The Simple Things

A dried violet a friend gave me in church on Sunday

 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3

Me, (and Sasha) watching a sunset in Traverse Bay, Michigan

“Be Still and Know That I Am God”...


I am learning how to be still, awaiting on, and trusting in my Lord. I exalt His name..JESUS!

Achieved My Goal!

*Note: I lost my earlier post! I am sitting here annoyed and disgusted, because when I clicked on one of the images from the website I  always use for free Christian images, it showed some ad for some scantily-clad women in my area! So not only did one of the images ( a free wallpaper) take away my entire post when I removed the image, but I was confronted with worldly smut!

I guess I just need to use my own stuff, as unprofessional as my photos are, I will just try to dress them up a bit for you I guess. Adding scripture to them always makes them better.

So here is my second attempt at this blog post today: Without all the pretty pictures...

Not too long ago I prayed for the Lord to deliver me from the severe anxiety with panic attacks. In recent years I have attended a few different churches, and before long, when my symptoms became very severe, I would just quit going before anyone really got a chance to know me, so I was never missed.
Well, after I prayed for deliverance I decided I needed to set a goal for myself. I knew that if I were able to attend the church where my family and I were members for several years, it would not be possible for me to just sneak in there and then leave without detection. I guess you could say that what I needed to accomplish this task, was some accountability!
So two weeks ago I started attending the church again for the first time in over ten years. It was not easy, but with the Lord's help, I have been able to get through the panic which assaults me every time I leave the house.
My biggest test came today. I was invited to attend the ladies' Bible study, the study that I used to be a part of for many years, which I even filled in for the teacher once in awhile.
So, last night I was feeling quite anxious about this. I stayed up late reading the Bible for wisdom and guidance to give me some strength. I knew I would try to talk myself out of attending the Bible study.

 The Lord led me to read 1 Theselonians 5: 12-13 and 16-18.
I wrote my notes and marked the passages in my Bible and went to bed.

Early this morning I awoke to a storm. I went back to sleep with the idea that I was not going anywhere today. I awoke later and even though the storms had abated, I could not seem to rouse myself enough to get motivated. I got dressed and hastly tied my hair into a sloppy ponytail, and drank two strong cups of coffee. Even at 9 O'clock, my brain just didn't want to wake up.

Too lazy to retrieve my Bible from the kitchen table, I turned my attention onto the notebook lying on the end table next to me, and I read what I had written in there last night before bed:

¹² And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

¹³ And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

I had missed the Bible study last week, so I had promised Flo, the teacher, that I would be there this week. I knew that out of respect for Flo, (who is a wonderful elderly lady who has been with the church since it's beginning) I had an obligation to be there if at all possible. So I went.

Of course once I was seated, Flo handed me the study notes from the previous weeks, and wouldn't you know it...1 Thes. 5:17 and 18 was the focus of the study...Praying without ceasing, and being in the will of God!

¹⁶ Rejoice evermore.

¹⁷ Pray without ceasing.

¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I even had a question answered that I had been wrestling with for three months now! Despite all my own reading and studying, God did not reveal the answer until I stepped out in faith and obedience!
I was amazed at how clear and simple the answer was too. It was about forgiveness, which I found out is to be the subject of the next study.
I was a bit worried about telling the ladies (many whom I've known for years), about the anxiety keeping me housebound for over a year now, but when I told them, they were only upset that I had not reached out to them so they could have prayed for me...I told them that I had been blessed with the opportunity to meet many loving Christians from all over the world, so God did not leave me disconnected from sisters and brothers in Christ. I told them I was sitting there now because of the prayers of my blogging friends!
I thank God for you all, and I said a special prayer for blessings on each one of you this morning.

Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Blessings, Berries, and Buddy

And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:19

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.

That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?”

Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.  Proverbs 30:8-9

The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 28:12

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them. Mark 11:24

Whatcha lookin at Bud?

What is it Bud?

Now what are you eating?



Aha...I see the berries are ripening!

Hey Bud...Where are you going?..
...Get outa my garden!
(he headed straight from the berries to the tomatoes!..Oh-Oh, I think I've created a monster!)

Have you ever seen a hound sniffing out (and eating) a berry?..Well, this dog follows me wherever I go, and whether I am taking laundry from the dryer, or cleaning out the refrigerator, he has to get involved. And when I say involved, I mean involved! Picture an open dryer or refrigerator door, with a big black dog's head inside sniffing out the contents! So of course, he watched me pluck a ripe raspberry into my mouth, and then proceeded to pick himself a few too.

Recently, after many long years of service, my dryer pooped out on me. We bought a new washer and dryer from our daughter in Indiana, but it is in the garage until we wire the house for a 2-20 plug. I am so enjoying hanging the bedding out, that I will continue to do so after we install the new dryer! I had forgotten how wonderful it is to snuggle in with fresh line dried linen.

I am still praying for rain for the drought stricken farms...we got a little bit last Saturday.

Speaking of rain, Me and my hubby were at Walmart in Houghton Lake when we got caught in it. We ran for the car, I reached in, grabbed the umbrella and quickly (too quickly) Popped it open, only to have the umbrella pop off from the handle and go flying! It must have been funny to watch this happen, I sure hope someone got a good laugh LOL!
We had to go into Home Depot looking like a couple of drowned rats afterwards.

My 'two-pieced' umbrella
(sorry for the poor quality photos; I use my smart phone.)

Buddy (of course) I can't do anything without him remember.

*Note: He's standing in front of a miniature 'him'!


This seems to happen quite often around here!
From the 'Whoof pack"

~God Bless~

How we spent the Fourth of July

This was the temp July 4th as we waited for our daughter in a parking lot in
Lafayette Indiana!

This is our beautiful daughter Sam and her boyfriend Casey.
We were delighted to meet him for the first time. We were shown a lot of hospitality from Casey and their friends!

It was so much cooler when we returned home on the fifth..AHH..it's only 95 degrees.. we can breathe again!

This was a potted rose given to me by my daughter Sam on Mother's day 7 years ago when she was still in highschool.
My, how time flies!

Buddy getting transported back from the dog-sitter's~(Our youngest daughter and her husband)
There sure was a lot of howling going on inside the car...I could not get a picture of that because I was hanging onto Emma in the carrier while she sang along~ We got a few odd looks from the other cars on the highway ;)

Sasha in between yelps...she doesn't howl unless she is sound asleep.

Bud, glad to be back home in his favorite chair.
My daughter has the twin to this chair at her house, but her two dogs love it so much also, that they don't want to share it!

Well, I am off to my first chiropractic appointment in 3 years...let's pray that this does the trick!

~God Bless~

The Lady In Yellow

Her little legs worked hard to pump the pedals on the red trike.

She was trying her best to keep up with the Lady.

The lady walked very briskly beside her talking all the while, her bright yellow skirt seeming to reflect the summer sun as her white pumps glided effortlesssly across the gray pavement. She was speaking about things that the child could understand, things that would keep her attention away from the sound of the big cars and the squeeking of brakes and whir of their tires as they passed in front and behind . Little legs moving, head bent over the handlebars, bright yellow fabric blocking out the city street, and a melodious voice talking about things that she could understand.

She was delighted to talk with the lady, no adult ever seemed this interested in her four year old jibber jabber, not even her beloved Gramma, who loved to hold and rock her while singing and humming softly into her ear.

So entranced in her conversation with the lady, she barely noticed when they had reached the sidewalk. The toddler awkwardly dismounted the trike as it swifly disappeared up into the grasp of the lady...She looked up then, as she placed her little hand trustingly into the bigger hand, she had never seen such a pretty lady before...not even her mama with her skin of ivory and raven black hair, could compare with the beauty of the alabaster skinned lady, with hair that sat high upon her head in keeping with the 'beehive' style of the day. Her hair looked like the golden white hair of the angel that sat upon the tree at Christmas time!

They continued hand in hand down the city sidewalk as the lady asked, just like she had along the last block, if this was the house? "No," would come the reply as they stopped at each one. Until of course they came to the yellow house with large white trimmed windows, this house was bigger than most of the rest. White concrete stairs nestled between two white banisters lead up to white painted floorboards that belonged to a long covered porch that any little girl could appreciate spending many hours of play on. She imagined even now, sitting amidst her dolls and their scattered clothing, while she brushed their hair and sang to them.

"Alright then", if you are sure this is the house." said the lady in her sing-song voice, as she approached the white framed glass door with it's shiny brass house numbers that hung just above,

But as the lady pressed the doorbell and the chimes rang and echoed within; the little girl cupped her hands, and placing her forhead on them, looked through the window to the foyer just beyond. The house was beautiful both inside and out. She noted the hanging geranium much like the one her grandma also kept hanging from the porch. Suddenly, the little girl felt embarrassed and ashamed, she had lied to the beautiful lady! This was not her house at all. With her childish imagination she just wanted to believe, if even for a moment, that it was.

The lady seemed to understand how the little girl felt, and the little girl was relieved to know that the lady was not angry with her for decieving...only disappointed. And although the lady seemed to have known that it was not the house all along, she still bothered to play along with the child, as though she knew she would feel ashamed at the deception, and end up telling her the truth very quickly. The crest-fallen look upon the child's face made the lady's heart melt. It was good that the child felt so badly about lying. But she also understood the nature of the human spirit, even at that young age.

They continued hand in hand along the city block and crossed another street. This street was much narrrower and shaded compared to the last one. The little girl knew it was still much different than the street she lived on with it's uneven sidewalks broken apart by the roots of the big trees over the years, and the dirty yards where grass would not grow because of the darkness from the old trees. The two story wood and shingle sided houses on her block were also much older than these modern bungalos along this street. The porches here had nicely manicured shrubbery in front of them, with flower boxes neatly hung from or sitting atop of glistening painted porch railings, not anything like the houses with their crooked porches and paint chipping from weathered railings and banisters where she lived with her Mama and Gramma, and three half siblings. No, these did not look anything like the house that she lived in.

As they neared the end of the block, the shade gave way to the hot pavement of the sun-brightened sidewalks; and the lady once again sat the little red tricycle down for the little girl to sit upon. But just as the toddler placed her foot on the pedal, a big black and white police car quickly pulled over close to the curb. The car barely stopped before the door swung open and Mama leaped out of the car. Mama was speaking very fast, the little girl could barely understand a word as she focused her eyes on the big policeman who sat in the drivers seat. She could understand that she was in trouble as she could not seem to tear her eyes from the gun that sat holstered at the officer's side. A gun just like the one she saw when the police had to be called when their german shephard went crazy with distemper and kept growling at everyone outside on the sidewalk in front of their porch one day. Grandma made her stay inside with her and held her trembling body close as she rocked and whispered Shh..shh..into the child's ear as the loud popping sound filled her senses making her so afraid!

Mama scooped her up and gently placed her upon her lap in the passenger's seat of the police car while the officer with the gun holstered to his hip put the tricycle in the trunk of the car. It was only then that the little girl remembered the lady in yellow, but as she turned with her little finger pointing towards the busy intersection where she had last stood, there was no lady standing there. Mama held her tightly as she fixed her eyes once again on the sunny sidewalk that was slowly becoming more distant, the child was sure she had caught one last glimpse of the beautiful lady with her beehive hairdo and bright yellow dress waving goodbye to her as the policeman continued to drive away.

Tired from the day's adventure, the little girl soon fell asleep and was not even aware when the officer parked the police car in front of the old two story gray shingled house with it's crooked porch where a single geranium hung.

In front of the house on 9th street, a group of concerned neighbors and family members gathered. They had all been looking throughout the city neighborhood for the little girl who had vanished from the fenced  backyard when a neighbor child had left it unlocked to run home next door when her mother called her for lunch.

Imagine their reaction when they all learned that the child had managed (somehow) to cross 10th Avenue, the busiest city street and was found several blocks over, and about to cross yet another very busy street!

This is a true story. Although certain details have been embellished somewhat , since it was experienced by a four year old me.

By Lisa Stager

This post is dedicated to another little four year old, who has caught the attention of people all around the country recently. My heart goes out to his mama and family. I can only pray that, like me he was holding the hand of his guardian angel as she shielded him from all fear and pain as she took him to be with Jesus instead of back into the arms of his mama.



Link to this story here:http://www.whptv.com/content/OMG/story/Body-of-missing-4-year-old-boy-found-under-his/w-JMAoDmYUeFsURO7-saHA.cspx

 And with this busy holiday upon us, please be careful to keep a sharp eye on your little ones, as they can wander off so quickly.

Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July!

　
~God Bless~