Friendship Postcard Friday!

Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards

is hosting this post today. She has an incredible selection of vintage postcards. Check out her blog! I found out on my friend Janeen's webpage (chachaneen on my list below) about this fun Friendship Postcard Friday fun. So I found these vintage ones to s hare with you. Old Santa Rosa. They are very small; sorry!!!

Feeling Better

Thought I'd better update this quickly so no one thinks I'm jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge or anything...It is amazing what prayer does for you. It is amazing what sinking yourself into the Word and spending time with the Holy Spirit will do. After Rose Marie prayed for me yesterday I just went into the living room with the Bible and a soft-cover book another old friend gave me entitled Psalms Now in 1997.

What a comfort the Psalms are. Early on in my faith and in fact until 12 years ago I never related to the Psalms. Sure did after that when God allowed circumstances in my life that I never thought I'd face. Hasn't let up yet! Good thing I know and believe the Word when it says In this world you will have tribulation...no kidding!

So the Psalms quieted me down because one of the things I love about David's Psalms are that they begin with gloom and doom and whining and arguging and total despair (oh yes I related) to ... as the psalm continues....David is reminded of the goodness of God. And then the Psalm takes a turn upward, reminding himself of the great things of God and how much God loves him...it all ends up in Praise!

One might say its not easy to praise while going through a really tough time. I'd agree. But when you sit with God and are reminded and comforted and taught as you ponder the situations, it's just a natural flow to praise Him. He is in it all. He knows and knew all these details long before I was born. He knows the outcome. I have learned a lot of lessons through these difficult times and praise Him for those lessons. I have grown in my faith in a deeper and more intimate way with Him in these difficult times. He loves me and ministers to me and is for me. He knows the outcome. And since there is no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ, I know my ultimate outcome too. And that is the real bottom line...persevering to the end. I'd like to do that more gracefully however. Usually my emotions don't get quite as overboard as they did yesterday; they just all reared their ugly heads at once instead of one at a time. It just felt overwhelming to have everything hit me at once. So pray for me to be more graceful in how I handle this season in my life, please!

Before Rose Marie and I got off the phone she shared a story with me. I like word pictures; they hit me where I live ... visually. Story goes...an olympic swimmer, Florence Chadwick, was swimming in the ocean surrounded by fog. She was going from Catalina Island and the California shore. For 15 hours she swam in rough waters. She began to cramp and begged to get out and into the boat her mother was in riding beside her. Her mother urged her to not give up. Finally she was so exhausted and gave up. She could not see the shore. It turned out that the shore was less than a half a mile away. If she could have held on just a bit longer, a little bit more perseverance...she would have arrived safely on the shore. As Rose reminded me, God might already be in the process of lifting my troubles away. If we give up, we might never know how close we actually were to peace and triumph.

I took my paper and colored pens with me along with the Bible and book to the living room, and drew that word picture out. (No I am not an artist; it looks like a 4-year old drew it). For the fog I just wrote the words of my emotions, grief, loss, sale of house, need of money to pay bills, and so on. I wrote the word "perseverance" at the bottom under the swimmer. I'm going to leave that masterpiece in my bible to remind me of this great lesson.

And, persevere I will. I'm driven to the place that is the most comfort of all...to the arms and care of Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit is so supernatural...My circumstances may or may not change, but He is unchanging and He comforts me. I always feel better after those times. I praise Him for all things. It is such a joy to know that NOTHING touches me that doesn't first go through Him. Knowing that makes it so much easier.

Yes, I spent over an hour in the Book of Job ...

Community

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

This was a difficult day. My emotions got the best of me. I struggled with the questions of why the house is not selling, the worries of how to pay my bills, and just a general sadness for the loss of family in my life. No, I didn't run to the Word. I needed prayer. I needed someone up close and personal to pray for me. I don't know anyone up here like that so I called my pal Rose Marie. I knew she was at work and looked up the number. I remembered again back to my days working in church where people would call and ask me to pray for them...people I knew and people I didn't know.

Once I got myself together I was able to blurt out..."Is anyone near you?" "No." "gulp, gulp...I need prayer Rose Marie; I need you to pray for me. I feel overwhelmed. Can you, will you?" "Of course." And she prayed...and I cried...and she prayed and I cried. And she prayed...and I was able to get out the thank you. Then we talked about it a bit. We had a good talk. It's good to talk things out, to have a listening ear, to be comforted and assured and encouraged. I am grateful to my friend, Rose Marie today... and every day. Thank you.

God knows what He is talking about when he says to not give up the meeting together. That is about church. The church building is where you can form friendships of a lifetme with a common goal in living as best we can our spiritual walk. When I look at the people who are still in my life so many of them are people I met at church. People who I fellowshipped and worshipped with, done bible studies with, played games with, ate with, traveled with and loved in community. Let me assure you we are not all little peas in a pod with the same little darling personalities, and same little purses or shoes. We have varied interests, talents, and opinions. We are the Church.

Who would I have called today when in such an emotional place if not someone who I knew would pray for me? I guess I could have called a prayer line from a TV show, but how wonderful to be able to call a friend who knows me well, warts and all and is happy to help me in any way she can.

I am grateful for my friends. I am grateful to the Lord for placing me in a wonderful community of believers over many many years now. I hope this writing today would encourage you to find a church community. It can be scary. Everyone is human there, even the pastors. Nothing and no one is perfect or even close to it. But I encourage you anyway. Like the little Mary Engelbreit poster says: Why not go out on a limb? That's where all the fruit is! So true, so true. I imagine you have a lot give (God uses everyone) and you just may need someone to pray for you in a difficult season. Church...people loving Jesus as best they can by loving others. It's good. It's sunshine. It's love.

Soul Sisters

This is just one of my soul sisters. It's funny how that works. Sometimes you just meet someone and click. I'm blessed with a couple of them and blessed with others that I love and care about but the initial click wasn't there. Have you had this happen to you?

This little chickie to the right is now in her very early 40s. Her name is Laura. I met her once when she was in grade school. My son and daughter went to school with her. Many moons later I met her again. One of the cutiepie guys from Hope Center brought her to church as their first date. As I remember she was working in a bank that he used. Nice first date! It was all new to Laura. She met Jesus soon afterwards. I was working as the office manager and got to watch a lot of relationships grow .. with guys and gals and with Jesus.

Her relationship with the date didn't last forever, but boy did she become one on-fire child of God. She is really honest, sincere and deep. She was like a sponge those first couple of years and her intensities to share the love of Christ with others led her to eventually work with Youth With a Mission traveling to Africa, Amsterdam and other places far and wide.

Along the early path we became friends....and soul sisters. She wasn't like a daughter to me, she was a sister. I led a group of women ages 18-25 in a Bible Study which we held in a park on Saturday mornings. I think that is where we got to be really good friends, but I am not really sure.

She is quite gifted..she sings, she plays guitar, is a great worship leader, a tender heart, and has been described as one with moxie and quite the extrovert. That's the truth too. She's outrageous and fun. She's a terrific writer. She would share her college assignments with me and I'd sit there stunned and teary-eyed. I'm still waiting for a first novel to appear as she eventually received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at St. Mary's College.

So how do two women become soul sisters when they are so different in life experience, education, age and such things? As for me, a few college classes, can't even play the piano though I tried by taking lessons as an adult. I'm an extrovert but no moxie -- more of a wuss. I sing, but not solos. I guess I can be outrageous and fun, maybe that was it along with our shared love of Jesus and being in awe of the mercies He had shown us.

We lost touch when I moved to Idaho. But again, thanks to Facebook we hooked back up and tonite shared a great conversation...as if we had never been missing from each other's lives these past 11 years. Amazing. Soul Sisters. I love it. I love her. I am really proud of her and have missed her a lot. Now that we have touched base again, I plan on never letting this soul sister disappear from my life again. She truly enriched it for so many years in the past that I don't want to miss out on that ever again. Hear that, Laura?

Stephen Levi Anderson

Steve is an old friend of mine from when we were in ministry together at Hope Center Covenant Church in CA. He's an awesome man of God and a great worship leader. I had lost track of him since I left Idaho but see he is in Portland, OR again and wanted to share his music with you. Thank you FACEBOOK for helping me find old friends. Such great memories of each one as we connect again. Enjoy Steve's music. I even took out my playlist to highlight him tonight.

FACEBOOK

I am sure you have been wondering where I've been...ha! Well my brother said go on Facebook and check out Karl's pictures and our cousin KC is on there with pics of our cousins. So I did. I had forgotten that I had joined up on Facebook last year and didn't do anything much.

My cousin's pictures were great and so fun to see everyone grown up. I haven't seen many of my cousins in years and one is my godchild so I made a 'friend' out of her as well as her sister. Then I meandered around and saw many people I knew and made friends out of them as well. Its a different medium for me, but I have been having a good time. I have found a couple of old friends from my old church Hope Center in Pleasant Hill, CA and exchanged 'what's new with you?' comments. It was so fun to see my friends children who are all grown up. I remember them when they were born and now they are graduating from college or after college have gotten married and had children of their own.

It's so nice to know some 24 year old created this and is a zillionaire. I sit here thinking... ... ... can I come up with anything the world needs, or can I think of anything I can make the world think it needs? ... ... ....
probably not.

In the meantime, I'll blog and play on Facebook finding old friends and staying in touch with everyone I find.

At some point the house will sell and I'll be moving on and not have much time for such passing of the daytime endeavors.

--oOo--

Historic Day

We have a new family in the White House!! For those of us who are very old and were active in the civil rights movement that Martin Luther King brought forth, this is huge. To have a man of color as our President would never have happened without the civil rights movement. I'm no fan of Barack Obama's politics and would have preferred Colin Powell over anyone who ran, but this does prove that the U.S. has lessened in its racist ways.

When I was 11, in 1954, my parents moved out of Oakland to the safe suburbs in a community where a paper was in place that no negroes would be allowed to purchase a home in our development. Oakland, CA wasn't safe when I was eleven and it is even less safe today. I know they were trying to protect and care for their children. In my junior high campus there were police every day chasing someone, guns out. To pass through a series of 81 steps I had to use to get to the junior high, I had to ask permission of some hoodlums with knives. If I was alone I went far around and it took twice as long. They did make someone drink acid one day. So I understand my parents move.

Even at eleven though I saw the injustice of that piece of paper excluding negroes. I spoke up too which, if you knew me then, was so odd. I was shy and quiet. I was hushed quickly of course but at least and I don't know how, that was inside of me early on.

God created us all and we should all have the same opportunities. I am glad for the minorities who managed to get into great schools and become educated to a degree that helped them compete for good jobs and good neighborhoods. I have an acquaintance whose father was the minister of the church before Martin Luther King took his place. He was fired for being too controversial politically. You just have to smile knowing what Martin Luther King did there!

So while rejoicing in my heart that I lived this long to see this day happen, my politics doesn't match up to the new President's, but we must support and pray for this man and his family anyway. It's more important than ever so join me in prayers for their protection, wisdom, discernment and that they too look to the Lord God in every situation.

--oOo--

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

I Timothy 2:1-4

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
II Chronicles 7:13-14

Best Brother Ever

I've used this picture before in my blog. It's my brother, Kevin and his son, Ryan. Kevin looks the same but Ryan is all grown up and a teenager now.

This is the best brother in the world. I hope you have one like him. I am ten years older than he is and, according to my mother, I acted like a little mother to him. I got married when Kevin was 11 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. On my visits home he and I would visit and I found him to be just a nice guy. I mentioned this to my mother who said, "Well of course you like him, he's your brother." Well that's not about liking, that's about loving. You don't always like who you love. She didn't get it.

When I was grieving over Jeff's death I went to visit Kevin and his family. My sister-in-law, Karen, welcomed me in the same loving way as my brother as did his children. I stayed there from the middle of November til late in February. I can't wait to see them again soon when I sell my house and stay with them again for a bit in my transition.

Today I was thinking about Kevin. He just has a servant's heart. I think that when he sees a need he tries to fill it. In December he sent me hard-earned money to fix my car. It's not like he is wealthy. He is sacrificial in his giving and extending himself to others. He gives his time to people. He is compassionate.

Yesterday he sent me an email that said he had been reading my blog and saw that I was wanting the book The Reader so he just ordered me one on Amazon and it would be arriving soon. HOW NICE IS THAT?

It's as nice as being able to stay with him for months on end, as nice as receiving a check to cover my car repair. That's how nice. I cried. Yeah, I'm a crybaby, but you touch me with things like this and it hits my heart and I cry in gratefulness to be close to people such as my brother. A book may seem a small thing, but its huge in its impact.

God kept this brother of mine around much longer than any of us expected and we are all blessed by the gift of Kevin and his life which serves his Master. I'm sure Kevin will hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" when he is embraced by Jesus one day.

I love and like my brother - everyone who knows him does! Not hard to figure out why. Can't wait for the book to arrive but if there were no gifts except the gift of being able to sit and talk with Kevin I am blessed beyond measure.

Give Me Jesus - Fernando Ortega

This is Fernando OrtegaHe is singing the first song on my playlist over there. Give Me Jesus.
I love this song and have put the lyrics in for you. I think he has the greatest voice and I love his spirit. In the late 90s my friend Rose Marie gave me one of his tapes. It really moved me to the core. I've been a fan ever since.

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise,

give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus,

You can have all this world,

But give me Jesus

When I am alone

When I am alone

When I am alone,

give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus,

You can have all this world,

But give me Jesus

When I come to die

When I come to die

When I come to die,

give me Jesus

Give me Jesus,

Give me Jesus,

You can have all this world,

You can have all this world,

You can have all this world,

But give me Jesus

Wii Fun was Way fun!!!

Wii - Bowling

Okay, over a year ago I did play Guitar Hero at my daughter's house. I didn't do well. I am always astounded by this new technology. As I remember, PONG was the first game in new technology in my day. I didn't do well at that either. But last Sunday I spent the day with my old pals Jim and Donna and their so-very-smart-and-handsome grandson, Max! I had heard that Donna bought Jim a Wii for Christmas and I wanted to bowl for sure! I'm game...it's never a surprise to me if I don't do well, but hey, I'm a great sport! (well not really)...

Donna mentioned that they had been bowling on the Wii and I jumped at the chance to bowl with Max. He was ever ready to take on another opponent, especially one of his grandmothers era! Easy win, right? HA! I didn't get it at first, but boy was this fun! I now want a Wii! Of course it was also the most exercise I have had in about 20 years. My arm hurt after the first game and I had to take a Wii (wee) break. Max won, of course. He had the moves, he knew the game, he's great at these things anyway cuz ... he is 7.5 years old. It would behoove us all to have a young child around 24/7 to help us with the new technology.

One of my friends said her teen can read a book and text message on her cell phone without looking. YIKES

I digress. Back to Wii! Okay, Max; I'm ready!! We were joking around with remarks like "I'll beat you this time!" "Oh yeah, I doubt it" "I'm better than you are" "Just watch"... and I'm not telling who said which line there. So off to game #2....and I WON!!! Yes, I did. 162 to 159 WHEW! He wasn't too happy about that but was a great sport about it. Okay, two out of three..the challenge began (after another break for my arm). We joked and harrassed each other all the way through; it was so much fun. We were laughing and having the best time. He won. He's the champ 2 out of 3. What a hoot it was to play with Max that day. Later he showed me his moves on his scooter (of course he had his helmet on) as he came down the incline on his grandma's street.

I read on AOL today that Wii bowling was dangerous. It could kill a dog! I guess a dog got in the way as his owner was playing Wii bowling and she smacked him in the head and he had to go to the vet unconscious!!!!! It would be best to stay out of the way. I mean when I was bowling I was bowling, like in a real bowling alley. I had to really swing that Wii deal to get the speed I needed to get a strike you know! It was explained to me why there was a cord around my wrist so as to not accidentally fling the wii! It could happen!

My favorite sentence from Max for the day was: "I got some moves from you, Karen" OH BOY from this old gal, he watched (he does that) and saw my perfected swing and release you see!!!! And he put it into practice too!! He beat his Dad 210 to something. YAY MAXXXXXXX - can't wait to see you again at your grandparents and have some more real techno fun!!!!!!

Don't even ask me how I did at baseball Wii, okay? Thanks.

Speaking of Books and movies...

Early on in Oprah's Book Club I bought every book she was highlighting. I love to read and I was thrilled she was doing this on her show because like she pointed out, many women were not ever reading. So I thank Oprah for instilling the love of reading in a new way to the women who watch her show. I didn't ever like the selections she offered up though. I was in a quandry! I tried, I really did. They were all so terribly depressing I finally gave up and stopped buying her book club books.

Evidently The Reader was one of her recommendations at some point. This has now been made into a movie which I saw earlier this week. I am now going to try to find the book at a thrift store because I want to get 'more' of the story.

I can see why Kate Winslet won an award as best actress for her part in this film. She was incredible. Roy Thinnes was also very very good. Kate is the 'star' though. The character she played was so complex yet simple. I had no idea what the movie was about when I went to see it. There's nudity and a lot of it in the early part of the movie so be forewarned. I would have been fine with just 'knowing' they were nude yet not having to see it, if you know what I mean. I'm so old and so not used to this.

But the movie -- oh...I know I will never forget it. It's the kind of movie that stays with you and not the images of the nudity perse (LOL), but the images that really formed the content and meaning of the subject. I don't want to share any of the content of the movie in case you go see it. Just know that this is one thought provoking and moving, very moving film. At one point well into the film, a poignant moment had me swallowing hard so that huge sorrowful noises didn't escape from my throat. I had to gulp them back down I was so moved, and yet little noises escaped...I knew if I let those really go I would have been sobbing.

I don't have a lot of 'favorite movies' - but this one will be high on my list of five.

HOOCHIE BOOK CLUB

I read a lot of blogs..I end up going from one to another by reading their list of blogs they read..and have really found so many wonderful blogging women. So many are young moms, so dedicated, thrifty, talented and really lovely. Somehow I ended up on one today that has a book club. I've always wanted to be in a real life book club, but never had the opportunity so I joined right up to this one on line.

This is the book they just announced and here is the link to the blog so you can join up too if you'd like:

Chattahoochee Mama

Gotta say I LOVE LOVE LOVE the name of the club..suits me..don't you think? NOT! HA!!

Organization

Well, there is something to be said about organization.

I won't tell you what I used to say...

ok, I will:

A clean home is a sign of a wasted life!

It's not original -- I saw it on about 10,000 little

painted plaques in every craft boutique during the 90s.

As I have mentioned before I had to get organized to begin the process of packing up and moving

and preparing the house for sale. Okay, as you also know it's on the market.

So, it's 9:30 in the morning and its spic and span.

I have to get up and clean every morning and I mean clean.

Granted there's just a fine layer of dust from the day before

and the dishes are all put away from the night before.

But there are bathrooms to tidy up, clothes to deal with,

even making the bed right away!!!!

It seems to never end!

I'm now organized!

I could be the original Flylady my sink is so clean!!!!!

I have a viewing today at 10 am so its not in vain

and to tell you the truth I realize that if I indeed lived

this way normally...

WOW!!!

It's 9:30 and I have nothing to do!

Think about the ways the rest of the day could be used for any number of good things!

WOW!

A Revelation

New to someone who used to be

happy with a house that was just picked up!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ... NOW RUN!

“Run with endurance the race that God has set before you”

Hebrews 12:1

Don't sprint! We are in it for the long haul!

Surround yourself with others in the race!

Stay in the Word!

Happy New Year and while you are running the race set before us

enjoy the grace given in great measure along the way.