The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Day One

When I was a little girl my brothers and sisters and I began our celebration of Advent the Sunday after Thanksgiving (usually), which is the first Sunday in Advent.  During the week before Thanksgiving, Mom would take us up to the mountains where we would gather pine branches that we would make into a wreath.  That would be set on a square piece of styrofoam.  Four candles would be set in the four corners, all of the same color, and one ~ usually red ~ would be set in the middle.  Each Sunday at dinner time we would light a candle until all four had been lit.  Then on Christmas day we would light the fifth.  Since there were five children in the family, we each were assigned one Sunday when we got to be the candle lighter.

From the Vermont Christmas Company

My siblings and I have tried to continue this tradition with our own families.  It is a little more challenging when you hit the "empty nest" years!  In my family we try to keep this celebration an important part of our preparation for Christmas.

The other important celebration that would begin on December 1st was opening our Advent Calendar.  In case you have never seen one, this is a large Christmas picture with doors numbered 1-24.  Behind the door would be a picture or a Scripture verse celebrating the season.  Each evening at bedtime we would have to find that day's door and open it.  When I was very little we had some that my Grandparents had sent from Switzerland.  Mother kept those and we re-used them from year to year.  It didn't matter that we had seen what was behind the door; we still enjoyed them.  I always pitied my oldest brother and sister when I was very little.  My calendar had pictures behind the doors and theirs just had words!  Here is a link to a site with some interesting history and pictures of early calendars.

What did you do today to celebrate Advent?

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas: Introduction

Welcome to December!  

I am one of those people who gets VERY excited in December every year.  I grew up celebrating Advent.  We were taught as children that the word Advent means "coming", and that we are celebrating two important events that are coming.  First, we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Jesus the Messiah.  I understand that we don't really know the date he was born and that this is simply an arbitrary date that was chosen.  I'm fine with that.  The important thing to me is that we honor the birth of my Lord and Saviour.  The second event that is coming is His return.  If Christmas itself is not enough to get excited about (and around here it is!), the thought of Jesus' return will surely get the anticipation goose-bumps going!

Knowing the background of what Advent means, how is it celebrated?  We do a number of different things in our house and there are other things that I grew up doing.  I hope to share some of those with you over the next twenty-four days.  I hope that you will leave a comment or two and let me know what some of the traditions are in your home as well. 

Responding to Crises

Are you wishing right now that you could travel to Japan/Haiti/Chile/ or Egypt/Yemen/Libya?  Perhaps yes to the first group, less likely to the second group.  Are you seeing the pictures of the devastation, the people weeping and wishing you could go over and gather them up in your arms, clean their physical wounds and fix their emotional and spiritual wounds?  Are you crying over the motherless children wandering in the streets?  Are you frightened for those at risk of radiation sickness and those dealing with the anger of a mob?

It is so difficult to know how to respond to these global crises.  Perhaps you know that international travel is out of the question for you personally.  Perhaps you have very young children who must have their Mama at home.  Perhaps your health will not permit travel, or you don't have the financial resources to go.  Perhaps you are wondering how you are to respond as a Christian; what would God have you to do this week?

I am blessed to be part of an amazing church family at The Church at Brook Hills.  Every week one of our pastors preaches the Bible.  We do not hear sermons about current issues, social, political, or otherwise.  We just hear from the Bible and what God is saying in His word.  Yesterday was a special service for us.  We have been studying the book of Acts this winter and yesterday came to the 20th chapter where Paul was sent from Ephesus back to Jerusalem.  We also had the privilege of commissioning a team who are going to the Seattle area to start a new church.  One thing that struck Mark and I both was the statement that we are called to work wherever God has placed us.  Perhaps we are thinking that God wants us to go to a particular mission field but we are either unsure which one or we are just not quite ready to go.  So we have to choose whether to spend all our time fretting over and wondering about the future, or to work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ where we are right now.  Convicting, isn't it?!

So here's the deal.  Perhaps you can go to Japan/Haiti/Chile this week to help with earthquake recovery.  Perhaps you can go to the Middle East to help those suffering through the turmoil over there.  Then again, perhaps you can not.  If you can not, what are you going to do where you are?  How are you going to minister to the people God will place in your life this week?  How will you minister to the checker at WalMart today?  How will you be Jesus for that person from the billing department who has messed up your account?  How will you help that person in line with you at Starbucks?  Folks, the needs around us are huge.  Take a moment and look at the eyes of the people you are around in your office.  How many of those co-workers are completely lost and suffering deep hurts?  What is it worth to you to obey Christ and show His grace, His mercy and His love to them right now?  What are you willing to risk to be obedient?  What you choose to do today will not have a direct, obvious impact toward helping those suffering devastation in Japan.  But the suffering is not limited to Japan; it is right beside you.  Pray for those around you.  Ask God to give you discernment to know to whom you are to speak.  Ask Him to give you the boldness to obey His directions.  Ask Him to give you the words to say.  Ask Him to give you the grace of an obedient heart.  And after you ask, obey! 

Continue to pray for the people around the world who are suffering great tragedies.  Remember that your prayer can and does have a powerful impact. I believe that Exodus 17:8-13 is not only a great story about the history of Israel, I believe that it is also a picture of God's people praying for one another.  Lift up the weary arms of your brothers and sisters in other parts of the world today.  Look forward embracing them one day in Heaven and talking about how your prayers for them this week blessed each of you.

Updated prayer request

I am so happy I am wearing the happy hat and doing the happy dance.  See?

OK, OK I confess; this is an old picture and not the best quality, but you get the idea.
Last Wednesday Catherine, who is 4 1/2 months old, had major heart surgery to close a rather large Ventricular Septal Defect.  The surgery was wonderfully successful and Catherine was able to GO HOME yesterday morning!!  So for those of you who saw the post asking for your prayers, THANK YOU!!  Catherine has some challenges ahead of her.  She has Down's Syndrome and her family need a little extra grace in the days and years ahead.  She is a beautiful blessing and we are all praising God for her.

In the past few weeks I have found some wonderful folks who have offered their care and support for Catherine's family.  One of those wonderful folks is Tiffany Tachenko Underwood, whom I met through a mutual friend.  Tiffany announced today on her blog, Just a Little Bit Downsy (don't you love that title?!) that the old book, Angel Unawares, is back in print.  This is the book that was written by Dale Evans Rogers (yes, that Dale Evans Rogers) about her little daughter Robin.  It is a wonderful resource not only for families who are dealing with Down's Syndrome but any other special needs child.  So hop on over to the link and see what you think and you can register to win a copy too!

The Return of Homestead TV

Since we have moved to Alabama we have been surprised at how often it snows.  Of course, the snows we have and get all excited about make our northern friends laugh, but it is a big deal to us.  And yes, we do close schools for less than an inch in the grass and none on the roadways.  I don't know why, we just do, that's all.
Last week we had what I hope is our last snow of the year.  It was pretty coming down and I spent most of my time hopping up and down from my chair to gaze out the front window and watch it coming down.  At one point the cats got a little excited.  I figured they were being southern cats and excited about the snow.  I went to the front window to look again only to see an animal scurrying off the front porch!  I grabbed a flashlight and shone it out the window.  First I thought it was a possum.  I yelled for Mr. Marvelous because I was afraid the possum would go after the chickens.  I kept watching the animal rooting around in the snow by the front walk.  Then I wondered if it might be a raccoon; it was really hard to tell in the dark with the snow falling.  Mark grabbed his shoes and the big spotlight, I wrapped my warm blanket around me and stuffed my feet into my boots and we quietly went out the front door.
We were shocked to realize that the animal was neither a possum nor a coon.  It was an armadillo!  I tried to get a picture of him but the dark night, the falling snow, the beam of the spotlight and the very bashful armadillo all conspired against me.  Oh well; maybe next time!

Prayer Request

Please pray this week for Catherine, a 4 1/2 month old baby who will be having major heart surgery on Wednesday.  Pray for her healing, for peace for her parents and big sisters, and that God's glory will be obvious to everyone.

Back Up and Running!

Yes, this is back up and running.  In the last month I have learned how to find statistics for who is accessing the blog how often.  I stumbled across that while getting Mark's blog up and running.  I clicked on the statistics link for this blog last week and was rather startled to find out that this blog has had over 200 hits in the past month.  What was even more shocking was the number of international viewers I have had; Holland, Germany, Moldova, Latvia, Russian, Chile (thanks, Emilee!), Russia, Poland, Romania and Canada.  Wow! 

We have had 2 new additions to the extended family.  Our nephew and niece who had been living in the southwestern part of Alabama had their fourth baby, another precious little girl.  Another nephew and his wife had their first, a son, a few weeks later.  That got me started on embroidered baby blankets.  The great-niece got one with verses from Psalms and Proverbs.  The great-nephew is getting one with a Noah's Ark theme.  The Noah blankie is not finished yet.....sigh!  Hopefully it will be done within the next few weeks.  But here are a couple of pictures of the one with Psalms and Proverbs.

I backed it with a soft flannel so that the back of the stitching would not show and irritate

Here is a distance view of the front

 

And a view folded over so you can see how the back looks

Unfortunately, these are all the pictures I took and since the blankie is now with my babies in Utah, that is the best I can do!  Yes, my babies all moved to Utah and even worse, they took their parents with them!  I am happy they are there; they are helping to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and plant new churches for Christians out there.  I surely do miss them, though!

Now I have a request.  If you are reading my blog, would you please add a comment?  Just let me know where you are and how you found me.  I am curious!  Also, if there is something I may be praying about for you, please feel free to ask.  It would be my privilege to pray for you!  Just so you know, my prayers are offered to the Almighty God, the creator of the Universe, through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah. 

His peace to your home.

Stewardship

Where have I been since August 16th? Getting my guys back to work, a trip, company, canning, another trip, more company, more canning, an interesting weekend, more company (I am one blessed Auntie 'Ginia!), another trip and a LOT of rest!!

This morning I woke up to hear someone on the radio talking about tithing. They were talking about tithing money and about the blessings God promises when we do. I had two problems with what was said and I wonder what you think about this.

First, they were restricting their definition of the tithe to money. My understanding of the Old Testament culture is that tithing was everything you had. It was the produce from your land and your flocks. You were expected to use your artistic talents for the benefit of the temple. You were expected to expend time and energy to keep the temple and the city maintained. So how much time are we spending working to maintain our church? How much of our energy goes into training a class of 13 year-olds during the week? How much time do we spend using our talents, whether that be artistic or scientific, to improve our church building? Writing a check for these things is not that difficult, even when our finances are not in great shape. Being the one to take the initiative and teach a single mother how to grocery shop economically, or change her oil and rotate her tires for her when it needs to be done (not necessarily on our twice a year schedule if we even have such a program) is another matter entirely.

The other problem I had with what was said was the assumption that the blessing God states He will pour out on us when we are faithful with our finances is more money. More money? Better financial stability? If that is the blessing, what do we say to the vibrant, committed Christians living in China, Sudan, and Indonesia who have nothing? These people who take money they could use to improve their family's diet and instead give it to another Christian who is suffering? Or the Christians who have no church to give their money to? Shortly after a man I know lost his home to hurricane Katrina, he was traveling in a third-world country to preach and teach and help pastors in that country. When one of those groups found out about his loss, they took up a collection to help him. These were people who in one year will make less than most of us will make in a week. This was a man who had resources like insurance, extended family, and governmental programs to help he and his wife recover. He was taken aback by this desire to help but the translator insisted that he could not refuse because it would remove a blessing from those wanting to give. The people who helped are not in much better financial shape now than they were then. However the joy and the grace that they received from this act is immeasurable. The blessings that God promises are so much more than money and "financial peace". To interpret them to mean that is limiting God and denying ourselves an opportunity to experience what He means by the word "blessing". It is time we moved beyond this limited thinking and started growing in our understanding a bit more. God's blessings of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are far more valuable than having a healthy checking account, a big home, an extra car and several months worth of food in our freezers and pantries!

Recently Mark and I have been thinking and talking a LOT about stewardship in our home. I'll leave you with a verse that keeps coming to mind as we think and talk about this...this is the verse that is on our dry-erase board in our kitchen.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself (poured Himself out), taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." Phil. 2:5-7

Pour yourself out for the glory of God today!

"Radical" ideas

Isn't it interesting how you can be thinking about something and then within days hear a sermon about that topic? Sometimes the sermon confirms what I have been thinking and sometimes it corrects my thinking. And yes, sometimes I have walked away shaking my head and wondering why that pastor isn't as smart as I am. Then I am reminded that he is smarter!
Over this past week or so Mark and I have talked about heaven and the skewed view that many of us seem to have. Somewhere I heard the question, "What are you most looking forward to about heaven?". I started running through my mental list of things. A reunion with my Granny and Grandaddy and Grandma. Getting to know my Grandpa. A sinless life! An eternity in a perfect world. I stopped short when I realized what I was doing. Did you notice? Did you catch what is missing? Where does being in the presence of God and glorifying Him fall on my list? My list is horribly self-centered and self-absorbed. Heaven is NOT about ME. Heaven is about GOD! I did the study a few years ago of Randy Alcorn's book. I have listened to sermon series on the topic. I have attended enough funerals in my life-time to have heard a lot about the subject of heaven. Yet over and over and over again in the church in our culture (I can not speak for other cultures), the teaching may start with focusing on God but it seems to veer away from this to the benefits that we will enjoy. Yes, there are benefits to be found and they will certainly be enjoyable. But those benefits are not the primary reason heaven will be so wonderful. The primary reason heaven will be wonderful is that we will be in the presence of GOD and will see him clearly for the first time. WOW doesn't even begin to express that, does it?

Last night Mark and I began working through a sermon series that our pastor did last fall. This is the Radical series. As we began the first sermon, our pastor talked about the fact that in the American church today we too often see Jesus as a means to an end. Jesus will keep us from hell. Jesus will get us into heaven. Jesus will save us from our sins. Jesus will make our lives easier (and if you believe that I suggest that you go re-read John 15:18-21!). Jesus does indeed save us from hell, make a way for us into heaven, and save us from our sins. But Jesus is NOT the means to these ends. Jesus Himself is the end! When we see Him as the way of accomplishing an end or goal or purpose, and forget that He is very God of very God, we are failing to understand that He is worthy of all our praise and worship just because He is Who He is. Yes, we are thankful for what He does for us, please don't misunderstand me. But He is to be worshipped and praised just because He is Jesus. We don't worship Him because He does or is something, or even for doing or being something. We just worship Him.

Homestead TV: Special Guest!

Last week was a crazy week with us out running errands from Friday, July 31 through Saturday, August 8 (with church thrown into the middle of that of course). Whew! It's good to have a few days at home and get caught up with the latest episodes of Homestead TV.

Marvelous Mark has been very marvelously busy today putting up the new ceiling fans on the front porch. Hurray!!! The porch is wired for three fans (it is so long that it takes that many to be effective) and the old fixtures were in horrible shape. Just motors hanging from the ceiling with no blades. We discovered that one of them had been turned on for who knows how long and had seized up. So it was using/wasting electricity and creating a fire hazard but not much beyond that. I hope to see a change in the power bill after fixing that.

The new fans are up and they make a lovely difference when we sit in the anniversary chairs. While Marvelous and I were sitting in the living room and he was getting the fans ready to put up, he stealthily got up to look out the window and whispered, "LOOK!". I tried. I really did. But I was not stealthy enough or fast enough, or something. I grabbed the camera, though, and went and sat in the anniversary chair (with the fan on, thank you very much) and waited. I heard something here.


I waited. And waited. And soon he came out.


Yes, it is definitely a he. No female would have such thin legs!


Or be so proud of them. (Well, OK, maybe...)

He sat for a long time before getting spooked and leaving.


I also caught this picture and I can not decide if the cloud looks like a baby sucking its thumb or Snoopy thumbing his nose. I guess it depends on the mood of the moment.


Finally, I am including this picture because not only can you see the pole beans that are planted for decoration and food (we believe that it is fine to play with your food as long as it isn't on the table yet), but I think the red sky to the west is a pretty backdrop.


Just for the record, Kermit did make a repeat appearance last night but it was too late and dark for any pictures.

Monday morning

Monday morning is starting early today. The temperatures here are getting a little closer to normal for August ~ we had been running much cooler than normal through June and July. With the temperatures cranking up today (and let's not even talk about the heat index!) it seems prudent to do the outside stuff as early as possible. Usually on days like this I would get laundry going by 5:30 am, but I slept in today and did not get up until 6:00. Marvelous Mark is out there fighting the grass. The downside of working outside early is that the grass is still pretty wet. Oh well, beats trying to do it after 9 when it gets hot, humid and miserable.

Yesterday was a terrific day at church. Our church is starting some Bible classes so Mark and I will be taking one 2 hour class together in the fall and Mark will be taking a theology class (without me). We are looking forward to these. I'm excited about the fact that our church is excited about doing this. The pastoral staff has made it clear that these are classes for the sake of preparing God's people to share the Gospel both here in town and around the world. There is an emphasis around our church family of asking the question, "What does God want me to do with this (talent, knowledge, ability) that can have an impact on the world for His glory?". This is a question that we hear from the pulpit, no matter who is preaching, and from the people walking out of the sanctuary on Sunday.

The link to this week's sermon is here. Dr. Bart Box brought the message this week since our Pastor is out of town. Rather than try to summarize it, I would encourage you to go listen to it.

I'm off to drink some more water and get Marvelous Mark a glass of tea. Have a great week!

Yard Sale Pictures

It is only Friday night and already the weekend is getting too long. Sad to be so old, isn't it?
I am not going to try and go to the Vestavia Hills High School event tomorrow. It kind of makes me sad because I think it is such a great and creative idea and because I love the whole Diet Coke and Mentos thing. Instead, Marvelous Mark and I are going to take a brief look at a couple of local yard sales in the morning and I am going to enjoy my home the rest of the day! That way, I won't be too tired for Sunday (see my logic?). OK, that being said, here are the pictures of my yard sale treasures from Thursday. If I find anything Saturday I will post as soon as I can.

First, I found these cookie cannisters and jars and plate hangers for a whole $1.00 for everything. I love the Animal Crackers tin.


The pansy tin has already found a good use:

Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies, anyone?

Mark found these for a good friend. They have had a tradition of finding each other's marbles over the years, so he couldn't resist this buy. Now Hugh will have a few more marbles to add to his collection.


Then we have the three apple boxes for $1.00 each (!) and a copy of Dante's Divine Comedy for $6.00. Did you have to read The Inferno in sophmore lit at college?


Mark found this suitcase for another $1.00 and the suit bag for $3.00. He may be doing some traveling soon, but if not, he read recently about using the suitcase for home organization and storage. I don't think we could find cheaper storage containers!


I had one other find that I am not going to post a picture of yet. It's a special gift for one of the very special men in my life, so I don't want to run the risk of spoiling a surprise. I will post the pictures and tell the story behind it as soon as I can.

My final picture is my BIG treasure. I found this at a little place that was hosting a bunch of antique shops cleaning out their inventory a little bit. It is not more than 100 years old (and probably not quite that old), because it does have some metal hardware in it in two places. I fell in love with it. The curve of the seat and the way the back is constructed makes it one of the most comfortable chairs I have sat in for a long time. It is going in the front room/craft room for now but will eventually go in the living room. No, I am not going to refinish it, because I like the way it looks. It is certainly not perfect; it is missing some of the spindles under the right arm rest and there are a couple of cracks here and there, but I do love it. Won't this be a good place to hold and rock great-nieces and nephews and any other babies God may put in my path to love on?

Just a couple of quick updates; I'll post pictures of my treasures from the sale later today.
First, we did not make it all the way to Chattanooga, let alone Dunlap. Sigh. I had hoped I could see my sweet friend Jennie, but maybe soon Marvelous Mark and I can drive up there for the express purpose of seeing her. I did find some super things and Marvelous and I both came home tired and a little sunburned, but very happy.
Secondly, thanks so much to those of you who have been praying for Layla Grace. Her second surgery went well, her belly is getting back to normal size and she is feeling a little perkier. However, the surgeon cautioned her Mama that there is a good chance she will have to have a second surgery for this fluid build up. Please pray that the surgeon will see that God is the healer of Layla Grace and she will not need any further surgery.
Finally, I got a huge honor yesterday from my sweet friend Ashley on her Sassy Gal blog. Sassy Gal is an incredible God-reflecting lady, wife, Mama, daughter, friend and example. She let me guest blog my peach preserves recipe. I had forgotten how challenging writing down a recipe can be! I was reminded of my Junior High students when we did a unit together on how to write directions to do something and most of them chose to write a "simple" recipe. Each one of them got a laugh from all the others by leaving out one crucial step (like putting the top on the blender before you turn it on!).
Have a fun morning and check back later for those pics!

Huge Weekend

It's gonna be a huge weekend around here, folks, and I am excited!! Here's the game plan.

Thursday begins the World's Longest Yard Sale, also known as the Highway 127 Sale. Many years ago we lived on Signal Mountain, Tennessee and later down in Chattanooga. We used to follow the sale along the mountain and enjoyed every moment of it....when the slow drivers weren't frustrating us (sorry, had to be honest there). Once again we live in the fairly near vicinity of this and will catch the end from Gadsden, Alabama maybe up to Dunlap, Tennessee (Maybe...hopefully...are you home, Jennie??). We have a few things we are looking for but we are mostly looking forward to enjoying the fun of it.

Friday is library day, always a big time in our home! Yes, the library is in Jefferson County, Alabama (have you been reading about them in the news recently?). No, to date they have not messed up the library system with their nonsense.

Saturday. Ah, Saturday! I am so excited about Saturday that I giggle every time I think about it. A local high school band in the 'Ham is having an innovative fund-raiser this Saturday. They are charging $5.00 admission per person. For the modest fee of $5.00, I get to go to the high school stadium and take part in (are you ready for this?) an attempt to have the world's biggest Diet Coke and Mentos fountain. Whoo-hoo!! I am so excited about this I would pay twice as much (gladly) to get to do this. Diet Coke and Mentos? World's biggest fountain? I'm in!! Possibly literally. And yes, I will be taking my camera and try to protect it while taking pictures. Do you think a large zip-lock would let me take decent pictures while protecting my treasured camera?

And then of course, there is Sunday. I really like my church and getting to go to Small Group and worship there on Sundays is huger than Diet Coke and Mentos. Wow!!

Garden Update Part I

So the clothesline picture was not the greatest shot in the world of the clothesline (it was hot and I was lazy...and a little worried about finding another yellow jacket!). So I thought I would tell you why there is a mountain in the driveway. My brother, Remarkable Robert, is a tree surgeon. He denies that and says he is really a tree mortician. Either way, he works with trees. He cuts down the dead ones, he trims off damaged branches, he gets them off houses and roads and cars when they fall down, etc. He has a very busy business. Every few days he winds up with a dump truck load of wood chips. Marvelous Mark suddenly had a thought one day and asked Remarkable if he could have a dump truck load of these chips. A chance to get rid of a load? Sure!!


So one day the truck made the climb up the street and voila! a load of wood chips in the driveway. This shot shows a diminished mountain, because the guys have been busy and taken care of about half of it already. Marvelous got busy (so did Dashing Dan) and started spreading them around the garden for mulch. Since our soil is not the best, this has been terrific. Instant compost!


Then Marvelous started thinking about how much he does not enjoy mowing and edging and weed-eating in the hot Alabama sun. Then he started thinking about how the grass is not doing too great in parts of our clay-y front yard and how much it was going to cost if we had to get a load of top-soil and grass seed or (worse yet) sod. So he and Dan started spreading the compost along the front sidewalk


and the grass-less parts of the front yard.


The master plan is that we will eventually have flower beds where there is now mulch (although I am really hoping for a vineyard) and that the mower will be used for a small bit of grass in the front and under the clothesline in the back. Hurrah for wood chips! Yippee for Remarkable Robert!! Scuppernongs, here we come!

Boo, Yellow Jackets!!

OK, if you are a Georgia Tech fan, don't get too upset about that title there. I like Georgia Tech. Not as much as I love my Vols, but I like Tech. Marvelous Mark's Dad went there briefly and was a huge fan the rest of his life. I'm not a big UGA fan, so I like Tech. But I do NOT like yellow jackets!!
If you had been riding up my street this morning around 10 am you would have been startled to see me scampering across the sidewalk to the front door with my hand on my rear. I got stung! Stupid yellow jackets! Marvelous Mark planted beans real close to my clothes line and at that time we did not know that the nasty little critters really like green bean flowers. They become very possessive of those flowers and don't want anyone getting near them. So if you get a little too close while hanging clothes on the line, they get pretty territorial. Stupid bugs! Fortunately it was only one. Fortunately the stinger did not get left in. Fortunately my Mama taught me to always wear a slip (one more layer of protection!). Fortunately I am not allergic to the little nuisances. But I do NOT like yellow jackets. Boo!!

Anniversary

Here is a neat picture that I thought you might enjoy tonight (or this morning). This is the gift Marvelous Mark and I gave each other for our recent twenty-second anniversary. Wow! Y'all come and sit a spell.

Thanks for your prayers for Layla Grace and please continue to hold her up in your prayers.

Please pray for Layla Grace. Layla is not quite two years old and was diagnosed this spring with an aggressive form of neuroblastoma. Her progress so far has been a miraculous result of lots and lots of prayers. However, this weekend has been a very difficult weekend for her parents. She is back in the hospital and having some problems. Her web-page is here and she can also be followed on Facebook (there is a link to her Facebook page from her web-page). The most critically important thing that we can do for Layla and her family is to pray, and then pray, and then pray some more!