Under His Wings

Green Lakes State Park August 2009 Last night my husband Tim and I decided to go for a walk.  We stopped to talk to our neighbor across the street.  As we were standing there, I felt a few raindrops.  Since it was a light rain, we decided to proceed with our walk.   The rain stayed light until we turned off a side street heading back toward home.  It started to POUR!!!  Tim took my hand and started to sing a romantic song about singing in the rain. It didn't take long for my glasses to get wet.  It was hard to see, but I actually enjoyed walking in the rain.  It reminded me of the walks we used to take while on vacation at Green Lakes State Park, my favorite park of all times!  I sure wish we could go back again. The clouds have been threatening rain all day.  I'm hoping the rain holds off until later this evening. Elijah has a baseball game and I want to see it.  For one reason or another, I haven't been able to see a ...

On Thursday afternoon, May 29, around noon, 42 year old State Trooper Christopher Skinner was at a routine traffic stop on Interstate 81.  It wasn't too far from my hometown of Chenango Bridge NY.  Trooper Skinner grew up nearby also.  Suddenly a man from Florida swiped the car that Trooper Skinner had stopped and killed him instantly. It was revealed at a news conference hours later, that the man admitted to hitting the trooper on purpose.  Then had the nerve to say that he was in a 'time warp'  that he had no idea how he got from Connecticut, hours away from the accident scene.  UNBELIEVABLE!!! I've seen other law enforcement officers' funerals, the last being in April when a Johnson City officer was shot to death.  This death hit home for me.    My mom went to high school with Chris' dad and uncle.  Chris himself graduated from the same high school a year behind me.  I found his picture in my senior yearbook last night. A tear...

2013 has been a very challenging year.   It was a year of patience testing and a call to fully rely on God!!!! I wrote the following during one of those times, it was at the beginning of my search for some answers for some upper abdominal pain that started in August.  Since this entry, I’ve got my diagnosis, but it expresses my feelings about having a chronic illness. (8/22/13 at a local hospital having an upper GI series... having the first of the 5 tests) The past few weeks have been a test of patience!!!  I have been dealing with a stomach issue at the moment of this initial writing is in the process of being diagnosed. I’ve dealt with pain, nausea, bloating and other digestive yuckiness.  I’ve just felt just plain awful! This latest health crisis has brought to reality what my doctors have been telling me for years…take care of myself not only for me but for my family’s sake. I’ve been in denial for over 19 years thinking my diabetes isn’t taking a toll on...

Glen Payne and George Younce of the Cathredrals singing Search Me O God God has been using recent church sermons to speak to my heart and convict me of some sin in my life.  My pastor's message this morning was based on Matthew 7:1-4  (Why see the speck in another's eye and not the plank in your own) and Psalm 51 (Cleanse every wicked way in me).  In light of this morning's communion service, my mind went to Psalm 139:23 (I thought it was in Psalm 51).  I like how the New International Version puts it  "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." taken from www.biblegateway.com One of my sins is worry and anxiety, so this is a great reminder to me to let God have control of my whole entire life....my anxieties, my thoughts, my actions....everything!!!!  Another great sermon, I heard while I was on vacation, was a reminder to let God dig deep into my life and remove all the sin and hurts that have buil...

During one night of our recent vacation, while Tim was watching the Yankees play on TV, I decided to listen to my radio.  I was looking for a specific station WMHR, part of the "The Mars Hill Nework," a Christian radio station I used to listen to during my college days. The radio station, along with my church, Faith Baptist Church, was a solice for me, especially in my early days at SUNY Cortand. I was only 45 minutes from home, but it was a big change for me to be all alone in a big college campus.  There were months in my first year I could not attend church because of my internship and other school activities, so the radio station was then my only source of Bible teaching. I was able to find WMHR after a few tries. This particular night, I sat and listened to Charles Swindoll, one of my favorite speakers back then.  He still is, but I forget he's on at 9:30 PM.  Later in the week, I was able to listen to a few more of my favorite radio preac...

The next few installments are going to be thoughts written during our recent vacation.  It was a week of enjoying nature while doing a little soul searching also. In the approximately 3 hours we've been here, I have been reminded why this state park where we stayed 4 years ago has been my favorite of the parks we have stayed in.  We had to make the reservations for our cabin back in September as it is a very popular park to stay in.  It was well worth the wait! The beach is beautiful, the birds are singing, the kids are playing (Nate and Anna...Elijah and Tim hadn't arrived yet).  Ahh, this is the life!!!! ************************************************************************************* On Sunday, Tim and I woke up before the kids, which is surprising because I had a rough night getting comfortable and had a low blood sugar.  We went to church at the Salvation Army lead by the Majors who were at the Salvation Army that Tim went to in Horn...

Nate doing the "butter dance" The joys of being a stay at home mom....sitting on a charter bus with close to 50 4th graders including my son Nate.  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of chaparoning Nate's field trip to the Old Mac Donald education day at our local fairground.  It was even educational for me.  Did you know that deer has a ruminate type stomach like a cow?  I didn't know that. There is something about the smell of bus fabric and diesel fuel that takes me back 20+ years when I was a college student taking the Trailways and Greyhound buses back and forth to Syracuse NY for my internships at WTVH TV (now part of CNY Central).  Back then I was a young woman focusing on starting my TV career.  I focused on my career because my ultimate dream of being a wife and mom wasn't coming true.(there's much more I could say about that issue).  I would have to wait about 5 years for that to happen. I have thought about trying to revive my ...