February
February 1
"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
~Colossions4:6
We did not make it to church today. Did not listen to the service on the computer. I am very tired this morning. Will continue to take it easy and get over the surgery. I am hoping everything with the ankle is going to be much better now.
I was thinking of an episode that happened while I was in the hospital. Early yesterday morning, I was awakened by these loud voices at the nurse station.
I want to talk about "seasonings" today. Seasonings are used in cooking to bring out the favors in our foods. They are not dumped in to be the mainliner in the dish, but simply to help make food tasty. The same can be true with your relationships with others. If you are praying for the right words to share with someone, God always does the amazing thing of not only giving you what you pray for, by adding His Grace to "season" what you say, but He also prepares the listener to be open, accepting and ready to hear those words.
Be it through those words or your actions, you never know when something you say or do will touch a person's life. Be assured your prayers "season" His grace in all you do and say.
With full belief of His abiding Joy and Abundance.
February 2
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good.”
~Titus 2: 7
More rest was in store for today. I have returned to taking showers in Bob's bathroom. I remember the weeks and months that I had to use his shower when I first had this accident with my ankles. Cannot risk taking a bath yet. My ankle seems to be healing very good. I can already tell a difference in the way it feels and moves without all the hardware in it. I wish I had had it done a long time ago. I believe it would have been so much better. When I continued to have pain, swelling, and discoloration in that ankle, I should have gone to the doctor long ago. We need to pay attention to our bodies and realize when something is just not exactly the way it should be. Make an appointment with your doctor... go in... check it out.
Gather information and knowledge about your condition and whatever is bothering you.
Knowledge is an important thing in life. Knowledge leads to wisdom... but more important is to teach the basic example of living and exemplary life honoring God. Others pick up on your examples observing how you walk the walk.
Through self-control when you are presented in a tight situation, you provide leadership and positive action to resolve the situation. Maintaining Integrity is also a wise step. Always be eager to do good and help out others around you. The example you set affects many other lives. You never know who is watching you. When your patience is being tried, learn to let go of the building frustration and anger. Lead with the Lord and He will provide what you need.
February 3
"By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
~Luke 1:78-79
I am messing around with different fonts and styles for writing or typing I should say, and my journal. Can't quite come up with something I truly like. So we will have to put up with this for a while. Maybe too, it is because I just need change all the time. Do you think that could be it?
It is a dreary Tuesday. The temperatures are rising and we are thawing out from the winter storms. The snow is melting, leaving us with the dirty slushy gray stuff. We have encountered a leak in the sunroom from all the snow that was on the roof. We did not notice it at first because we've been spending most of our time in the front of the house. The week was not too severe, but did get the large rug in the sunroom soaked. Bob will have to check out the roof when the weather breaks and see what needs to be done.
Bob just fixed me a cup of coffee. We use the flavored hazelnut coffee and add hazelnut creamer and one Splenda, top that off with whipped cream and cinnamon and it is to die for! I am sitting here sipping my coffee and enjoying the morning here at my desk in the living room. I close my eyes, try not to fall back asleep, relax, and imagine myself surrounded by God's light. It is from this meditation I will receive the necessary tools to make this day and to serve Him as I should today. One thing that needs to be done this morning, is to praise Him for the success of my surgery. To thank Him for Bob, who is by my side. Doing whatever is needed to make me more comfortable. I thank Him for my daughter who is always there for me. For my grandchildren and for another day to do His bidding. Thank you God, for this day…
What is to be done, will be done. He guides us all through our days if we just stay focused on Him.
February 4
We had a flash of snow last night. I thought winter was winding down and we were thawing... no it Is still here. It was probably less than an inch of snow, but it gave the ground a complete covering.
The temperature outside is 9 degrees. For some reason, the house feels chillier than usual. I can't seem to get warm. Bob set the thermostat on 78 and I am still cold!
Our dog's paws have not touched the ground since early fall. Cannot let them out in these freezing temperatures with ice and snow everywhere. Believe me... we have plenty of poop and pee to clean up all the time. We spend about $100 a month on puddle pads. All right... let move on to a different topic.
Are any of you as discouraged about America as I am? Are you tired of being worried and fearful? Each day when you turn the news on there is something else to be concerned about and you wonder how this recession and depression, (yes we are headed for a depression) we are going through will affect our life.
One of the first elements of discouragement, I have found is fatigue. I am simply tired of worrying about everything and everybody. I am a human being and I am worn out. Perhaps I need a vacation or perhaps I need to go to bed and sleep for a while... a long while.
The second element is pure and simple frustration! What solution has the president or any of his cabinet or senate or anyone done? Yes, yes, I know it is early with this new Administration in the White House, but the American people are slowly drowning. Our lives are falling apart. Things are tumbling down all around us, all we have worked for, all we have prepared for, is slowly disappearing and dissolving away.
The third element is failure. Do you feel the sense of failure in your life from all of this economic stress? I do... losing the motorhome... filing bankruptcy, I feel very much a failure. I am too old to try and rebuild. The stock market has destroyed most of us. My retirement funds are almost depleted. There is not time in my life to rebuild nor replenish. I suppose the issue is not that I have failed... it is how I should respond to my failure. There's so much more that could be said about the element of failure, but I will save that for another time...
Finally, the last element is fear the fear of, "I can't handle this" or, "it is so much responsibility" or fear of criticism or maybe the worst---the fear of the unknown. It can truly destroy a person.
God help me keep my eyes off the problems and circumstances of this world... and keep my eyes on you.
February 5
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them."
~Mark 11:24
It has been a quiet day. The temperature this morning was 1 degree. We are staying home and trying to keep warm. Haven't been anywhere since my surgery. I guess I could get out if I needed to but concerned that my ankle needs to heal completely before venturing out. Dreama texted me this morning wanting us to meet her for dinner tonight. I am not sure if I should try it. Had planned to wait until after my doctor's appointment on Monday, to see how the ankle was doing but we shall see how I feel later.
Tre and Kiara are getting over their colds. They only missed one day of school. They are tough kids and Dreama puts up with no-nonsense about them going to school. They have to be really sick to stay home.
February 6
Okay…. this staying inside and not getting out, is getting to me. I am getting cabin fever! I have three days to go before I go back to my Dr. Bob thinks I am losing my mind and the dogs think I am crazy. I have always sung to the dogs and have taught them to clap their paws, to pray, and they howl at the top of their lungs when I am singing. I wonder why?
I was playing with them today and singing all the usual songs, "Patty Cake," "You Are My Sunshine," etc. I was amazed when I started singing this little song to the dogs, I had learned it in Sunday school years ago, when I was around four or five years old. The tune just came to me and I started singing it. My father was a pastor and once in a while after Sunday School and before the church service, he would have all the children come up and sing. That was one of the songs we sang. The song brought back pictures in my mind of me as a child standing up there singing my little heart away. I could see all the hand and body motions that we did to the tune of this song. My father was standing there clapping his hands and looking so proud. Mother always sat in the second row on the right-hand side of the church. I could see her sitting there smiling... here is this song.
“Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain Heavenly breezes blow
Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain
Faces all aglow t
Turn, turn from sin and sorrow
Look to God on high
Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain
You and I.
February 7
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
~1 Corinthians 1:3
It has been a quiet Saturday. I did venture out today and took a ride in the car with Bob to pick up a sandwich for lunch. We did not get out, picked it up, and brought it back home. Everything is wet, dirty white, and Gloomy. It has been quite some time since we have seen the sun. I can hardly wait until the weather is warmer and the dogs can get out in the yard. It reached 52 degrees today... so maybe it is on its way!
I did not sleep very well last night. One of those nights that you are still laying and looking at the clock at 4 in the morning. I slept in this morning and missed a call from Dreama. She wanted me to go to the Polaris Mall with her and Kiara. I couldn't have gone anyway, but she always asks. She is looking for a Louis or coach carry-on bag to take with her tomorrow. She, Kiara, and their horse trainer are flying to Mississippi in the morning to look at a horse. They will return Monday. I am so blessed to have a daughter that wants to be with me all the time and includes me in everything. My father and mother always told me she was a special gift from God to me. God is good...
I caught up on some printing that needed to be done for my journal, took a nap and cooked dinner. Tonight we had a delicious meatloaf, mashed potatoes,( which I have not had for ages because of dieting) baby peas, and jello.
February 8
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen."
~Philippians 4:6-7
It seems we spend a lot of time cleaning…. and that is what we are doing this afternoon once again. With three dogs the house does not stay clean for very long. We need to run the sweeper and mop two or three times a week, plus the dusting and cleaning the bathrooms and then like everyone else, the washing and drying of clothes. Whew... makes me tired writing about it!
Want to leave the house clean as we are leaving in the morning after my doctor's appointment, to go to Tiffany's. The weather is warming up. It is supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow. We will have rain in the middle of the week, but temps will remain warm with a high of 62 on Tuesday! Yay!
February 9
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:29-30
We set a new record today! Spent 2 hours and 15 minutes in a doctor's waiting room. I had an appointment to have the staples taken out of my ankle. The appointment was for 10:30. We saw the doctor at 12:45. He and his nurse were apologetic but did not give us an explanation for the delay. They were simply running behind today. Bob and I had planned to go to Dayton after the appointment. We were going to help Tiffany with her new apartment. It was too late for us to go. She had to be at work at 4 and we were running too late to make it in time before she had to leave. I had to pray and Bob kept calming me down as to not get angry over the situation and to keep my mouth shut. I was ready to explode. I was able to hold my temper and not say anything that I might be sorry for later. The staples were removed and they thought my ankle looked great and could not believe I was walking without any assistance of a walker or cane the doctor dismissed my case and said, I would not need to come back unless I had problems with the ankle. Thank God! I had already vowed not to come back anyway... LOL.
Bob's sugar was getting low and his face was turning red, while we were in seeing the doctor so we went straight to get something to eat at Olive Garden. I called Tiff and told her what happened at the doctor's office and let her know we could not make it there today but we would be there in the morning. She was fine with that. So we will leave early in the morning and go spend some time with her and help her with what we can. We came home after lunch and both of us were very tired. I can't understand why I was, but we laid down and took naps for about 2 hours. This is very unusual for me, but for some reason, I was very tired. Maybe it is "old age” catching up with me!
I called Chris tonight. He was at Skyline Chili having dinner with Rodney and Rodney's children. He told me he did get paid last week and has been working on the go-kart Virgil had given him as part of the payment for the Harley. He is so good mechanically. He has it running but it still needs some parts he said, it was in bad shape!
February 10
"Let us glorify God for his love and his constant care of us and thank him for the good times as well as a challenging time… I will be as the father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The spirit will show you what is true.”
~John 14:16
Finally on our way to Tiffany's! We got there around 11:30 this morning. We went in and had a tour of her new apartment. It is just perfect for her. We took a quick tour around, carried our stuff in, and settled the dogs in her kitchen. We put their bags, blankets, food, and water down for them and blocked off the entrance. She seems very happy that we were there. We left to have lunch at Brio's which is at the Dayton Mall. Tiff's apartment isn't too far from there.
Everything around the mall has changed so much since we lived here. Tiff and I tried to talk about things she would need for the apartment and talk about what colors and styles she liked, but Bob wanted to talk about other stuff... LOL We could not get a word in edgewise!
Tiffany and I took Bob back to the apartment and she and I went shopping! We really found a lot of neat stuff and had a ball shopping for everything. We got back at the apartment around 5. Pam called and wanted to know if we could meet for dinner. I thought I needed to stay home with Tiff and try to get some things done, but knew I also wanted to meet Pam and Ron sometime while we were in town so we could celebrate my birthday. We had to eat somewhere tonight so I decided to meet them. Megan came along with him. I thought it was a good time to tell them about Tiffany's pregnancy. She and Megan talked about how they felt and what was all going on with their bodies. Megan is having a girl and Tiffany doesn't know what she is having yet. We enjoyed our dinner and listening to the girls talk. Pam got me a wind chime and a funny girlfriend's book for my birthday. Bob had asked Ron to bring the rifle and the .38 that I had given to him a long time ago to keep for me. I don't know why Bob wanted them back but he did.
We got back to the apartment about 9 and Tiff and I started decorating. We got drapes made and hung, pictures placed and hung, candles displayed, and the downstairs bathroom finished. Tiffany and I stayed up working until around 1. Bob went to bed earlier. It was a full day. We will finish up tomorrow and we'll head back home before Tiff has to go to work at 4:30.
February 11
"Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the ages."
~Matthew 28:20
We started in early this morning...so much to get done before we leave. Bob is busy cleaning the large copper vent over the stove. We picked up some cleaner for it last night. It is really going to be a big job. Bless his heart! He is always so good about helping. Don't know what I would do without him. Tiffany thanked him over and over again and for helping with everything. I tell you what, he would do anything for Dreama or Tiffany and that includes walking on water...
We worked upstairs today. Her bedroom turned out really pretty! It was so cute and Tiffany7 did all of the drapery treatments because I could not get up on the chairs with my ankle, (it was pretty sore this morning.) She was so pleased with her work. I hope I taught her some things about decorating while I was here! (I think I did!) She does such a nice job with everything and I think she enjoys doing it.
We finished the bedroom and decorated the upstairs bathroom. Did finishing touches downstairs and by then it was time to start packing up to head back home. It was worth the trip, seeing how excited Tiffany was with the results. She was so pleased and thanked up over and over. Bless her heart...I was happy I could do it for her.
By the time we got back home, it was early evening...Bob realized I was completely worn out. He told me to go inside and take a bath and he would carry everything in. He didn't have to tell me twice! A bath had never felt sooooooo good! By the time I was finished, he had everything carried back in and put away.I headed to the couch....laid down and didn't wake up for two hours.
Dreama and Kiara stop by on their way home from riding lessons. They are leaving early in the morning for the Bahamas. They didn't stay too long. She still had packing to do and papers to grade before she goes to bed and they have to get up at 4 in the morning for the flight.
It is raining and the weather report is not good. Tornado warnings are out and the winds are really picking up. Right now the winds are 65 miles an hour. It blew our rockers right off the front porch into our neighbor's driveway. It broke one of them. The winds are still howling, but I am so tired I have to call it a night. It is 10:30. Cannot believe I'm going to bed this early...