Happy Birthday, Sarah

The winter of 1977 was a cold one in Florida, and when I mention it to folks from the north, they seem to remember it well too. On the way to the hospital on the morning of January 20, the bank thermometer registered 26 degrees. It was cold. Jimmy Carter was inaugurated that day, and Sarah was born.

The years have gone by quickly. Sarah has grown in to a lovely, young woman. I am so glad that I got to be her mother.

Happy birthday, Aunt Sarah.

A trip back in time

A few weeks ago when I was grocery shopping at P*blix, I stopped by the deli, one of my favorite places. The lady who waited on me spoke with an accent, and I asked her where she was from. "H*iti," was her reply. So I spoke a few words of Creole to her, and we conversed a few minutes before I told her what I needed. In our conversation, I told her that I had taught missionary kids in Ha*ti back in the early 70's, and then she told me that she was a pastor's wife and invited me to attend a service at her church.

She told me that they were having a dinner on Thanksgiving Day, but I told her that I would be with family, but I would try to come at another time. The holidays came and went, and I ended up going today. I took my English Bible since I wasn't sure where my French one was. I have a hymnal that we used in Ha*ti, but I didn't take it along with me. I arrived at 11, the time that the service was to begin. By the time everyone came, it was around 11:30 before the service actually started.

The church was filled with young adults and lots of children. There were about ten musicians on instruments and a praise team made up of a couple of the women of the church. A lady sitting across the aisle from me loaned me her songbook and showed me where the songs we that we were singing. What fun it was to sing in Creole again. The theme of the songs was that during hard times, God is faithful and is always there. It really spoke to my heart.

The pastor introduced the guests and asked each one to say something to the congregation. He told me before the service started that he wanted me to speak Creole, so I did. I shared with them how I had lived in Haiti a long time ago and how, once you have been there, it always stays in your heart. And I shared with them about the hard times that I have gone through and how I never have doubted the faithfulness of God. I hope they understood my bumbling. I think they did, and if they didn't, they would be far too polite to say so...to my face anyway.

When I got there, the pastor's wife greeted me. As we were sitting there, I asked her what denomination the church was...Baptist, Pentecostal, or ??? She told me that it was a Church of God. Now in my church people raise their hands if they want, and we clap our hands quite a bit, but these folks really got into it. They ended up literally dancing in the aisles...even the pastor.

The service started at 11:30, and I slipped out at 3:30. The pastor was still going strong. No one was asleep! Many were dutifully taking notes of everything he had to say. Children were sitting still; there was no children's church to entertain them. I was impressed. A young woman translated everything from Creole into English for those young people who are not as fluent in their country's language as their parents.

The photos here are some that I took when I was in Hai*i. The little girls in the red dress were daughters of one of the pastors of one of the large churches in our association. The little girls down below were the daughters of the pastor of the little church that I went to while I was there. I've been working on scanning my slides, but the device I bought didn't work quite right, so I returned it. Hopefully I'll get more done in good time.

A Fun Sunday

We drove over to Orlando on Saturday afternoon and had dinner at the Rainfor*st Cafe at the Marketplace in the Disn*y Village. I had called earlier in the week and made reservations, so we got there right at 5:30 and were seated right away. The restaurant is like a rain forest, filled with all kinds of animals...not all rain forest animals however. There were elephants there, along with monkeys, gorillas, birds and butterflies. We were told that every 12 minutes the animals come to life. This was a little bit frightening for Ella, but she soon got used to it. Our food was yummy, and then we walked around a while before going to the hotel.

The next morning we arrived at the Magic Kingdom before it opened, so we were outside for a few minutes. Since my DIL's birthday was on Sunday, she got in free. She wore a pin that said "Happy Birthday!" and everywhere we went the cast members (that's what all the employees are called) wished her a happy birthday. Since we had been there many times, (my children and I) we went the opposite way of most of the people and got to some of the popular rides before everyone else did.

The day started out so pleasant, and it really remained that way the whole day. It was nice and sunny, yet not too hot. A couple of times I needed to cool off, so I found a cool spot in the shade and recouped my strength. Ella fell asleep around 1, so I watched Ella while the others went through the Haunt*d Mansion. We figured that might be a little bit scary for her. Before she fell asleep, though, she and her daddy rode the D*mbo ride. She liked that one.

The last ride that we all went on was Pooh*s ride. We were all able to ride together in the car, and we took a pleasant trip through the hundred acre woods. Ella is so familiar with the video of Pooh that she recognized everything there.

Sarah and I came home Sunday afternoon. I could hardly walk. I'm either going to have to get myself in good shape or break down and use a wheelchair or an electric cart! Having MG doesn't help either.

Our day was very pleasant. It wasn't super crowded, which was nice. On the way over, I asked one of the men if Disn*y was the largest employer in the county. He said that 62,000 employees, it is the largest employer in the country. It's all make-believe, but it is indeed a magic kingdom. For the most part, everyone goes out of their way to be helpful. I can think on only one time in all the times that we have gone that one of the cast members was not at his best.

I'm eager to see them tomorrow as they return and see what they have to say about the rest of their stay.

Happiness

Happiness is dancing with your mommy at DisneyWorld. Last week, on Christmas Eve, Sarah and I went to Epcot for the Candlelight Procession. Prior to attending that concert, we ate at the German restaurant. After we ate, there was a wonderful show by the actors there. German music, complete with an accordion, delighted us. During the show, they invited guests to dance. At our table was a couple with their two young children. The mom and dad took the children by the hand and proceeded onto the dance floor. I think you can see the joy on this young lad's face as he gazes into his mother's eyes.

We'll be visiting DisneyWorld again this week...this time with David, Sabrina, and Ella. I'm excited to go with a little one again and see the magic through her eyes.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know why. Happy New Year, everyone. I appreciate you all so much for what you bring into my life through your posts.

Welcome to Our World

Take time today to consider Him. Merry Christmas to you all.

The Music of Christmas

I think I have listened to more Christmas music this year than I have for a long time. Several old carols have caught my ear and lodged in my heart.

Many years ago, not too long after Don and I were married, we had a new pastor come to our church. We loved and respected him so much. He was a faithful teacher of the Word of God and loved the hymns of the church. When Christmastime came around, he led us in a Christmas hymn that was unknown to me at the time, and I have not heard it sung much since he left.

I began looking for it on YouTube, not really expecting to find it, but I did find a few versions of it. Please watch the video and then read the words of the hymn, and be blessed.

Who is He in yonder stall
At Whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?

Who is He the people bless
For His words of gentleness?
Who is He to Whom they bring
All the sick and sorrowing?

Who is He that stands and weeps
At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Who is He the gathering throng
Greet with loud triumphant song?

Lo! at midnight, who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony?

Who is He that from the grave
Comes to heal and help and save?
Who is He that from His throne
Rules through all the world alone?

’Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!’
Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
At His feet we humbly fall,
Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!

Our Christmas Rose

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming

from tender stem hath sprung!

Of Jesse’s lineage coming,

as men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright,

amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it,

the Rose I have in mind;

With Mary we behold it,

the virgin mother kind.

To show God’s love aright,

she bore to men a Savior,

When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story

proclaimed by angels bright,

How Christ, the Lord of glory

was born on earth this night.

To Bethlehem they sped

and in the manger found Him,

As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender

with sweetness fills the air,

Dispels with glorious splendor

the darkness everywhere;

True Man, yet very God,

from sin and death He saves us,

And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary,

who felt our human woe,

O Savior, King of glory,

who dost our weakness know;

Bring us at length we pray,

to the bright courts of Heaven,

And to the endless day!

A Must-Read Post

I've been reading The Anchoress for some time. Today she has a post about a young girl in India who was persecuted for her Christian faith. Please go here and read it. Those of us who call ourselves Christians here in the U.S. get upset when we hear people ridiculing us, but we have no idea what it is to suffer for the sake of the gospel. We have no idea.

More ornaments

When I was in Virginia in October, we visited a farmer's market, which was actually a nice, small mall that had some really neat shops. One of them was Ten Thousand Villages. This organization has shops which sell crafts from countries around the world. It is a fair trade business, meaning that the artisans receive a fair price for their wares. I immediately went searching for any items that I could find from Haiti. In my search I found this Christmas tree ornament. The "tap-tap" (pronounced "top-top") is made of painted metal. This is a popular form of art coming out of Haiti now.

When anyone is Port-au-Prince, this is the way that many people travel about the city. I don't remember how much it costs to ride, but when you get on board, you are in a crush of people, their wares, their chickens and whatever else might be transportable. I never did brave riding on one, although I did use some of the other public transportation in the city and country. That's another post altogether.

In 2003 I traveled to Estonia with a group from my church and loved getting to know some wonderful people who only 12 years prior had lived under Communism. We spent ten days visiting, sharing, shopping and getting to know these wonderful people.

Recently a documentary, The Singing Revolution, has been in select theaters around the country. It tells how Estonia sang its way to freedom. They never gave up hope. Go to the website and watch the trailer. It gives a glimpse of the long struggle for freedom.

And, finally, the froth. We had one cat who lived in our house for eighteen years. During that time she became a member of the family, and we loved her so much. I became a little foolish for anything about a cat. So in my foolishness, I ordered a set of cat figurines. They pretty much tell the life of a cat, being caught in precarious spots...or...

living in the lap of luxury, being catered to, and given anything his heart desires.

Have a good rest of the week.

Reminiscing

Last year I didn't put up a Christmas tree. I don't really know why. I had other decorations around, but I decided that this year it would go up. A few years ago, I bought a pre-lit tree on sale and thought it would be so much easier. The only problem with it was that it was fairly flimsy and the branches didn't support the weight of many of my ornaments. I had ordered it from a catalog and so ordered it sight unseen, more or less. Anyway this year Sarah came over and helped me put up the older one that I've had for a long time. After she left I started putting the lights on. That's a job in itself, and I didn't do it all in one day.

Finally today I put the ornaments on. Yes, I know it's the 15th of December, but I plan to leave it up until after Ella comes January 1. As I pulled the ornaments out of the boxes, memories or early years of my marriage and memories of my children when they were younger washed over me. Don and I started going to DisneyWorld after we were married. We went every year around the holidays and every year I would look for a Norman Rockwell ornament to hang on the tree. They date back to 1974 and some of them have faded a bit. I know that somewhere along the way, a couple of them have gotten broken.

Strawberry Shortcake made her presence known in our house, along with her friends. She has been on the tree for 28 years or so. Also on my tree are many of the ornaments that were given to David and Sarah by my husband's parents...ornaments for the granddaughter and the grandson. They haven't claimed them yet for their own trees, and so they go on mine. Sarah, with two cats, has chosen not to put up a tree.

I love this little guy. When David was three, the one thing he wanted for Christmas was a "fishing pole with a crank." His pre-school teacher must have heard his request, because when he opened his gift from her, here was an ornament of a beaver with a fishing pole with a crank. He got his fishing pole as well.

My tree isn't very artsy, and it isn't picture perfect, but it's full of many wonderful memories of Christmases past.

All Is Bright

Carmi's theme last week was "shadows. " This week it's "bright." Last Saturday our Sweet Adelines chorus did a show with the theme Christmas in Toyland. The Bradenton Christian School has a Joy Luncheon each December to help usher in the Christmas season, and this is the second time that we have been their entertainment.

The first half of the show opened with the song "Toyland" Two of the ladies were dressed as toy soldiers. They were in gift boxes to the side of the risers, and when we got to the part of the song where the toy shop comes alive, they came out of the boxes and did a bit of choreography. Then as the parade was over, they went back in the boxes and the toy shop was quiet. If you know the song, you know it says "Toyland, toyland, mystical girl and boy land, once you pass its borders, you can never return again."

The second half of the show was filled with songs about the birth of Christ. We started with "Sing We Noel," When Jesus Was a Tiny Baby," What Can I Give Him?" a medley containing "Silent Night," "Go Tell It on the Mountain," and ending with "Rejoice." The last song contains parts of "When they Saw the Star," We Three Kings," and "The First Noel." That one took us a while to learn since each part is doing something different almost all the way through the song.

In the evening we shared the stage with the Ditchfield Family Singers. This family is made up of the mom and dad and four of their adult children and a daughter-in-law. One other young lady has joined them and has become part of the family. Being family, their voices blend perfectly, and they are a real crowd -pleaser. If you go to their site, you can hear samples of their music

Everyone who came said that it was one of the best shows they had seen and worth the price of the ticket. We were very glad to hear that!

New Lungs

Are you an organ donor? Read this very moving article.

Carmi's New Theme - Shadows

Carmi's new theme this week is "shadows." I tried to think what I might have in my files that would fit this theme. It's amazing what one keeps on file in a computer. As I was looking out my son's front door one February, this was what I saw, the lovely maple tree all bare. Its shadow graced and laced the front yard.

Living in Florida, one doesn't see the changes of seasons as one does in other parts of the world. I love looking at the bare trees, seeing the clear blue sky through the branches. When my daughter turned 21, she was in college in North Carolina. Her birthday is in January, and I flew to Raleigh to be with her over in Mount Olive. As the plane was approaching Raleigh, I looked out the window and saw beautiful houses with trees around them with no leaves! I thought that someone should do something about the dead trees. The next day we were out driving, and it struck me, "The trees aren't supposed to have leaves this time of year, dummy!"

I'm reminded of the wonderful hymn which mentions shadow and the seasons--"Great Is Thy Faithfulness." What a comfort these words are to me. The hymn speaks of God's faithfulness to His people, and it is one of my favorites. You can read the words and hear the song here.

First Sunday of Advent

Christmas is upon us, and it seems so soon. We've just finished Thanksgiving, and here it is December tomorrow. Someone said in a post that they wished we celebrated Thanksgiving like the Canadians do. That way we could concentrate on Thanksgiving and then have plenty of time to turn our thoughts toward Christmas.

The first Sunday of Advent--that never meant a lot to me because I grew up in a church that did not practice the liturgy that many churches do. However, in 1991, our family began attending another church where we became members, and in this church, the same denomination that I had been in all my life, did have part of the order of service the lighting of the Advent candles and reading Scripture that was a part of it. In the years since then, I have looked forward to that part of our Christmas celebration.

I am amazed and awed by God's plan and His love for the world and for me. He, who was God, wholly and holy God became man like me and took my sins upon Him.

The Anchoress has a wonderful post today, expressing so well the meaning of Advent

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

If Christmas is a part of your life, I pray richest blessings for this wonderful season of the year.

Sweet - Carmi's theme

This photo is about 27 years old. We have a big cedar tree in our front yard which has a branch perfect for sitting in and climbing on. Here you see Sarah and David (Ella's daddy) smiling sweetly for the camera. You can see where Ella's cheeks come from. I've been moving photos from one computer to my newer one and have been having fun looking at old photos and reminiscing about my children's childhood.

Carmi's theme this week is "sweet." Go to his site, and you can see other entries.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from beautiful, sunny Florida. I've read so many wonderful Thanksgiving greetings and posts already. I wish for you all a blessed day wherever you find yourselves. Ella's going to be with her grandparents in Ohio this weekend. She'll get to see her two little cousins and aunts and uncle, along with her grandparents. Sarah and I are having dinner with one of her very good friends. Heather is cooking her first Thanksgiving dinner, so she hasn't made any great promises. Whatever the result, it will be good to be with friends.

As we look at the economy and wonder where it is all going, I've been reminded this week as I read a letter from missionaries working in Cambodia, as they describe families who live near garbage heaps, looking for their daily sustenance there, and seeing photos of children from Haiti who are literally "skin and bones," we still have so much.

May we always have grateful hearts. I love Psalm 100 from The Message.

Psalm 100
A Thanksgiving Psalm

On your feet now—applaud God!

Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.

He made us; we didn't make Him.

We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love, loyal
always and ever.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Let It Snow

Did you see the Penn State football game Saturday? Snow, snow, snow. I became a Penn State fan when my son went there to university. When I can, which is most of the time, I watch the football games with the Gulf Coast Penn State Club. A lot of the faithful viewers are Pennsylvania natives, who have retired to Florida.

When the game came on, it was snowing quite a bit. The temperature was 24 at game time. Laughter erupted from the group as they looked at all the fans bundled up...of course, there were the students who were there with no shirts on and their blue body paint.

During the game, as the camera panned the crowd, there was a sign that said, "As long as we've got Joe, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

The room was full of loud chatter when all of a sudden, it became very quiet. I looked up at the TV, and there was Jo*Pa, speaking in an interview. Everyone had stopped in mid-sentence to see what he had to say. He has been doing his coaching from the booth for a few games since he injured his hip at a pep rally early in the season. I just read online that he had hip replacement surgery today because he wants to be back to work by December 1 to help get the team ready for the Rose Bowl.

A national championship is what the team was after, but after the 1 point loss to Iowa, they dropped in the standings. The thought is that even if they had gone undefeated, they would have been overlooked in the BCS standings. It has happened before.

Anyway, they beat up on Michigan State and earned the Big Ten title, so it's off to the Rose Bowl.
Let's go, State!

Rows - #2

September 21 was the final home game of the regular baseball season for the Tampa Bay Rays. The rows in the stands were filled with Rays fans eager to see their team play on this final game and to wish them well in the playoffs. The team ended up winning the American League Championship and went on to play in the World Series. Unfortunately, they did not win the World Series, but they are champions to us fans in this area of Florida.

Ev*n Longoria was chosen to be rookie of the year by a unanimous ballot, and Joe Madd*n was named AL Coach of the Year. This team, which had the worst record in baseball last year turned it around this year to win it all--almost.

Now when someone mentions the Tampa Bay Rays, you won't have to ask, "Who?" To see more photos of rows, visit Carmi's blog.

Rows - Carmi's theme

Carmi's theme this week is "rows." My mind immediately went back to Washington DC and the trip that my son and daughter-in-law gave to me for a birthday present this year. We spent most of our time on the mall visiting the monuments and memorials. The newest, the World War II memorial, has a wall of stars, 4,000 of them, which represent the more than 400,000 lives lost during those years. If you scroll down, you will see another photo of this wall. Below the marble band at the bottom, you see the stars reflected in the pool beneath it.

When I visited Washington a few years ago, it was in June, and I literally became ill from the heat. The ladies I was with and I rode the trolley to see the sights, a great way to go, by the way. You can hop on and off all day. When we got to the Jefferson Memorial, I looked for the gift shop because it was cool there. We rode on to the Lincoln Memorial, and I was so hot and almost overcome by the heat that I told my friends I had to go back to the hotel. They went on to see the Vietnam Wall.

I missed seeing it that day, but I didn't miss it this time. My husband served in the Air Force in Vietnam and came home. Many did not. This wall has row after row of names of those people who lost their lives there. Some were there rubbing names onto paper. This gentleman was down on his knee with his phone out, taking the photo of the name of his loved one.

I just read that it was on this day in 1982 that the Vietnam Memorial was dedicated.

Rows...reminders.

Veterans' Day

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation
is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy