Under His Wings

 This morning, the pastor of my home church, Central Baptist in Binghamton NY, announced that Central Baptist Christian Academy is closing at the end of this school year.  I started CBCA as a Kindergarten student in 1975. On Sunday, when I saw one of my classmates, who is a pastor in the Cleveland OH area, preaching on Facebook I realized that I have known him for just over fifty years. I loved my nine years at CBCA.  I had amazing teachers and I made the most incredible friends. I loved being involved in music.  I had my first solo in first grade. "Jesus loves the little children the whole wide world around" I sang with laryngitis. I took piano and voice lessons starting in second grade. I sang in choirs. My classmates and I had so much fun! We sang in Christmas and spring programs.  We went on many fun field trips. In first grade, we went to the florist shop my great Aunt Kay worked at.  In sixth grade I had an adoptive Grandma from Elizabeth Church Manor...

 It's been a very emotional week. My dear mother was diagnosed with a devastating illness, a form of dementia, last week. The news hit me hard to be honest.  I'm also dealing with a chronic sinus issue, which I had a CT scan for today. A few exits from the hospital, there is an amazing park I love to sit at. It brings me such enjoyment as I listen to the birds and waves of the small lake.  Today I wrote in my freewriting journal and just sat back and listened to the birds and squirrels around me. Such a peace came over me. Freeing my mind of build up emotions,  relaxing, and taking in the beauty of this late winter day, oh what a difference it made. I call this is my park therapy. It's what my weary mind needs. This and to remember God's promises. God will never leave us or forsake us. I can cast my cares on Him. He cares! 

  James 1:2 ESV Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds because I know the testing of your faith developed perserverance. I love how the English Standard Version words this verse. I have faced many kinds of trials through the years.  I also love how themes come up from time to time.  Joy has come up the past few days. My husband Tim referred to this theme of joy during his sermon last night. He was preaching from John 15:7-17.  Tim focused on verse 11.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Tim mentioned joy in trials. He used the example of the biggest trial we faced together in 1999.  Finding out at 5 months that our second child, Gabrielle Renee, had a fatal birth defect called anencephaly. He talked about our decision to carry Gabrielle despite my doctor encouraging us to induce labor early. "What is the use of carrying a child who is going to die?" He kept on asking.  ...

  I have been blessed to be able to visit Sperr Park a lot lately. Today it's an extra special blessing. A few months ago I discovered a swinging bench. Today I discovered that it's directly across the lake from the flag pole.  I'm singing the Star Spangled Banner in my head. I posted a reel on my Facebook page with the song It seems fitting as this beautiful park was founded as a memorial of State Trooper Andrew Sperr, who died nearly 20 years ago in the line of duty. He was shot by men who had just robbed a bank near the land that was transformed in his honor. I love to come here, especially this particular place, to relax and listen to the varied nature songs. My favorite here is the red wing blackbird.  I'm thinking of Psalm 19:1 NIV The heavens declare the Glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of his hands. Here it's the birds, bullfrogs, the rolling hills, the trees and  much more.  I'm sitting here with my eyes closed taking in the warm breeze and th...

 It's official!  I'm now a senior citizen.  I made my appearance in the world at 7 PM on January 11, 1970.  Now I am eligble for senior discounts.  Tim told me that includes Michaels. That will come in handy.  On Facebook, I've received greetings from people from all times of my life.  That's been fun to see. It's brought back so many fun memories.  Some from my schools, my churches, and extended family.   I've been such a blessed woman, that is for sure.  I still have my parents who still support me and show they love me.  I've been blessed with many friends and I continue to make more. I have an amazing husband and three wonderful kids.  My youngest, my daughter Anna, is planning on getting married next year.   I have a special church family who have taken Tim and I under their wings for almost a year now.  We have had so many opportuntities to serve at Christian Faith Fellowship. Most importantly I have a...

My pastor, Stephen Crupi, preached about Lamentatations 2 on Sunday morning.  Verse nineteen caught my attention. “Arise, cry out in the night,   at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water   before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him  for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger   at the head of every street." (ESV) Thankfully today, most of the children of the world are not suffering with physical hunger, but they hunger for the things of this world.  Many adults are the same way sad to say. When Pastor Stephen read the verse in Lamentations, another cry out to God verse I heard over fifteen years ago at a ladies conference immediately came to mind. Thankfully I had noted the passage so I could find it. The verse is Psalm 57:2  I cry out to God Most High,  to God who fulfills his purpose for me. On this particular day in June of 2008, my Mom and I sat listening to Joanna Arp with heavy hea...

This year has been a year for reunions.  In April, I was reunited with many of my teachers and friends from my elementary/jr, high days at Central Baptist Christian Academy.  That was so amazing seeing so many special people in a very special place. It's also where I attended church for the majority of my childhood and young adult years. The fellowship hall also served as my kindergarten and some of my Junior High classrooms. The one end was a stage used for both church and school. We had youth group in that part of the room also.  I am so thankful to have had the Christian education to form a great foundation for me to move on to public high school and beyond.  More thoughts on my Chenango Valley reunion later. On September 30, I was reunited with one of my best college friends, Charlene Martin.  We hadn't seen each other in about 30 years, but kept in touch through Facebook.  We had an amazing time catching up. It was like no time had passed.  We wil...

I recently came across this writing on my phone this week. I thought it was appropriate given the fact that Central Baptist Christian Academy is in the midst of celebrating its 50th anniversary. I had the pleasure of attending there from 1975-84. This is a bit edited from the original to bring it up to date. Even at the age of 5, I was over cautious .  The first day of kindergarten was no different.   After the short ride to the elementary school on bus 55, My bus driver, Mrs. Darling announced "All the kindergarteners stay on the bus to g o Port Crane Elementary." That was the instruction for the public school kids.  I was supposed to get off the bus to go to my school, Central Baptist Christian Academy.    Thankfully, Mrs. Darling realized my mistake in time for me to meet my correct bus .  Then when I got to school, my teacher informed me I brought the wrong glue .  She wanted me to have the stick kind with the stick in the middle.  ...

It's been over 3 years since I last wrote in this blog.  It's not that not because the lack of activity in my life.  I've been focusing my writing to short stories.  My friends in my writer's group I've been in since October of 2015, have encouraged me to do so.   However, after a new online friend reminded me of blogs, I decided it was time to get back to writing here on a more regular basis. It's been a very stressful few months.  It's been one crisis after another.  I've been trying to see God's hand in things.  It's been hard to ignore, but it's still hard to be honest!!! I'll back up what I realized today is nearly six months ago.  I was in the midst of a very stressful overwhelming time at the job I absolutely loved, yet signs showed that it was time to consider leaving.  I didn't have the heart to leave the residents I had come to love serving them meals for the past six years.  I worked at the independent senior community as...

On Monday when I posted about the anniversary of Tim and my first date, someone asked me to share my love story. I've shared bits and pieces here in the blog, but looking back I realized I did not post the whole thing. So here it goes. Tim and my story actually goes back to February of 1990.  I was in a combined English class with a lady named Nancy Gardiner.  She must have mentioned her large family (6 siblings). What she didn't mention was her inkling that her baby brother, Tim and I would make a good match.   It was not God's timing to happen then. He was still in Hornell. I was in Binghamton. I was finishing up my time at Broome Community College about to transfer to SUNY Cortland.   A year later, Tim would move to Elmira.  I moved there in October of 1996. I started attending Maple Avenue Baptist Church the first Sunday I was in town.  God led me there I believe. The timing was near for Tim and I to be together.  Fast forward to Januar...

I have always loved the song The Longer I Serve Him by Bill and Gloria Gaither.  It's one of my top 5 songs of all time. I watched the new Gaither Homecoming video today premiered on You Tube called The Longer I Serve Him.  On the video the title song sung by Jeannie Johnson, touched my heart like no other time I've heard it. "Every need He is supplying Plenteous grace He bestows Every day my way gets brighter The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows" As some of you know, I've had a lifetime of sinus/respiratory issues. The sinus issues have been progressively worse in the past few years but they got really bad in July. I was about to give up with trying to get help for them, but in December, God provided a doctor who took the time to scope my sinuses and throat and found 3 major issues.  Now, I have to admit that septum surgery does scare me as I heard it's one of the most painful surgeries. I bet all my abdominal surgeries pales in comparison. Howe...

It's been months since I've updated this blog.  I've been concentrating more on writing short stories the past few months.  That is my first love of writing.  My first short story was a book I made in 5th grade.  I still have it somewhere.  I'll have to find it. Anyway, I got to thinking on my way home yesterday from a work meeting about this time of year.  I have so much to be thankful for!!!  Then I remembered this blog, a place where I can express my appreciation for all God has done for me. Here's my list for 2019... I'm thankful I still have both of my parents.  I'm on the verge of turning 50...yikes LOL!  A few of my friends have lost one or both of their parents recently.  My Dad is turning 80 in May.  My Mom is 73.  I know my time with them is short.  They are such a loving support to me.  I'm so blessed to have them.  I'm also thankful that in the coming week I have the opportunity to see them a few t...

 what a mess! photo courtesy of Joan Cerio.  She edited the picture to take out the license plate number.  She has been a great help and comfort through this whole situation!!  Thanks so much Joan!! What was planned to be a quiet afternoon of tea and writing, turned out to be an afternoon of stress!  As my dear friend Joan prepared a yummy snack of oranges and tea water (both ended up untouched) we both heard a crash.   Given there was cold and snow in the air, I thought it was a city plow/salt truck.  Joan looked out the window to find the back end of my practically new (June 2017) Nissan Sentra smashed and the truck that hit it damaged in her neighbor's yard. "What happened?"  I exclaimed to the driver, who was very apologetic.  He claimed it was his driver assist feature gone wrong.  A pure accident!   I called Tim and he quickly came to the rescue to help me with phone calls to the police, the car d...

As a 48 year old woman, never did I expect to receive news not only once...but three times within a few months that a childhood friend died. All three friends were in their late forties....within a year or so of me. Two of the three friends died of heart attacks. The latest friend was sick at least for a short while. Beth died in December.  She was part of what I call the Lunch Bunch.  We and 4-5 others ate together all four years of high school.  What fun we had!  At her memorial service I was reunited with most of the group.  We said we need to get together under better circumstances.  I'm hoping we can before our official high school reunion in October. Tonia who died very suddenly in February, lived the next street over from me.  I hung out at her house a lot!  We went to church together sometimes too.  She was briefly part of the Lunch Bunch later in high school. Carol Ann just died on March 30. She lived a few blocks from me....

January 25, 2018, proved to be one of the most anxious days of my motherhood.  My firstborn child, now nineteen.  left  for a college nearly three hours away.  This day had been postponed for a school year and a half, but that moment Elijah walked out of our front door  devastated  me.   I am a proud mama!  Elijah has thought out his college decisions very carefully, down to the finances.  He inherited his father's talent for looking and finding deals.  He chose his degree with the desire to help others.  That makes me so happy!   I still honestly worry about him being out on his own for the first time so far away from home.  Sometimes worry makes my mind wander to silly what ifs, but I do have to remind myself of Philippians 4:6.  Some translations say do not be anxious for ANYTHING!!!  I need to leave Elijah and everyone else close to me in God's hands.  

Every Sunday night for a while when I attended Faith Baptist Church in Cortland NY during my college years, we sang the song ' Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus .  Every time I hear that song, I think of those days now over 25 years ago. It makes me somewhat sad thinking back at that time in my life when I really wasn't trusting God fully to work in my life. I worked hard to pursue the television career I dreamed about for a long time. I felt God leading me in that.  Many opportunities came my way in ways only God could have orchestrated, but other things in my life, even today I don't fully put in God's hands.  Fear and doubt can take over sometimes. I do love to see how God works in my life whether I trust Him or not. I love how songs remind me about truths of God's love and patience.  This song written by William Kirkpatrick and Louisa Stead is no exception. 

A few months ago I received an e mail from my one of my favorite authors, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith.  It was an invitation to take a rest quiz.  I took it and the results shocked me.  I found out I badly need rest in all areas of my life. When the opportunity came up to accept the invitation to be a part of the launch team for Sacred Rest, I gladly accepted.  As I read the book, it became more and more apparent how badly I need the rest. Dr Dalton-Smith is a Christian medical doctor, so not only does she talk about the obvious physical rest, but she also describes emotional, spiritual and mental among others.  Some of them are areas that are usually overlooked. I know I have done that. She also talks about twelve gifts that come from resting and some promises.   She also includes the rest assessment..the same one as the e mail test I took and a thirty day challenge. If you are feeling overwhelmed and tired, I would strongly recommend this ...

I delved into a big organizing project this morning. I thought that it would be a perfect time to get out the records I brought home from my parents a few months ago. After over 50 years of collecting, my Dad decided to do a big purge getting ready for some home improvement projects.  It was a bittersweet time for him I am sure and for me too.  It is strange going home not seeing the big record collection, but the upgrades are beautiful! Dad's classical records sold summer 2017 The record I chose is "The Bill Gaither Trio Moments For Forever,"a recording of a live concert in 1976.  This is the music I grew up listening to.  Bill Gaither is still very active in the Homecoming concerts and Gaither Vocal Band, which I enjoy. What I don't enjoy is cleaning.  I'm probably the most unorganized person in the world.  Part of my inspiration of my cleaning project is trying to find some papers I lost. I found one. I had placed it in the wrong bank bag (one is...

The past few weeks have been filled with making sweet memories with different members of my family. On September 13, Tim and I celebrated our 20th anniversary.  It was a quiet day due to our work schedules.  I did get the opportunity to join Tim during his lunch hour and enjoy his company and a delicious Stromboli. On the 16th, we took advantage of my having a rare Saturday off and made the 2 hour trek to my all time favorite park, Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville NY.     my favorite picture of the day  As soon as I saw the beach and started walking on the shady trail, I was instantly reminded how the park got that all time favorite status.  It has always relaxed me walking the trail.  I took the time to take some awesome pictures...too many for Tim's liking though.  I did slow the picture taking down the second half of our walk.  I loved just taking in the sights and the sounds with my love.  It was such an awesome day....

March 23, 1997, began like any other Sunday. I do remember approaching the usher and accepted a bulletin just like any other Sunday morning. We exchanged hellos. After church though things changed.  As I talked to friends after church, the aforementioned usher walked up to me and said, "I'd like to get to know you better." We ended up going on our first date to the salad bar at Wendy's. I offered to pay for Tim's lunch because his birthday was the next day. The rest is history...20 years of history as a matter of fact. It almost didn't happen since he took paying for his lunch wrong.  Thankfully his mom convinced him I was just being nice and he asked me out for the second date on April 1.  We have been together ever since.   We will be married 20 years this September 13. We have been blessed with 4 wonderful children, missing child #2 as I have mentioned previously we lost on December 30, 1999. It's been 20 years of ups and downs as any marriage exp...