel out beside their house. It was very comfortable and we are very appreciative of their hospitality. --Although I think they were ready to get rid of us this morning and John snuck out and turned the water off. Last time I was there, I think he snuck out and turned off the heat. LOL.

We went out to eat at Red Lobster on Friday night with sister Mary & John, sister Glenda & Rudy, Michael, Kelly & Caleb, and Whitney and her friend, Cindy. It was good food and good fellowship.

Michael is home on leave from the Marines and wow, he sure is all muscled up. I almost didn't recognize him, bulging out of his shirt like that!

He's a sweetie, and it was so good to see him, and everybody else too.








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My Christmas Present from Cody, Jenny & Corbin

I just love my new bench for the backyard!







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Merry Christmas!

We have had a great time at our house this Holiday season. On Sunday night all the kids were over for our Christmas family gathering. We had a good meal and really enjoyed the time together. (At least Bo & I did) Mason made the broccoli & rice casserole, and Jocelyne made the sweet potato souffle'. I did the rest and it all turned out great, I thought. After eating, we opened gifts and just visited for a while.




Here's the kid's annual Christmas picture. Aren't they a good looking bunch?









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I talked to my mother tonight. 'It won't be long now, Honey,' she told me. 'But I feel so loved, so many people have shown me such love. I'm not afraid. Don't worry about me. I love you and I know you love me.' Oh, this alarms me. I believe people have a sense of when they are about to die. My son, Adam said to the nurse on the day he died, 'Am I going to die today? Please don't let me die today.'

Living in the world without my mother in it seems strange to me. She has always been here on earth, while I have been here. Even though I live far away from her and don't talk to her everyday, she is just here, and I know she's here. To not be able to pick up the phone and talk to her just seems weird. Oh my. --I know it will be OK. I know this is just part of life, loosing a parent. I am blessed to have had her this long, but this feels strange, unfamiliar, unsettling.

One Step Forward (Finally), Then One Step Back

Bo & I have been working hard to get Lilly housebroken. We take her outside ALOT and she will go, but she will go in the house too. Bo installed a doggie door for her and she goes outside sometimes by herself, but never to relieve herself. She only does that if we are with her. But today she went outside all by herself and pooped, then came back in. Yea!! I was so excited. (I was watching out the window). I gave her lots of praise and a treat. I was so happy, then in a few minutes, .........she peed in the floor.

Gosh, housebreaking a dog is hard.

The Letter Came Today!

Good News! He made it into the Program. Yea! I'm so proud of Mason. He has worked hard and it is paying off. He's got a lot of studying ahead of him, but I know he can do it. He will start back to school on January 14th, so he has a whole month off to rest up and get ready.

Way to go, Mason!

No Letter Yet, Hopefully Tomorrow

On Pins & Needles

Well, Mason finished up the fall semester in college. He made 3 B's & 2 A's. Yea! I think that's pretty good. I'm very proud of him. Now we are waiting to see if he made it into the Physical Therapy Assistant Program. There were 35 people applying and 24 will make it. It's based on grades mostly, but a couple of other things are factored in too. The Program Director said she would mail acceptance and rejection letters yesterday after the grades came out, so we are hoping to receive the letter today, but maybe Monday. Mason is anxiously waiting. The mail usually runs around noon, but we have snow today so it may be later

...........I'll let you know the outcome.




(Later the same day) - Well, the mail came and the letter wasn't in it. Boo. Now we'll have to wait until Monday.

A TEST

I'm just trying out the Blogger video upload feature to see if it works and this is the most recent video I have. It was taken at Sister Mary's house at Thanksgiving. We were singing 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling.' Pretty bad, but oh well..... we had a good time anyway.

Well, it took a while to upload but it works!

Lilly Update

Well, my first day with Lilly the dog was quite challenging, trying to get all my household chores done and watch her too, trying to make sure she didn't do her business in the house and cleaning up after her when she did. I called Bo at work that day saying, 'I just don't know if I can do this. Maybe this was a mistake!'

The second day, I started reading about housebreaking dogs on the internet, and learned about crate training. We had bought a crate the day we got Lilly because the breeder said to, so I decided to use it. I know it sounds cruel, but I really don't think it is. Lilly is getting used to it and doesn't seem to mind. It's been much better since I started using the crate. I don't have to watch her every second. I do take her out every hour or so to go outside, and she is slowly learning, I think. I let her out for a couple of hours to play everyday. (I try to take her for a walk, but she doesnt seem very interested in that. Hopefully she will learn to like it). The reason for the crate is so she has no opportunity to 'go' in the house, only outside. She doesn't go in the crate. Most dogs won't.

I'm feeling better about her now and even enjoy her sometimes. Hey, maybe there's hope for me yet.






OK, all you dog lovers. Please don't hate me.

Yesterday was Bo & I's 12th anniversary. WooHoo!

We couldn't think of anything special to do, so we decided to drive to Lubbock (about 2 hours away) for the day and just goof off and eat out. While we were there we remembered that Lubbock is where my neighbor, Suzanne said she got her little dog, so we thought we would call Suzanne, get the number to the breeder and just go LOOK at dogs. Yeah, that would be fun. Well, we got the number, called the breeder and headed out to their house. When we got there, she said she didn't have any puppies ready right now, but she had two 5 month old female Yorkies that she was saving to use as breeders, but had decided they were just too small, so she was going to sell them. They were about 3-4 lbs each. Oh dear, that sure is small, but they were just so cute. Another couple was there looking at them too. We stayed for 30-45 minutes and of course, we couldn't help but want one, but I just couldn't decide for sure. (Such a big decision for me, you know). The other couple took one of the dogs and left. Bo & I decided we would go back to town and eat and just think about it for a little while. I worried and fretted about it the whole time. Should we? shouldn't we? should we? shouldn't we?

After a couple of hours, as we were driving around we just happened to wind up at Petsmart. Mmmm. Imagine that. So we wandered in and bought a few dog things. OK, we were gettin a dog. ....Oh dear. ....I am so nervous about all this. We called the breeder back to tell her yes, we want the dog.

I'm sorry, I just sold it. She said.

You're kidding! Did you really? (After all the agonizing I did about it?)

Yes, I did. I really didn't think you were going to take it. .....But since that happened, I do have a 6 month old female that I was going to use as a breeder that I will sell to you. She is a little bigger than the other two though. She weights 5 lbs.

OK, we'll come look at her and see what we think. (We didn't mention that we had already loaded down the car with doggie things)

Well, of course "Lilly" was so very cute too! We filled out the papers, wrote the check, loaded her up, and headed back home.



So now we have a dog. Oh my gosh! Me, with a dog. If you know me very well, you know just how odd that is. I have never liked dogs, ever. But, I like Lilly alot so far. We'll see how it goes.







Today Lilly & I went for a bike ride.












Oh, and Bo says this is a trial. He will hold off getting too attached to Lilly. If I should change my mind in the first couple of months, we can sell her. "Carol with a dog" is not written in STONE. (I think maybe he just said that so I would say yes to getting her) LOL.

--But I'm going to give it a good shot.

I haven't blogged for a while, and I really have nothing to blog about today! Not much going on, and that's a good thing, I think. I can think of times in my life when alot was going on, and it wasn't necessarily good. Bo & I went for a 3 mile walk this morning and I went for a 15 mile bicycle ride this afternoon. It's a gorgeous day here, hardly any wind, 78 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. I love, love, love days like this, and I know we don't have many left for this year.

Corbin & I went to see 'The Martian Child' movie yesterday. It was OK, nothing spectacular. I think Corbin got bored. It was NOT an action movie and that's what he likes. Then last night Bo & I went to a West Texas A&M football game. We got all bundled up, took some hot cappucino in a thermos and just enjoyed the game. I'm not much of a football fan, but Bo is and I enjoyed just being out and watching people. It was fun.

Well, that's about all I got.

Tah, tah for now!