A Sermon

I still have some notes I took one Sunday. It was a god sermon. I don't usually take notes but that day our pastor told us things that I knew I should do. He said we should put away all bad feelings that we have and forgive anyone that have ever wronged us. Even if you think you've forgiven them, you can't seem to forget it and you should. He also said we should make a list of our blessings and thank God for them. So something for someone. Don't gripe about things that happen and don't take part in gossip. Memorize scripture. I wish I had done more of that when I was young and could. Don't be a part-time christian. Service the Lord and rejoice in the Lord always. Our Pastor has re-tired and we haven't filled our pulpit yet. He had been here for eighteen years and he's been a good pastor. He's always been a pastor to the whole community whether you are a member of ou chuch or not. I pray that God will send us another pastor like him.

Today's Devottional

I'm using a devotional book by Joni Eareckson Tada. Today there was a poem in it by a missionary. I thought it was so beautiful. Of course I've always loved poetry. It was about a rose. It's only a tiny rosebud-- a flower of God's design But I can't unfold the petals with these clumsy hands of mine The secret of unfolding flowers is not known to such as I If I canot unfold a rosebud this flower of God's design Then how can I think I have wisdom to unfold this life of mine So I'll trust in Him for His leading each moment of every day And I'll look to Him for His guidance each step of the pilgrim way For the pathway that lies before me my Heavenly Father knows I'll trust Him to unfold the moments just as He unfolds the rose We have lots of things that happen to us in this life but God is always there. We can always look for Him for His guidance and that's what we should do. Every flower that God has made is beautiful. So don't you think that every person His has made can be beautiful too if they let God lead their life and I have known a lot of beautiful people that has let God lead their life.

A People Saved By The Lord

I made a fool of myself at church a few weeks ago. I guess I've been a little angry at God although it wasn't His fault, mine. Sometimes I just open my mouth and make me look like a fool. As I get older it's easier done. Today I was reading my devotion and I liked what I read. It's talking about Israel but I'm claiming it for me. "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in His majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath is the everlasting arms." So no matter how bad my mind gets, God will always be there.

Getting Old

There are some nice things about getting old but mostly it's hard. One of the worse things about getting old is your mind leaves you. Things that have been in your brain for years is gone. Words is one of the worst things. It makes it hard for you to talk at all. Sometimes I think I should not talk at all. Sometimes I make a fool of myself. Will the time come when I won't know anything? I hope I go to heaven before then. Life does get harder as you get older. Women are usually left alone. The state of Illinois don't want me to drive anymore. What do they think I can do, I live in the country. It's embarassing when you do something or say something that doesn't make sense. I hope that people realize that someday it may be them. I know that I didn't have enough patience with my mother when she got old so I don't deserve patience. I just hope that my mind doesn't totally leave me. At least maybe I'll never forget who I am.

Water From The Well

This morning at church, the preacher preached in First Chronicles, chapter 11. Talked about David wanting water from the well. It made me think of something that an old friend of my Dad's family told me. They were neighbors and her husband and my Dad had grown up as neighbors. The story she told me was about the night my Grandmother died. My Dad's mother. There was a well there but they didn't use it anymore. I don't even know where it was, even though Bill and I lived there for a while when we were first married. She wanted a cool drink from that well and a man that was there that night, went to the well and brought her back a glass of water from the well. I never knew my Grandmother and this lady told me some stories about her and my Dad and his brother, back when they were young. Now she's gone too and maybe in Heaven they're talking about old times.

Taste

Does your taste change as you grow older? I know that food does not taste as good as it did when I was younger. I bought strawberries this week and they looked very good. They were much bigger than the strawberries my Dad grew but didn't taste nearly as good. My Dad also had a apple orchard and the apples tasted better then too. Now there is different kinds of apples and it's hard to find some of the ones that grew in our orchard. I can buy Red Delicious but they don't taste like they did when I was young. I wonder why things do not taste as good as they used to. Is it because my taste has changed since I'm older or have they messed around with food until they have taken out the flavor.

A Leson In Humility

At the last supper, it had been a long day and I'm sure they had walked a dusty road. Jesus now showed His love. He got up from the table and took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples feet. This was a job for the lowest servants but the hands that washed those feet were the same hands that created the universe, that hung the stars in place, that created us. The bible says He washed every disciples feet. He didn't leave anyone out. He knew what was going to happen. He knew that every disciple but one would desert Him. He knew that Peter would deny Him and He knew that Judas was going to betray Him. When He had finished washing their feet, He returned to His place at the table. He told the disciples that they should do what He had done. I think this is not only a lesson in humility but also in forgive- ness. Jesus wants us to have a forgiving heart.

Lost Teeth

I paid a lot of money for a few teeth but they do not work well and tonight I thought they would not be working for me at all. I ate my lunch in a restaurant amd when I got back to the car, I took my teeth out because I had some blackberry seeds under them. Since I was in the car and couldn't wash them and I'd rather not have them in my mouth any way so I didn't put them back in. That night I started to go to bed and remembered taking my teeth out. I couldn't remember what I had done with them. I looked in my purse and they were not there. I went out and looked in my car. Looked in the dash but didn't find them. I looked over the car twice and could not think of what I did with them. I thought well if they fell out of my purse surely I would have heard them hit whereever they fell. After looking in the car twice I went through my purse again. My purse has a pocket in front that I usually use for my car keys but my keys were just inside my purse. I unzipped the pocket and sure enough there was my teeth wrapped in a tissue. While I was in Walmart I ran into a friend I hadn't seen for a while. We talked about how hard it is to be old and be a widow. It's also hard to not have your own teeth anymore.

Crucifiction

The people at the crucifiction never understood .  They thought that if Jesus was who he said he was he would save himself.  Only Jesus knew why He was dying.  He was dying for us all.  Only one criminal, who was crucified with Jesus, realized who Jesus really was and was saved before he died.  Even the disciples didn't understand until they saw Jesus after He had risen. 

When Jesus met the men on the road to Emmaus, He told them
"How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory."  On the third morning Jesus had finished what He came for.  That's why we celebrate Easter.

A Blank Post

I was looking at my posts and found a blank one. No title, no blog. How did this get on my blog? I thought well I need to write something on it but couldn't think of anything. I guess the old woman just didn't have any thoughts at this time but I didn't want a blank post on my blog. I have to go to work at the library this morning and I need to get off of the computer so this is a blog with no thoughts at all.

Marriage

Growing up in the 30s and 40s, marriage seemed to be final.
I didn't know anyone that their parents were divoced.  That certainly isn't the case these days.  I remember Bill going with our granddaughter to a school pinic.  She was with us at the time because her parents were divorced.

Her teacher told Bill fifty per cent of the children at school was from divorced homes.  I was at my granddaughters wedding and I listened to the wedding vows and I wondered do the couples today listen to what the preacher is saying.
Do you take this one to be your wedded one to this day forward, in sickness and in health so long as you both shall live.  They make that vow before God.  Do they not realize
what they are saying?    The preacher says what God joins together let not man put asunder.  Does the judge who grants
a divorce think about that? 

God created man and woman.  Adam needed a partner.  People should realize that God meant a man and a woman to be partners in marriage.  Never two women or two men.
Since Eve was the first to sin, how does that look for women?  Adam wanted a helpmate.  God gave him what he wanted.  He blamed Eve for the fall, yet she didn't put the apple in his mouth.  They were both at fault.  There's fault on both sides today when marriage goes rocky.  But I believe
most any marraige can be saved if both will work at it.

A Necklace

I opened a jewelry box this morning and I looked at the necklace that was in it and it bought back some memories of long ago.  The Avon lady came by my house every Saturday when we lived in Northern Illinois.  At that time they had lots of pretty jewelry.  I had looked at the necklace for several Saturdays.  I really wanted it.  It was
beautiful but it was also expensive and I didn't want to pay that much for it.  We didn't
have lots of money. 

One Saturday I gave in and bought the necklace.  The Avon lady went from my house to my sisters, who lived just a few blocks away.  She told Ann I had finally bought the
necklace that I had been looking at every Saturday.

After we had moved to Southern Illinois, I noticed that one of the pink pearls was miss-ing.  We had a Avon lady who came in the bank where I worked and I ask her if they
could replace the necklace but she said, they didn't sell it anymore but they would give
me my money back.  I told her no I would keep the necklace, I'd replace the pearl and   I did.  I still wear the necklace and I still like it as well as I did the day I bought it.

A Quote

I read a quote today by Lucille Ball that said you had to love yourself first to
get anything done.  The bible says to love God first and to love your neighbor
as yourself.  Maybe she really meant self-repect rather than love.  It's important
to have self-repect.

Time Travel

If I could travel back in time, what time in my life would I want to live over.  Would it be when I was young with nothing to worry about.  Would it be my high school years, spending time with old friends I knew then?
Would I want to spend a day with my family when all of us were still at home?  Would it be when I was dating my future husband, feeling the joy of falling in love?  Maybe the time when my children were small?  Perhaps the day the Lord saved me or the day when my husband was saved.  Maybe the day we stood in the hospital and viewed  our first grandchild.  It's a good thing that we don't have that choice because I'd spend the rest of my life just trying to decide on one.

Left Overs

When I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, I decided I needed to clean out the left overs in the frig.
While I was doing that, I thought "why do I keep these little dabs of food that I'm never going to eat".
They just clutter up the frig and take up room that I need for things that I'm going to use.  But I keep
putting them in there, throwing them out and then having to wash up the dishes they're in.  I need to
stop that habit.

It made me think of left overs in my mind that should have been thrown out years ago.  Old painful
hurts that keep coming back from time to time.  Things I should have done better, if I'd have been
smarter.

Poems

When I was a sophomore in high school, we had to memorize and recite a poem in English class.  Of course I chose one by Longfellow.  It was entitled "The Builders".
.  A classmate chose "I Have A Rendezvous With Death" by Alan
Seeger.  I thought, oh why did she chose that one.  I've read that poem several
times since then and I feel differently about it.  We all have a rendezvous
with death and none shall fail that rendezvous.

The Old Rugged Cross

We sang" Thhe Old Rugged Cross" at chruch Sunday and everytime I hear that song it reminds me of the
first time I ever heard Bill sang a gospel song.  It was in the early years of our marriage.   He was just sitting playing his guitar and singing as he did a lot when he was home.  He sang "The Old Rugged Cross".  I was surprised that he knew the words to it.
I said, When did you learn that song?  He said I remember hearing my mother sing it when I was growing up.  Of course they did go to church when Bill was growing up.  I guess I was just surprised because I'd never heard him sang a gospel song before.   That was the first gospel song I heard him sang but certainly not the last one.  If there was a gospel song I wanted him to sing at church, he would always learn it and sing it.  When he got sick he was working on a song I wanted him to sing at church.  I had heard the Wilburn Bros. sing it.  It was titled "Don't Go Home Unsaved".  He didn't get to sing it at church but maybe he'll sing it for me when I get to heaven.

Solomon

God gave Solomon much wisdom.  Yet I don't understand him writing Ecclesiastes.  He writes so many times that everything is meaningless and chasing after the wind.  He says one upright man amoung a thousand but not one upright woman amoung them all.  Maybe he married too many women.
Solomon was wise.  And the conclusion of the matter, he said "Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing whether is good or evil.

A Dream

One night I woke up and I had had a strange dream.  I was going on a journey and I was walking.  When I started there was a man walking along in the same direction and I knew that if I needed him, he would help me.  Along the way I took a nap and when I woike up, I was alone.  Apparantly the man had went on.  I knew I should not have went to sleep.  I went on but I didn't like being alone.  I met people along the way but
they stayed and I kept traveling.  The day got later and it got darker.  Finally there was no one but me.

I was standing in the beginning of a forest and somehow I knew I had to go through it.
I had stopped and I didn''t want to go any farther alone.  I woke up.  As I lay there thinking about the strange dream, I thought that dream is like life.  This life is like a trip and you need someone with you.  You need God.  He will not leave you, He'll stay with you all the way.

Red Raspberries

I bought some red raspberrries this week.  I ate many blackberries when I was growing up but never red
raspberries.  The first time I had those was after Bill and I moved to Milan, IL.  There was a Dairy Queen just before you left Milan to go upon the bridge into Rock Island.  Dairy Queen's were just drive-ins then, and they just had icecream, sundaes, shakes and icecream cones.  Bill loved dairy queen icecream and that was the place we went a lot in the summer evenings.  Bill just wanted a cone but I wanted a raspberry sundae.