Under His Wings

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...

A big smile, kind words of appreciation, and overhearing some very interesting conversations are just some of the reasons why I love my job at Appleridge Living Center!  I never thought before September that I would be a dining room server. However, I'm so glad that Dining Room Manager, Lisa Garrett took a chance on me and has given me the opportunity to serve such wonderful people!  I've made many new friends both with the residents and co workers.  I admit I have been and still am at times encounter the fear of messing up....my worst nightmare that hasn't come true yet...spilling hot soup on someone's lap.  I came close one time when I caught a soup bowl on a coffee pot.  Soup spilled on the table.  Thankfully the lady whose space was invaded, named Helen, was very patient and kind. There is a drawback of my job though losing residents, which happened this past weekend and seeing some people's health fail.  That makes me so sad!!! Overall th...