Shopping and Supporting Local Businesses

I have begun to really appreciate our local businesses. With the direction our country is taking, we really need to be involved in our nearby communities and families. Glen Alpine has a new business called TEA TREE. It is a small business right on Rt 70. I shopped there the day before Thanksgiving since we got off work early that day. TEA TREE is a beautiful and warm gift shop displaying items made by MOMS to help support their families. It is run by volunteer moms. (It also has many of my favorite items, tea pots and cups and you may enjoy a cup of tea while there.)

Another gift shop in the area is TURKEY TALES. (Turkey tales has long been a byword in the community: street name, local paper, etc.) Although I am not a big spender, I love to go in and look at the great items and talk with the ladies that run it.  This store is also on Rt 70 on the corner at the only light in Glen Alpine. In this same building there is THE PERFECT SOLUTION. I have recently stopped there for a haircut and style. Brittany, a young mother, has quickly earned my favoritism.

Not too far away from us is another local business THE BARN. Open only on certain weekends or by appointment, it has gently used, low cost decorative items. It is packed full and laid out beautifully. You would think you were in a famous shop. The owner Ann has become a good friend.

We also have COTTAGE GARDENS for plants, APPLE ANNIE's an antique shop, LAKE JAMES WINERY AND ANTIQUES, EMILY'S which is a thrift shop that supports South Mountain Childrens Home, and not too far away, THE CHRISTMAS SHOP run by J.Iverson Riddle, with beautiful gifts made by handicapped residents.

(And for all your car repairs, NORVILLE SERVICE CENTER. I can't leave them out they have been wonderful to us. They are in Glen Alpine on 70).

Cooking Pans

 

 

 

This set of crockpot/warmers worked great for Thanksgiving. It kept 3 items hot and ready for our plates. Rick bought it for me while he was in Ohio. He said it was an early Christmas present. I have a funny story to share about the pans in my life.

 

 

 

 

This is my dutch oven full of turkey broth, waiting to cook home made noodles like my Mom used to make for holidays. This pan is part of a set Rick gave me as a wedding present 39 years ago. Yep! Still using them.

 

The funny part is my gift of pans through the years.  We had a family joke going that I usually got a new electric frying pan every year for Christmas because cooking for our family of 6 wore it out in a year's time. I guess the tradition continues this year, I got pans. ; > )

 

Not an electric skillet because we are now officially empty nesters and no longer have a crowd to feed on a daily basis. Besides the fact that for health reasons we try to stay away from fried foods. 

We Gather Together

Today we sang this old hymn in church. Before I led the song, unknown to me, Rick had looked this song up in the book "Then Sings My Soul" Book 2 by Robert J. Morgan. Rick prefaced our singing with a summary of the story behind the song:

In the 1500's there were those of Belgium that struggled for religious freedom under the rule of Spain. "We Gather Together" was written to celebrate the freedom that was gained when the people were finally free to worship openly together. 

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing:
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to His name: He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning:
Thou, Lord wast at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be,
Let Thy congregation excape tribulation:
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!"

Book of James Bible Study

I just finished this evening our last ladies class on the Beth Moore Bible study of the book of James.
It has been a great experience, studying James the half brother of Jesus, his background and his writings.

Tonight while ending with the last 2 verses of James 5, it was brought out how James experienced these verses himself.  Jesus himself showed himself to James personally after His resurrection.(I Cor 15:7)  James not having faith in Jesus' divinity and relationship as God's only begotten Son placed him in the  position of needing converted by Jesus and experiencing the victory of having his soul saved from death and having his sin of unbelief forgiven. :)

James 5:19-20 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him: Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

God's Blessings and Our Duty.

I am so thankful for the leading and peace of God this morning. The last few weeks He and some of you bringing encouragement has reminded me that my anchor in Him does not go away no matter which way the election is decided. And I've always known that but I needed my strength girded up and He knew it and gently began leading my thoughts in that direction.

He blessed me again this morning with wonderful thoughts to share. As I prepared for work I put on one of my favorite CD's by The Booth Brothers. The songs seemed linked bringing me a message of peace, that America under God is the only way we can survive, and that "I've got new shoes now, to walk all over this world, and tell the world that Jesus saves."

Then this final thought:  Moses' mother protected him in a basket against being killed by the enemy. When the Egyption princess took him home, Moses' mother was able to be with him since she was picked to be his nurse. My main thought is she no doubt taught him songs of God and scriptures and instructed him at his young age how to discern and stand strong.

That is our duty. Get ourselves rooted deep and raise little Moses's. Take our new shoes and plant them as voices and influences in our community.

Be closely involved with our children in what they learn in school. Read their history books and make sure you teach them to understand how to discern things for themselves and question and take a stand if something is not right. And their spiritual training is not up to a church or a Sunday School. It is up to us. It is wonderful to teach them right from wrong and to be kind, to be good students and be active in sports. But that is not enough. They need so much more.

The Desire of My Heart

As I prayed this morning one of my most fervent prayer is for my family, my children and their spouses and out precious grandchildren. I want the Lord to take us all like clay on the potters wheel and make us a testimony for Him. Oh that we all would have depth of experience in God not just a surface relationship. Oh that our lives would be filled with hope in the living God! That we would have a determination and a confidence in our God given abilities that no thing or any man's opinion or actions would shake that determination.

I'm remembering my determination of prayer and seeking for God when I was a young Christian. I would awake early and while everyone was still in bed I would make my way down the upstairs hallway to our large bathroom on Court St. There was an old wooden chair beside the big claw foot bathtub. There I would kneel and pour my heart out to God.

This morning I bowed at the big rocker in the living room. Many years have passed in my life and my body is not as nimble as it used to be. My knees and legs cry out in pain and numbness as I kneel. The old back does not like certain positions or it will jar out of place. So I have to be careful as I kneel and I seek God. Many times I stand or sit. But kneeling feels so much more effective to me.

My prayers are also for our nation and the election today. But God has helped me in the last couple weeks to realize that my greatest hope is in Him and that either way it goes I don't need to be anxious because He holds everything in His hands and He will be with me as long as I keep my hand in His.  This country is in such a mess He is the only One who can heal it. May whatever happens only lead people to Christ and His salvation.

Close Call, Blessings from God

My husband had another close call with his heart the past few days. Having had bypass surgery in June and doing well, the chest pressure started again. Long story short, he had a stint put in today in an area that evidently had some scar tissue at the end of one of the bypasses. They went in through his wrist and placed a stint and was out in 1 hour and then back up to a room for an overnight stay for observation. Doing great, God is good. While waiting I dug into my Bible study workbook on the book of James. Chapter 5:11 "You have heard of the endurance of Job" which took us to Job 42. What a wonderful meditation! Thoughts on those verses that came while reading it: 1. God allowed Job to be tempted, even bragged on him to Satan,chapter 1 the Bible says Job was perfect, upright, feared God, hated evil. Yet 42:6 Job repented. Yes, even though we are God's children, we still repent when it is needful. Even though God instructs us to be holy and be careful about our talk and walk with Him, a Christian is never above repenting. 2. Verse 7 and 8, God chastises Jobs friends because according to God they had not spoken of God that which was right. He sent them to get animal offerings and go to Job, repenting and asking Job to pray for them. If not, He would deal with them after their folly. Verse 9 they followed through and did it and then God accepted them. Boy is this a good lesson from God on how humbly and sincerely that Christians should go before their brothers whom they have wronged and have not spoken the right words of God to and about their brother. And Job was so willing to pray for them and offer forgiveness once his friends came. 3. God blessed Job more than He had in the beginning. God did not withhold earthly blessings because He knew Job was humble enough to handle it. And as it was pointed out in the lesson, God bragged on Job. Imagine that bragging on a human. He loves us so and we owe Him so much.

Things Are Piling Up Around Here

Today I am feeling more in touch with my mother. No...not through some strange experience. The realization of how much she did while taking care of my Dad, sewing for a living, cooking meals, handling the finances and still doing for others including her children and grandchildren. She just didn't have time for everything. Yes, some things were piling up that she didn't have time to sort through. Which is why I feel so in touch with her. Things are piling up around here that I don't have time to get done. Rick is doing so well from his surgery but naturally not up to doing a lot. Plus we are working on trying to eat healthier which requires some time and organization to plan healthy meals, make grocery lists, shop, put the groceries away. Then fix what you've bought. He used to do most of the grocery shopping and cooking. Plus the million other chores he did. But I am so thankful to God that Rick is here and there was no heart damage. God has certainly blessed us. When I look at that big scar on his chest it is amazing to think what a surgeon did. It is so hard to fathom.

Thankful for God and those He uses

On Wednesday, June 20, Rick had a heart cath. With 2 arteries closed at 99% Dr. Hazen sent him straight to Charlotte to Carolina Medical Center. Lori and I followed later. Rick was in good spirits with no pain but Dr. Hazen said you don't want to go home and think about it because any time the arteries could go to 100%. So he went by ambulance. On Friday at 10 am he had surgery for 3 bypasses. So many circles of people were praying. He had an excellent doctor, Dr. Stiegall and excellent care throughout the hospital. It was a little touchy because of his lung function but still with that he did great after a few days. He came home on Thursday, June 28. We were both exhausted and it was a little scary being on our own at home. But with help from Lori, Julie and Clay we are now progressing. Backtracking a little, Dru, his sister, and husband Glenn stayed with me in Charlotte during that week. We were directed to the Hospitality House right behind the hospital. For $40 a night we had a private room with 3 single beds and bathroom, tv. This place was a God send. Three floors, each with a fantastic laundry room. A large kitchen with double appliances, a pantry with donated food and pans, dishes and small appliances of any kind you might need. You could cook your own meals. We met so many nice people there, volunteers and families all with their own health crisis. Eric, Seth, Ericca and Megan came down from Ohio. It meant so much to Rick to see the eagerness they had to spend time with him. Mike and Kelly visited him also and he was very pleased to see them. Many friends and family have helped us out financially and no words can say thank you enough. I am learning to dole out his many medicines. Something I didn't get involved in previously. He always took care of that. Among his "chores" I am taking over is laundry, bill paying, cooking, upkeep of small house maintenance and grocery shopping. OF COURSE, I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR ALL OF THIS. Lori, Julie and Clay have been a great help. And Dru and Glenn will be back this evening to stay a few days while I am at work. I am so thankful for God and those He uses to perform such miracle tasks as fixing a heart. Thanks for the many phone calls, facebook posts and texts to check on us. If I have left anyone out forgive me. May God bless you all.

Well here I am again awake. Slept for about an hour then seemed to have indigestion and couldn't go back to sleep. I have been enjoying my granddaughter Allie Jane and any extra time I have I go see her. Thankful to God for the joy she brings. To her I am Grammy and I love it. She is 5 weeks old now and "talking" to me when I talk to her in my high pitched Grammy baby voice. I love singing little songs to her. She was born in the same month as my grandaughter Ericca who is now 10. Ericca and her brother Seth who is 16 got in their snuggles a couple of weeks ago, along with dad Eric. Isn't she a cutie? I want to enjoy each stage with her but I am already planning on having Grammy tea parties! Now let me see, how soon can I start? I guess we can have pretend tea with an empty cup. I'll have to go searching for the right tea set. Do they have baby rattlers that look like a tea cup? Off to search before I go back to bed. Can't get these pictures and words to place correctly and I give up.

Night (Early morning) thoughts/ramblings

Well I guess I am following in my daughters footsteps. Can't sleep so I'm on the computer. This will not be a long post because I am thinking I better lay down before I have to get up for work. I have caught a glimpse of some of my old posts/devotions shared. I need to go back and read them and catch some of the blessings God gave me then. The blog setup has changed so much and I have written so little lately that I seem to have lost my ability to move around and understand the new setup. I am impatiently waiting for my granddaughter to be born. Can't wait to hold her and snuggle. Praying for many spiritual needs as I am awake. Seems I can't get prayer requests off my mind: my children & grandchildren, cancer victims with young families, girl at work who lost her mom last night, my husbands health, the whole world that needs delivered from great sin by a wonderful Saviour. How we need a great revival and deliverance from God! May God bless everyone who reads this and goodnight.

Granddaughter Excitement

Excitement is my inward feelings these last few weeks. We are expecting our 5th grandchild, a girl, in the next couple of weeks. My daughter has been so gracious in letting us be involved with all the plans. She even picked out names for us: Grammy and Poppy, and made picture frames for us with the last ultrasound picture with Allie Jane seemingly smiling. She has let me feel Allie Jane kick. How neat! We have worked on making a cradle mattress. It is done. We have yet to complete "Momma rocker" seat and back pads. We made a crib skirt. And I am currently working on finishing a quilt with the help of a friend that has 6 embroidered squares of Mother Goose characters, which is the theme of the nursery. All of this is skills that I have not practised for years and I pray my way through each project. :}

I pray for a safe, great experince in labor and delivery. And I jokingly talk to Allie Jane and tell her when she is born to ask for Grammy Jane! I read her a story the other night and I have sang her songs. Of course, none of this compares with everything her mother is doing and will do for her. It's just an experience that I have not yet got to experience with my other grandchildren, although I love them dearly.

Their phases are great also, texting back and forth, seeing them say I love you. Watching their basketball game. That warms my heart.

Well, this is a great start to a long Easter weekend. Thanks for listening and God bless you.