All Snuggly and Warm

I e-mailed Ella's mother the other day and routinely asked how Ella was. She wrote me back and said that her last throat culture came back positive for staph. That just makes my heart sick. I have so prayed that she would be the exceptional cf child who would get through without infections. I believe she visits the cf doctor again soon. Right now she's on antibiotics for the infection. 

A Wonderful House Guest

I mentioned briefly in my last post that I had a house guest for a week from Estonia. T. came to Bradenton as a representative from her church in Tallinn. Our church has established a friendship relationship with hers. Three years ago, almost four now, a large group of us went over to visit and to see in what ways we might be of help to them. We decided that it would be good for all the folks in our church to meet someone from over there, and so T. came.

Estonia is a country that was dominated by the Soviets until 1991. Freedom is fairly new to them, and they have made great strides in a short time. Situated on the Baltic Sea, right next to Russia, Estonia is a fairly small country. The people are very friendly and have welcomed us warmly. Tallinn has a walled city, called Old Town, that dates back to 1154. It has become a very popular tourist stop for cruise ships. After I was there in 2003, I had a couple of doctor's visits after my return, and both of the doctors had been in Tallinn that summer.

I mentioned in the last post, that being Baptists, we ate ourselves through the week. The first day that she was here I took her to eat at Riverside Grill that has seating outdoors. Right now in Estonia, there are only four hours of daylight, and so I figured she would enjoy the sun. The next day the pastor and his family took her to the beach for a potluck with friends. The next morning she was taken to the beach again for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. And it went on and on throughout the week.

I tried to think like a tourist and take her places that would be representative of our city. Mixon's Fruit Farms is a favorite place for tourists. There is a great gift shop there with all kinds of "Florida-ish" type things, as well as very nice gifts. We were able to see how the fruit is brought in, sorted, washed, and packed. You can buy fruit right there, or you can have it shipped.

Later we went to the South Florida Museum where Snooty, the manatee, resides. He's always fun to see. Whitaker, a young manatee, who was injured by a boat's propeller is recuperating there, but he will soon be returned to the wild.

Later in the week, I took her to my father-in-law's house so that she could pick some oranges. Talk about excited! I remember being in Chicago with a group of ladies for a conference once in February when it snowed. Boy, were we excited, and those who see it all the time, looked at us like we were nuts. I reminded my friends that when those people come to Florida, they get all excited about seeing oranges growing, so there's really no difference.

T. publishes Christian books for the believers in Estonia. She is always looking for books which she can get translated into Estonian. It is very expensive, because the damand is not great, and so part of her time is spent raising funds to underwrite these (she calls it "begging for money.")

She said that their winter had been very mild with very little snow. They like the snow because it brightens their days. This is the picture the sent after she got back home. She had a wonderful time while she was here. I believe that she went home with a very good impression of us Americans. She said she was going to have a slide show when she gets home to show everyone. We loved having her here. She said several times that she would like to come back.

A group from our church is going to return this summer to keep our connection with them. Hopefully, I'll be going again. 

An update on Ben and Anthony

I've had a guest in my home from Estonia for a week. She came last Wednesday night and is leaving in the morning to return to her home. Our church here in Bradenton has a friendship relationship with her church in Tallinn, and so we invited her to come this year so that our congregation could get to know her a bit. Being Baptist, we've eaten our way through the week. Yesterday I had some ladies in for lunch so that they could get to know her a little better, and we had a grand time. Eunice came. She's the lady who sees that all the animals get fed when she's at her home in Georgia. She's also the lady who, when she called Verizon about her DSL, got Jesus on the line. I think I wrote about that. He told her she could talk to him anytime. He is there twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week...a true story! But that's not what I wanted to write about at all.

Ben, the young man, of whom I've written several times, had what was his final surgery just after the first of the year. He is recovering, but he has a long way to go.

His wife writes: "Dr. Christiansen said that Ben is considered 'in remission with resected tumors.' That just means that he's had tumors removed. So, at this point, he's clear, no more further treatment that we know about. He's actually been in remission since June, so we will continue seeing Dr. C monthly for blood tests and scans until next June, then we'll see him every two months for the next year, and it keeps going down from there for the next 5 years. It's hard to believe this is really over, especially since he's still feeling so bad. But if we can make it through these next few weeks, I think we'll start seeing a rapid improvement.

The swelling in his legs has gone down, but his belly is still uncomfortably large. He is eating a tiny bit more, so that's good. I, however, have come down with a dreadful sore throat, so you can pray that the antibiotics will do their job, and I'll be better by Monday when I go back to work.

Thankfully Ben's dad is coming up on Monday to stay for the week. I will feel a lot better about getting back to work knowing that he's got someone here with him.

Sometimes when I think over the past year, I marvel that we have any friends left considering the amount of drama and trouble we've been. But you all have stood by us and really helped in so many ways, so we really thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And we thank God for His goodness in spite of all of this pain. "We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name." Ps 33:20-21

Continue to pray for Ben and Liza.

Anthony, the young man who needs the bone marrow transplant for Fanconi's anemia, is in Cincinnati for the procedure. About half the money has been raised, but the doctors said that it could not wait any longer. The transfusions were being needed more frequently. The donor has rearranged his schedule to be available for Anthony. He is not a perfect match, but is close.

Anthony is a student at Bradenton Christian, the same school my children attended. At one of the basketball games not too long ago, the referees presented the family with a check for $3,000. The refs from their association had each given up a night's pay to give to him. BCS's arch rival, Sarasota Christian, had a fundraiser for him last week. All the proceeds from the food sales that night were given to him. Someone donated all the food, $14,000 was raised; someone matched that amount, and then I was told that someone drove up to the school and gave $1,000. He had heard about the fundraiser on the radio.

Dick Vitale, the voice of college basketball, who lives in Sarasota, sent a present to Anthony. Inside was an autographed basketball, shirt, poster, book and note of encouragement.

At on of the local public high schools, the basketball coach is finalizing plans for another basketball benefit Feb. 3 when their team hosts BCS. Proceeds will help not only Anthony but also a senior varsity basketball player from the public high school, who has non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the coach said.

The upcoming benefit deeply touched BCS Coach David Magley.

"Both of the teams are affected with players who are sick," said Magley. "This is a pretty big deal for a public school to do something like this."

Please remember these boys in your thoughts and prayers and their families as well.

Do you remember 30?

I was living in Haiti when I turned 30. My field director told me, "Beverly, the happiest ten years of a woman's life is between 29 and 30." Sarah was well feted on her birthday today. She spent the day with her friend Heather and her husband, Barry at the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa.
After she got home, I took her out to eat at LeRoy Selmon's restaurant here. Selmon was on of the original Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He works now in the athletic department at University of South Florida (he may be the director, I'm not sure.) His restaurant features ribs, pulled pork, chicken and many other good things. On our way there, Sarah said, "I'm not getting dessert, because Suzanne, Darcy, Emily, and I are going to the Coldstone Creamery for ice cream. I smiled to myself.

Suzanne had planned a surprise birthday party for Sarah, and it was to take place after dinner. After we finished eating, we came back to my house where the party was to be held. Entering the house, walking back toward the kitchen, Sarah heard "Surprise!" and she truly was. Friends from church and high school were there to help her celebrate this milestone birthday.
Earlier in the day, as I stated, Sarah went to Tampa with her friend Heather to the Big Cat Rescue. There are over 100 big cats there...lions, tigers, ocelots, panthers, jaguars. Many have been rescued from fur farms. Some were orphaned cats. They all have an interesting story to tell.
As SRP said, "Now she can begin having anniversaries of her birthday." I have a friend here who used to say she was forty-fourteen, etc. I guess that makes me fifty-fifteen. 

Happy Birthday, Sarah

January 20, 1977. We had to be at the hospital at 7 in the morning to have my labor induced. As we drove past the bank and looked at the temperature, it read 26 degrees. This was in FLORIDA. What a winter we had! I had been on bed rest for a month. One morning when I woke up, it seemed so cold in the house. We had no lights and no heat. The power company was doing rolling blackouts to be able to provide power to all of the homes in the area.
Later that day, at 2:25 Sarah made her entrance into the world, bringing much joy to her father and me. Today she is 30. It's hard to realize that many years have gone by. Sarah is a real source of strength to me. When I was very ill in 1991 and spent a lot of time in the hospital. In the eighth grade at the time, she took over the household duties and carried on, doing well at school and doing so much at home.
I salute my daughter today. She is a caring, giving person who gives 100% in whatever she does. She recently transferred to another department at her work. One of her clients upon hearing that she wouldn't be dealing directly with them anymore told her that she was the reason they had kept their business there. Another client told her that he was going to write a letter and put it in her file, stating that she is the epitome of customer service.
Sarah's definitely her father's daughter. When I look at her, I see his smile, the way she throws her head back when she laughs like he did. I see in her work the same hard work ethic that he had, and it makes me very proud. He would be very proud, and I'm sure he's looking down on her today. Happy birthday, Sarah.

A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be your friend.

A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.

Small Thoughts

Judy often sometimes posts one-liners that she receives in e-mails. I thought I'd do the same since I'm getting ready for a house guest, and I don't want to have to think too hard (not that I do that too much anyway.)


I dialed a number and got the following recording:

"I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call.
I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes."
~~~~~

My wife and I had words,
But I didn't get to use mine.
~~~~~

Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.
~~~~~

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
~~~~~

The irony of life is that, by the time you're old enough to know your way around, you're not going anywhere.
~~~~~

God made man before woman so as to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.
~~~~~

I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder to find one.
~~~~~

Every morning is the dawn of a new error.
~~~~~

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with
the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good
time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

  

Equal time

In a previous post, there was a picture of Ella in her first Penn State t-shirt. Her mother decided there must be equal time! Actually, she received this t-shirt from a Kenyon friend before the Penn State t-shirt came on the scene. Sabrina graduated from Kenyon, and then after working for a while, went to Penn State to get her master's degree. That's where she and David met.

While we're talking about Penn State, how about the football bowl games! Penn State beat Tennessee, Michigan got beat, and Florida, yes Florida, beat Ohio State. Go, Gators! I got so tired of the analysts excusing Ohio State for playing poorly because they had not played for 50 some days. They clearly were outplayed. However, on any given day, I suppose anything can happen.

As you know, Ella has cystic fibrosis, and I read a forum daily where parents and patients write, ask questions, offer advice, and describe their lives as cfers. I recently discovered through this forum a blog, Breathing Deeply. I encourage you to read this young woman's blog. She, in my opinion, for as much as I know, has a very balanced approach to her life. Her post today is particularly good. She also has a blog, Pools of Grace, which is a daily devotional. I find her writing very encouraging, and I hope you will too. Tell her I sent you.
*************************************************************************************
Speaking of blogs, I have added hers and two others to my sidebar. Can anyone tell me why I have the space between the titles? There is no space when I put in all the coding. One I've added is Vicki's blog. I met Vicki on Thursday in St. Petersburg, the first blogger I've had the opportunity to meet in the flesh. I hope it won't be the last meeting with her, and I surely want to meet others. The other is Just Ask Judy. I would have added them much sooner, but I'm a little bit on the lazy side. They are both daily reads for me.

Send in the clowns

Someone sent me this video the other day. There is such nostalgia there.
Besides listening to Frank Sinatra sing that song, one can watch all those marvelous comedians who have gone on...those comedians who didn't find it necessary to use profanity to be funny. They didn't offend. They entertained. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.

At the airport

See how happy Ella was to see her aunt Sarah and her grammy at the airport when they came Christmas Eve? I'm sure that she was glad to be off the airplane and on terra firma once again. She and her parents arrived at the airport in Tampa on Christmas Eve. Whenever I meet anyone at the airport, I always park in the parking garage and take my time window shopping inside the airport. The airport at Tampa is really quite a user-friendly place. You don't have to walk far at all to get anywhere.
When it was time for the family to leave, I drove them back to Tampa. Because I didn't want to just drop them off, I said that we would park in the garage and then go down. When you approach the terminal, there are signs that show you where to go for whatever airline you're traveling on. As we approached, the signs indicated to go in the red area for Southwest, so we did, or so I thought. We went to the ticket counter, got them checked in, and then since Sabrina hadn't eaten, we went to the food court and got some breakfast. After visiting for a little while, they decided it was time to go to their gate and go through security.

I left them there and took the red elevator up to the fourth level where we had parked the car. I walked out of the elevator, turned left to where my car should have been, but it wasn't there. I walked back to the elevator, again turned left. The car still wasn't there. "This can't be," I thought. Someone has taken my car. I walked around for a little, still looking, and a gentleman said to me, "There is another red elevator." I went to that one, but when I turned, it just wasn't right.
I know how I have looked at little old ladies coming out of Wal-Mart, or the parking lot at Publix, looking in dismay, wondering where on earth their cars are, and I used to think, "Poor things." Well, they had nothing on me that day. I called David on my cell phone and asked him if we had indeed parked on the fourth level. "Yes, mom, and when you come out of the elevator, you turn left, and the car is right there." But it wasn't. I can't begin to describe the sick feeling I had. I've never had a panic attack, but I think I was about to have one.

I finally thought to myself, "Maybe we parked by the blue elevators", so I took a walk down that way, and sure enough, there it was, right where I had left it. As I got in and drove through the lane to pay, the gentleman told me that it would be $1.25. I thanked him and told him that if I had found my car, it would have been free. (The first hour is free.) He said to me, "Well, one more minute, and it would have been $2.50."

I was so glad to drive away, cross the Sunshine Skyway and arrive safely at home.

If you want to read an interesting story about picking people up at the Tampa airport, go to Vicki's blog, and read her account with the Keystone Kops who patrol outside of baggage claim. Warning: Strong language, but hilarious. I'm going to meet this lady on Thursday, and I am so excited!!! 

Beauty Is Soul Deep

Steve Goodier has done it again. I look forward so much to his e-mail posts on Wednesdays. Those of you who read this blog, I know, has that "soul deep beauty." But I think that you will enjoy this one.

Abraham Lincoln loved to tell stories on himself. One of his
favorites concerned itself with physical appearance.

In the days when Lincoln used to be on the circuit (traveling on
horseback from one county court to another), he was once approached
by a stranger who said, "Excuse me, sir, but I have an article which
belongs to you."

"How is that?" Lincoln asked in astonishment.

The stranger took a jack-knife from his pocket. "This knife," he said
"was placed in my hand some years ago, with the injunction that I was
to keep it until I found a man homelier-looking than I am myself. I
have carried that knife for many years. Now I pass it on to you."

Lincoln added wryly, "I've carried that knife ever since."

One of Lincoln's greatest assets was his ability to laugh at himself.
And he frequently laughed at his physical appearance. But history
does not remember him as an "ugly" individual -- in fact, often just the
opposite. His outer appearance was clothed in magnificently beautiful
garments: character, honesty, humor and courage. But there are other
clothes he wore equally well -- such as humility and forgiveness.

We say that beauty is skin deep. But it isn't really. It has very
little to do with the skin. True beauty is soul deep. It is a fabric
that is woven in the soul and worn in plain view.

The Bible speaks of something similar. It teaches us to clothe
ourselves with "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience." Then "over all of these put on love, which binds them in
perfect unity." Regardless of how good looking we may otherwise be,
it is these clothes that will determine our actual beauty.

This was taught to me by a woman who used to think that if she were
granted only one wish, it would be to be beautiful. She saw her
wheel-chair dependent body as unsightly and, therefore, she missed
her more attractive assets. But when she was finally convinced of
some of her beautiful personality traits by her friends, she came to
a different point of view. Today she says, "Now I know I AM
beautiful. Very beautiful."

Beauty is soul deep. Learn that and you may realize that you are far
more attractive than you ever imagined!

Your Cat's New Year's Resolutions

My brain is dead after watching almost thirteen hours of football yesterday. I went to Lakeland to watch the Penn State/Tennessee game with an elderly friend. She lives alone, loves Penn State, and when she found out that I was a fan, has wanted to me come watch as many games as possible with her. This lady was camp director at the camp that I went to as a girl and then later on worked there through high school and college.

Upon arriving home, of course, the first thing that I did was to check my e-mail. Pastor Tim's Clean Laugh had the following offering. I know that there are many of you who will appreciate these. Maybe someday soon I'll have a thought of my own to write about. Until then, enjoy these.

My human will never let me eat their pet hamster, and I am at peace with that.
I will not slurp fish food from the surface of the aquarium

I will not eat large numbers of assorted bugs, then come home and throw them up so the humans can see that I'm getting plenty of roughage.

I will not lean way over to drink out of the tub, fall in, and then pelt right for the box of clumping cat litter. (It took FOREVER to get the stuff out of my fur.)

I will not use the bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.

We will not play "Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the Plains of the Serengeti" over any humans' bed while they're trying to sleep.

I cannot leap through closed windows to catch birds outside. If I forget this and bonk my head on the window and fall behind the couch in my attempt, I will not get up and do the same thing again.

I will not assume the patio door is open when I race outside to chase leaves.

I will not stick my paw into any container to see if there is something in it. If I do, I will not hiss and scratch when my human has to shave me to get the rubber cement out of my fur.

If I bite the cactus, it will bite back.

When it rains, it will be raining on all sides of the house.

It is not necessary to check every door.

I will not play "dead cat on the stairs" while people are trying to bring in groceries or laundry, or else one of these days, it will really come true.

When the humans play darts, I will not leap into the air and attempt to catch them.

I will not swat my human's head repeatedly when they are on the family room floor trying to do sit ups.

When my human is typing at the computer, their forearms are *not* a hammock.

Computer and TV screens do not exist to backlight my lovely tail.

I will not puff my entire body to twice its size for no reason after my human has watched a horror movie.

I will not stand on the bathroom counter, stare down the hall, and growl at NOTHING after my human has watched the X-Files.

I will not drag dirty socks onto the bed at night and then yell at the top of my lungs so that my humans can admire my "kill."

I will not perch on my human's chest in the middle of the night and stare until they wake up.

I will not walk on the key board when my human is writing important adagfsg gdjag ;ln.

Home remedies

I received these in an e-mail this morning. I thought you might find them useful in the new year.

1. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

3. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

4. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink.

5. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

6. Have a bad toothache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the toothache.

Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are.You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

Remember:
* Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
* Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom.
* If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You get another chance.

And finally, be really nice to your family and friends; you never know when you might need them to empty your bedpan.

Will someone please give this baby something to eat?

Ella's in that wonderful stage where everything goes in the mouth for inspection.
She loved biting on this water bottle. At almost five months, she has her two bottom teeth coming through.
M-m-m, that looks good. Soon I'll be eating some of that good stuff.
Even Daddy's thumb tastes pretty good. You can see why the doctor said to use lots of hand sanitizer.

My son and his wife left on Friday morning, taking Ella home with them. I know they were glad to going home to their own bed. We had a good arrangement for Ella here, but she ended up in bed with them. Hopefully, she'll be happy in her own crib. Everyone was all smiles whenever they saw her, and she generally reciprocated with a winning smile of her own. 

Hello, Great-grandpa

Christmas Day was the first time that Ella's great-grandpa had seen her. She was so content to sit in his arms, and, of course, that made him very happy. Ed is my husband's father and lives here in Bradenton. Don's dad died in 1995. Ed remarried a couple of years later, and that wife died from cancer about three years ago. He lives alone here, but he keeps himself busy with work and activities at church.
As you can see, the cheeks are still there...just makes you want to get all the sugar you can. Ella is a very happy baby. She's very smiley in the morning and talks and laughs a lot.
Her dad often mimics her expressions, which at times, are quite amusing. Please note that she is wearing her first Penn State t-shirt!

The family is here until Friday morning when they fly back to Virginia. The weather was nasty on Christmas day and a little messy yesterday, but today is beautiful...so sunny, but a bit cool...just the way we Floridians like it. 

Christmas Eve

She's here! She's here! The princess has arrived, and she is cuter than ever. Pictures tomorrow!

Our pastor spoke this morning of the birth of the Savior as expected, but he brought out in his message something that we know as well...that Christ did not come just to be born as a baby, but He was born God in the flesh and later would pay the penalty of our sins.

In my Christmas letter last year and again I excerpted part of the book, Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner. What a wonderful testimony of a young Jewish woman, who goes to Columbia University because she knew there would be a large Jewish population there. In a bookstore she picks up one of the Mitford Series, reads it, becomes interested in Christianity, and comes to know the Lord. Her book is basically a journal of her journey, but she makes some wonderful statements about Advent.

She writes: "The calendar tells us that this all culminates on December 25, but really the whole season slouches toward Easter. Jesus became incarnate now, in the manger of Bethlehem, but if His incarnateness is meant to make Him more relatable to us, if we are meant to have better access to God because our God has a body like we have, if we relate to Him better because He knows what it is like to weep and throw up and be tempted and suffer, then the Incarnation that starts on Christmas isn't finished until Good Friday.

And the miracles that start in the strange inexplicable Virgin Birth aren't finished until the Resurrection.....Even his birthplace takes us to the Last Supper: Jesus, the Bread of Life, is born in Bethlehem, bet lechem, "house of bread," and at the Last Supper, He will break bread for us, and then on the cross He will break His body. Nothing in Scripture, even the names of birthplace towns, is coincidence."

Having been raised in church and being around Christians all my life, I know I've taken a lot for granted. I love Ms. Winner's book becasue she has taken nothing for granted but has studied her Judaism, has studied Christianity, and God has captivated her heart.

A Christmas Prayer

Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep,
I too must sing, with joyful tongue,
That sweetest ancient cradle song,
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given
While angels sing with pious mirth.
A glad new year to all the earth.

- Martin Luther.

Merry Christmas a little early.

Lest I get caught up in the wonder of holding and playing with Ella, my granddaughter when she's here, I want to wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas. I love reading your Christmas posts and know that your day will be one filled with happiness.

Christmas open house

Welcome to my home. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would, but this will give you a little glimpse of the open house that I had earlier in the month. As you can see, we folks in Florida who never see snow do enjoy snowmen. A friend that I worked with for many years made the reindeer and the snowmen, and I've enjoyed having them on my front porch over the years.
My table doesn't look too lavish from this viewpoint, but it was enjoyed by all...just plain old food, nothing fancy. Sarah had encouraged our having the open house, and when I asked her what she wanted to have to eat, she said "the same thing that we always had." Earlier when I mentioned about the open house in the blog, a missionary friend who had been at one many years ago, wrote and said how much she and her husband had enjoyed being in our home for the fellowship and the good food.
Peg is a friend of mine since grade school. We hadn't been together much since she had moved away from Bradenton. When her mother died, she inherited the house, and she and her husband moved back to Bradenton to live. We reconnected after Don died and enjoy doing things together. Her husband was so ill a couple of years ago with cancer and heart problems, but he seems to be doing well now. It amazes me to think what the body can endure and still survive.
Sarah (in the middle) enjoyed having some of her friends from high school come. Suzanne, the young woman on the left, graduated with Sarah, and they live next door to each other. Suzanne has a young son, Joshua, and Joshua has the same kindergarten teacher that Sarah had at Bradenton Christian. He finds that very hard to believe, but it's true. Grace, on the right, also graduated with Sarah, and she lives in Tampa where she teaches strings in the elementary school. She has a degree in vocal performance and does a lot of acting in the local theaters. Her favorite role was Maria in West Side Story.

I think we had around twenty guests in that evening. Plenty of food was left over, so I had some of my Sweet Adeline friends over the next evening to eat some of it up after we had gone to the movie.

It was a good weekend for visiting and enjoying time with friends...some whom I see regularly and some whom I hadn't had a chance to talk with for quite some time. I wish you could have been here. 

Comfort at Christmas

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was filled with sorrow at the tragic death of his wife in a fire in 1861. The Civil War broke out that same year, and it seemed this was an additional punishment. Two years later, Longfellow was again saddened to hear the his own son had been seriously wounded as a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac.Sitting down to his desk, one Christmas Day, he heard the church bells ringing, and ringing. It was in this setting he wrote:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair Ibowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

At this Christmas time whether you are in sorrow or in joy you can know that God is not dead, not doth he sleep. He knows your every need and longs to comfort you and be that special friend you need. Seek Him this year instead of the outward manifestations of the season. He will give life real meaning and your heart real peace, the peace that passes all understanding.

The above is from Pastor Tim's website

No words needed