http://www.desmoinesregister.com/videonetwork/1309406888001/Simpson-Flash-Mob
Please watch this video all the way through. It is heartwarming to hear and see this stunning performance by the Simpson College Choir during this Christmas Season being done right here in our local Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines, IA! I love this!
Posted in News
Here is a wonderful story from my friend, Sonja, who lives in Wisconsin:
Life is no accident! Behind the scenes of this life is a Sovereign God who works in the affairs of men–some of which are vessels of honor and others vesssels of shame. Before we were born God foreknew where we would best fit in the scheme of things, all according to His plan.
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. . .”
About 100 years ago, across the ocean in Europe, lived a young boy named Johan (born 1904.) One day when he and his family traveled to a very large city where ships came into the harbor and were docked, he went down to the piers and admired all that he could see as far as the eye could roam. A smaller boy was running about and slipped and went down over the edge of the pier. Quickly, Johan knelt down at the edge of the pier and saw him sink down under the deep water, then surface up, go down, and come up for the third time. Immediately, Johan reached down and was able to grasp the lad’s hands and pulled with all his strength getting him up out of a watery grave.
On another day in his life, he and his friends were playing and running through a field and came across some rotted boards. While running, one of the lads fell through the old boards into a pool of very thick sewage. He was screaming as he was sinking down up to his head. His hands reached upward like claws trying to get out. Johan stretched out on his stomach and reached forth over the broken boards and he was able to grasp one of the boy’s hands and with the other hand a shock of his fairly long hair and pulled him up out of the stench to safety. Johan’s playmate never took time to say thank you, but in all the stinking muck from head to foot, he ran like a wild person all the way home.
One year, during the cold season of Winter, a boy went out on the lake after it had become iced over. Johan saw him and heard the cracking of ice and watched the lad fall through into the cold water. While he was holding onto the edge of the ice, Johan went to the boy and distributed his weight by laying down on the ice and carefully inched his way over to the boy who was halfway submerged in the frigid cold water. He grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the water onto the ice to slide him back onto thicker ice saving his life.
Then one day when Johan was all alone, he climbed up into a very high tower. When he reached the top, he went over to one of the stone window openings and looked down to the ground where sharp pointed rocks jutted upward. He climbed up into the window opening and leaned forward to get a better look, but he lost his balance and began to fall forward. This was a fall that would take his life and certainly kill him when he landed upon the sharp rocks! Instantly, someone grabbed him forcefully and pulled him back in through the stone opening standing him upon his feet and then released their hold upon him. Breathlessly, he tuned around to see who it was that saved his life. No one, absolutely no one was there! He was all alone. This was a moment he would remember for the rest of his life. The boy I have written about was my father who immigrated from Sweden to this country and told me this story. He was a humble man and I believe only my mother and I were pivileged to learn about these happenings in his life. God spared his life by sending an unseen angel that very day, so long ago, to save his life.
As a young adult, Johan had a strong ambition to earn money so he could immigrate to the United States of America. America was a land of freedom in which opportunity abounded to those who were willing to work. Some of the money was earned working at a movie theater. Seeing films about the U.S. greatly fueled his desire to cross the ocean. His interest in America was also shared by a childhood friend. Eventually, both of them came to America. Johan crossed the ocean without knowing one word of English. His mother had a few cousins that had immigrated to Madison, Wisconsin and his friend had some family connections in Rockford, Illinois.
When Johan arrived to the east coast and stepped on American soil, this was as far as he could go. He needed to earn more money before he would be able to continue his travel to the Midwest. He heard that Pennsylvania had a coal mine seeking workers. He was hired and went down into the deep caverns of the earth to mine for coal. It was very evident that God’s hand has still upon him as it had been in the past. One day, a serious explosion took place in the mine. He and one other fellow jumped onto some electric cars as they detected water seeping into the mine. The cars carried them to safety. No other person working in the mine got out alive!
After coming to the Midwest, he stayed for awhile with the cousins, learned English, and proudly became a citizen of the United States. This was such a wonderful country for him to spend the rest of his life. Later, he moved for awhile to be with his good friend in Rockford, Illinois. There was a large Swedish settlement in Rockford during those days. Johan got a good job working in a Swedish furniture store.
He met a new friend that piloted small planes. He offered Johan the exciting adventure of a free ride with him on a plane. Though Johan was always punctual, he was surprised when he arrived at the airport and saw his friend’s plane take off into the sky. He decided to wait for his friend’s return, so he could get another chance to ride with him up in the big blue sky. However, this turned out to be a long wait that day. The plane never came back–it crashed and all on board were killed!
The Bible tells us that our days are numbered by God. I’m thankful God spared Johan’s life and for the blessing of having had him as my earthly father.
Job 14:5 “Since his [man's] days are determined, the number of his months is with You! You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.”
My father was a man of his word. Being completely genuine, he always meant what he said. In his dealings wtih others he demonstrated honesty and integrity. After he died, my mother was given a sympathy card containing a letter from a young man hired to work in my father’s body shop. He had a mist of tears in his eyes when he handed her that card. My father had trained him how to mix and match paint for cars that had to be repaired. In his letter, he wrote “he had a great influence on my life without the need of words to back it up. I saw what he stood for and knew that he was a man of principle. I’m so thankful that he gave me a chance to succeed in life.”
I cherish the memories of how wonderful my father was to my mother. She literally was under the umbrells of love. He came from the old school where men took it seriously to be a good provider for their wife and family. Definitely, he was the head of the house assuming a patriarchal role. As my mother looked up to him and showed him respect, so too we children through observance of her learned to give respect. He truly cherished his home and did wonderful things together with my mother and with his children. My parents were both friends and lovers which in turn built my life up strong. I don’t concentrate on the flaws of imperfections, which we all of us share but dwell on the positive influences that have so richly blessed my life. Now, I’m a senior and retired. It is good to look back and realize more fully God’s blessings to me as I think about the memories of a man who had much impact on my life. As it has been said, “Who can measure the blessings of a good home?”
In turn, I pray that my life, given to the Lord by trusting Him for his wonderful salvation, will glorify God in the lives of others as I pass through the scenes of this life. It is my desire that telling this story will have a purposeful meaning and be a blessing to those who read it as well as being a documentary for family members.
Thank you, God, for a boy named Johan who lived in Europe 100 years ago!
This Summer marks the sixth birthday of my youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick. He is growing in grace and stature. I committed to spending two days a week with Noah so he could have quality time with his family.
Having been married for 51 years to a true fisherman, I wondered when Noah would ask to go fishing. This Spring he began to question Papa as to when he would be old enough to go fishing. . .Papa wasn’t sure he was up to tackling a bright and busy little boy who had never been fishing. My husband is now 73 years old with numerous health problems and so only fishes about once a week with a good friend who takes him in his boat these days. I can tell you, if there are fish in the water, my husband will catch them. He is an excellent fisherman!
I asked my husband a couple of weeks ago if we could take Noah fishing later in the week. I could tell he was mulling it over in his mind what would be best for Noah. Finally, on Friday morning after breakfast, Papa announced that he had gone out early and brought back some fishworms. Wow! He was actually going to let Noah go fishing with him. I had been praying that Papa would take Noah and also asking the LORD where we should go for this very important event. Where would it be safe for the three of us to make these precious memories?
I called my friends, Bill and Karen to ask if we could come and bring Noah to fish in their pond. It is a large pond on 16 acres of property not far from where we live in the country and with all the flood waters so high in Iowa, I thought this would be the best option. No fishing from a boat or near running rivers, etc. The lakes are also too high for a child to try to fish right now. Our friends readily agreed it would be fine for us to stop out anytime and let Noah try his hand at fishing!
Right after lunch, I was picking up some things and I looked outside and Papa and Noah were in the driveway and he was helping Noah get acqainted with a real fishing pole. Noah had been “casting” his play fishing pole, a little plastic one, over the footstool in the living room all morning and I guess Papa thought it was time for Noah to use a real one. He selected a small and lightweight one with a good covered reel and rigged the line without a hook for Noah. I watched from the backdoor in the kitchen as my husband began the “casting” lessons with Noah. He put sinkers and a bobber on the line and was sitting on the tailgate of his truck talking to Noah about what he was to do with the fishing pole. In no time at all, Noah was doing exactly what Papa told him to do and could easily cast the line right out into the long driveway where he was supposed to. I stayed inside so they could enjoy their time together and Noah would listen to Papa.
Finally, I went out and asked if they were ready to go to the pond and try to catch some fish. Noah ran to get the fishworms out of the refridgerator in the garage himself and wanted to open them, of course. Papa told him to wait unti we got to the pond. At the last minute, I grabbed his swim jacket (just in case!) and he ran back into the house to find his “fishing hat” which he had never worn. Then we drove to the pond.
What a beautiful place! There was a little beach with sand in one area and Karen and Bill came out to show us where we could stand. Karen brought a bucket of soapy water for us and a couple of little towels to wipe our hands on. Papa put the hooks on and Noah opened the worms up. Out came a large fishworm, wiggling for all it was worth. No use, Papa had him on the hook in no time. I watched with a thankful heart as Noah Fredrick, just six years old, cast his line perfectly where Papa told him to throw it in.
Almost immediately, the bobber went under and Papa told him to pull back and the little guy caught his first fish! Noah looked very wide-eyed and was so happy to see that fish come in on the line. “Here, Papa, you’d better help me!” Papa helped him land the bluegill and we all marveled at the beautiful markings of orange and blue on the fish. Noah wanted to look it over really well but didn’t want to touch it. “Nan, look at this fish. God made this fish. It has colors like a rainbow.” It was very beautifully marked. Noah took it all in. Papa took it off the hook and threw it back into the pond. Then we started the process all over. Noah threw his line in each time and in a couple of hours, he caught about eight fish and a small bass.
He tried to hold one once, but it wriggled out of his hand. He was fascinated with the worms. He stayed on task and was very attentive the entire time, except when he took a couple of pictures with my camera of the pond. Noah likes to take pictures and does a good job. Love the first one he took of his shoe, then he took one of the bobber, of course!
I tried my hand while he was taking pictures and threw my line in but didn’t get any bites, so I told Noah I was going to reel it back in and try again. He looked at me and said, “Patience, Nan, patience! Leave it right there.” I could see the beginnings of a true fisherman beginning to emerge from this little boy and I was so glad we had the opportunity to take him fishing.
Noah called his Mother to tell her he was fishing and we took lots of pictures so she could see what he was learning. Kathy has spent many happy hours fishing with her father in the boat and on the lakes. She has many wonderful memories of her Dad’s fishing trips. So, we had a very enjoyable day with our youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick and we got fish! It was truly a day to remember.
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family
How do you count the worth of the influence of a good home and good parents for children to grow up in?
The church I fellowship in is small. Recently, we have been blessed to have a lovely new family, who moved from Arizona to Wisconsin, start attending our church. There are three delightful boys in this family. Nicholas and Johnathan are twins and Adrian is the oldest son. These young boys are so courteous and polite to everyone. I’ve seen them show their respect to older people by spontaneously holding the doors open for them to enter the building.
Over the years, it has been a delight for me to take children into my home and work one-on-one with them teaching them how to make homemade fried cake doughnuts. I asked this family if they would consider having the boys come over on a Saturday and learn how to make doughnuts and then take them home for everyone to enjoy. That went over big time! These boys relish eating doughnuts. This morning the three chefs arrived with Mom and Dad. I had three aprons for the boys to wear and three chefs’ hats. The hats were used for taking a fun photo. I was amazed at how adept and attentive these boys were in learning the process.
Nicholas came up with a brainstormed new technique for cutting out the doughnut and sliding the spatula under it before removing the doughnut cutter. How slick this process works making it much easier to get the doughnut onto the spatula before it is carried to the deep fryer.
I took photos of the boys while they were industriously making doughnuts so we could put together a presentation memory book which includes the recipe, history of doughnuts and photos of the boys achieving their new skill. Both the boys and their parents appreciated this little book of photos. We used an applesauce doughnut recipe and sprinkled a cinnamon-sugar mixture over the finished doughnuts. When all the work was done, the three chefs had a whole platter filled with these delectable treats to take home. I am grateful to God for the opportunity of showing hospitality to these new friends in our church family.
(This story and the pictures was sent to me by my friend Sonja who lives in Wisconsin.)
Posted in Church Life, Friends & Family
My youngest grandson Noah Fredrick was about three years old when the movie FINDING NEMO came out on DVD. From the time when Noah was old enough to watch a cartoon or movie, we chose wholesome and educational stories for him. I think Noah was about three years old when the original movie was released and of course, we bought it for him. We have watched that tape until it literally wore thin!
Noah has always loved water of any kind beginning with the bath and then the bathtub. It was especially fun when Miss Kitty, his first kitten, jumped into the water with him on a number of occasions. Most cats do not like water. We had to find a new home for Miss Kitty because Noah is allergic to cats. Bummer!
When he got a little bigger, we allowed
Noah to play in the sprinkler and when
he discovered the hose on the front patio,
nobody was safe from being completely
soaked. Not only did Noah water my
flowers and the FROG that lives on the
patio every Summer, but he watered himself
and any person or object that he could reach with the hose, also!
Two years ago, my daugher Kathy signed him up for swimming lessons at the local Acquatic Center. It is a very high tech facility, well-planned and well- staffed with helpful people. College age and high school girls give two weeks of swimming lessons to very young children for two weeks early in the Summer and late in the Summer. Noah was enrolled in the first session last year and entered at Level I. He had to wear a lifejacket and although the classes were small (about five children to a group) he was a little scared of the water at first. I think it was a good introduction to swimming, but he didn’t do really well the first time. We wondered if he would have to repeat the Level I or if he would be promoted to Level II although he couldn’t do everything required at the end of the first round of lessons.
I have a close friend who lives in a nice apartment complex with a well-kept swimming pool and she kindly extended an invitation for us to come over and swim last Summer whenever we could make it. I saw this as a blessing and was determined to get him in the water as much as possible to get him past the fear of getting his head under, etc. We started with a good pair of goggles (Speedo’s) and I covered him with sunscreen and two different kinds of lifejackets. Unfortunately, neither lifejacket worked well for him, so we ended up with me getting into the pool with TWO COATS OF SUNSCREEN and a long-sleeved T-shirt over my swimming suit. There was very little shade in that pool but we tried to go late in the afternoon and early evening so the sun wasn’t so full over us. I would stand in the three foot part of the pool and coax him down the two or three steps and he finally didn’t want anything to do with the lifejackets at all. Noah wasn’t very tall, so I did need to be right by him at all times and then, WALLA! he began to JUMP into the pool into my arms, exhibiting great courage for Noah. He can be a little shy in new situations.
My friend has two neices who swim at the pool frequently with her and they brought water toys and brightly colored sponge darts which they would throw to the bottom of the pool and dive down to retrieve them. When Noah saw the girls putting their heads under the water, he decided to try it. After a few tries, he was able to get the darts with no trouble and learned to float. I kept this up most of the month of August and by the end of last season, he was jumping off the edge of the three foot water–no problem! I think this helped him conquer the fear and I was confident he could safely go into Level II this year.
When Kathy told me she had signed him for both sessions, I was surprised he would be starting Level II nearly the day after Kindergarten classes dismissed.
I thought it was a little early weather-wise but I prayed God would keep him well so he could benefit from the early lessons. I took him the first day of the lessons and found the facility clean and ready for the children. . .his teacher is Miss Maddie, a sweet young woman who took to Noah right away. Noah was very ready this time and listened intently as she instructed her six youngsters to keep one hand on the side of the pool and listen to all she said. Only one very short little girl wore a lifejacket. And Miss Maddie had a helper, also to keep an eye on every child. I sat on the deck chair about ten feet from where they were conducting the class and watched and asked the LORD to help the children learn well their lessons. Noah was so advanced from the previous year, I was both pleased and surprised but especially glad he was really LISTENING and DOING exactly what the teacher asked of the kids. And Miss Maddie let Noah be first in the line-up as she individually worked with each child on the specific thing she was teaching them. He would perform the task required and then turn around to see if I was watching and I would wave at him and encourage him. I clapped for the other children, also. Children need a lot of encouragement and support in these days, in my opinion. I’m going to be a cheerleader for them as often as I can.
I will have Noah two days a week all Summer to help save money on the daycare costs, Thursdays and Fridays. I took him again this morning as we are nearing the end of the two weeks this Friday. (The other days, the daycare teachers take them on their little yellow school bus.) The children are very orderly and well supervised and love their yellow bus–it’s a smaller-sized one. The lessons are at 9:30 a.m., so we have plenty of time for breakfast, etc. before going to the pool. When we arrived this morning, Noah stopped to look at a little bird perched on top of the entrance to the pool. “Look, Nan, that little guy is up there watching us and opening his mouth to sing for us and say Good Morning!” Noah is very tuned in to nature and appreciates the things God made for us to enjoy. He especially likes anything little or tiny. He’s very sharp and notices everything around him. I think that is a gift. He stops to smell the flowers and picks up treasures like feathers and pine cones, etc. He also likes rocks of any kind.
Finally, we went on in to our class spot. Noah looked down at my flip-flops and said, “Look, Nan! Speedo’s, just like my goggles. It’s a match.” He turned his goggles over and said, “Oh, made in China!” I found that amusing because we haven’t had any discussions about ”made in China” ever but he can read now, so he reads EVERYTHING he sees. The other kids were already heading for the water. Miss Maddie welcomed them and placed Noah Fredrick at the front of the line again. Her helper was there and the teachers reviewed all their exercises more than once. After a time, Miss Maddie said “Noah, I’m going to give you a new name. . .I’m going to call you ‘Nemo’. You are going around here like a fast little fish! Yes, like Nemo!” Noah didn’t know what to say. He was smiling from ear to ear and just kept swimming under water, broad strokes out to the sides and gliding along swiftly and with very strong legwork. Then Miss Maddie waved to me and said they were going over into the deeper four foot depth with lanes and invited me to walk around and watch them over there. Of course, I was glad to go and see them get in the deeper water. The teacher was going to teach them how to tread water today. I was praying for God to keep them all safe and give Noah courage.
One student at a time, she introduced each one to the new routine and each attempted twice to do the exercise. The water was deep for them but her arms quickly undergirded when they began to sink and they all did well a couple of times each with the new exercise. Then we all went back to the original site of the three foot depth. Noah was definitely in his element now and she kept calling him “Nemo” and he didn’t want to get out of the water when the lesson was over. He asked her if he could go over to the next section to “see about the plate at the bottom of the pool. . .” she gave him permission and he swam under the plastic dividers with ease and clear over to what he thought was a “plate” at the bottom of the pool, another three foot pool. He stood up and shouted, “Nan! It’s just a drain. It’s not a plate!” I nodded okay and he went back to the other side of the dividers and got out of the water. It was cold when the kids came out and I met him with a big beach towel. “Nan, would you mind if I rest a little on the deck chair?” he asked. “That would be fine,” I said and all the other children followed suit. Six little swimmers lying on their deck chairs trying to get warm.
I put his goggles into the beach bag and found a box of jelly beans. I handed them to Noah. “Nan, would you mind if I share these with my friends?” he asked politely. “I think that would be lovely, Noah Fredrick.” Now there were five little children waiting in line for a turn to put their hands in the box and take out a couple of jelly beans. Noah was beaming! He loves to share with his friends!
When we left the pool, he stopped to say goodbye to his little bird that was still sitting on the top of the entrance gate. “We’ll see you tomorrow,” he called to the bird as it flew away. After we got in the car, he told me when they went to the deeper water his stomach felt a little sick, so he decided he would just do it! It was obvious to me that God had answered my prayers this morning. We called his mother and she had a surprise for Noah. She is taking the day off tomorrow as a low census day so she can take Noah to his last lesson this session and watch him swim. He was so happy when he hung up the phone. “Mom’s coming to see me swim!” he squealed. I am thanking God for my daughter who is a loving and caring mother to her only child, a single mom who knows the importance of putting her son first in things essential and a precious little grandson who is learning so many things and growing up fast. Noah will be six years old the end of this month. I am proud of his zest for life and the respect he has for all the things You placed on the earth, Heavenly Father. Thank You for my grandson, Noah Fredrick. I cherish all the times I have with him and I understand what You mean when You say: “And a little child shall lead them.”
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family, Prayer
Today when I stepped
outside into my backyard
I quickly discovered that the honeysuckle wren cottage
is no longer quiet!
Many peeps are vociferously making demands to the wren parents as they busily fly back and forth and in and out of the house trying to satisfy hungry appetites.
I was telling my cousin who lives in Maryland about this interesting backyard activity as it daily progresses. She, too, enjoys wrens at her home. Having observed them for many years, she was able to relate something very interesting to me about wren parents. They not only feed their babies but they feed each other as well. Repeatedly she has seen them caring for their young and also attentively caring for each other as well.
Perhaps this is an illustration to remind us as Christians to care for one another more appreciably.
Thank you, Sonja, for this wonderful update!
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family
Two years ago, I purchased a wren house and patiently waited for wrens to come and make it their home; but they never came. Last summer my honeysuckle began to grow over a decorative ornament that was placed next to the birdhouse which hangs on a shepherd’s hook. It became very private and pretty to look at so I decided to leave it that way.
Just this week a dear little pair of wrens eyed this beautiful honeysuckle cottage and to my delightful surprise, they have just made it their home for raising young ones! The male bird is so lovingly devoted to his partner and watches over his mate with great care, flitting and flying about from object to object looking in on her. His melodic song fills the air and brings such joy to the back- yard of my little home. I took a photo of the little female when she perched on the vine outside her house. She loves to “talk” to her mate.
This is the first time I have had wrens come to live in my backyard. How delightful it is to have them here. I believe they will make this their home each year as long as the vine continues to live enticing them to a quiet, private home.
This delightful little story and picture were sent to me by my friend Sonja who lives in Wisconsin. Thank you, Sonja, for sending this to me.
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family
Although Spring is officially here, we have still had some pretty chilly and cold weather. Last Friday evening, it was only in the 30′s and very windy and Noah and his Mom went to baseball practice. Noah’s first ball game was early Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., so Grandpa and I met them at the ballpark and it was windy and cold. But as the day progressed, it got sunny and warmer.
I asked Noah if he would like to go to Easter Lake and see if the Pelicans were still resting on the water. . .He was dressed warmly and very excited to have an outing. Noah absolutely loves to go to the park–any park–he loves to be outdoors!
Since his mother was planning to work in the concession stand at the ballpark that afternoon and he didn’t get to come over on Friday night, I wanted to spend some time with him; so I took him home with me after his ballgame. We decided to go to Easter Lake. I found the camera and we left the house.
The lake isn’t very far away and we soon saw the Pelicans were gone but there were many ducks and geese and white birds flying all around the water. I told Noah we should stop at the grocery nearby and get some bread so we could feed the geese, etc. We drove straight to the grocery store and bought some bread and went back to the lake. We found a good place to park and there were all kinds of birds, ducks and geese milling about.
There were picnic tables where we cold sit and the sun was getting warmer and warmer. It was actually 87 degrees before the day was over, a record for our area. We took the sacks of bread and found a good place near the water. I handed one loaf of bread to Noah. He opened it and put his hand down into the sack and felt the fresh, soft slices in his hand. He quickly looked up at me and said, “Uh, Nan, do you mind if I take a few bites of this bread?” I said, “Well, no Noah, you are welcome to have some if you want some. . .” He smiled really big!
He took a handful of bread out (probably 4 or 5 slices) and said, “Nan! It’s a spirit of sharing. . .I’m going to teach these ducks how to share this bread. Here, I’ll show you. . .” With that, he took a couple of bites of the good fresh bread and then began to divide up what was left in his hand. When I looked down, there were ducks and geese all around us waiting for a bite and birds flying overhead at a distance watching. Noah threw pieces of bread all around and the critters began to peck at the food and eat it. “See, Nan? It’s working! They are sharing!” he squealed with delight. I was keeping an eye on the BIGGER geese and listening for any hissing in case anyone got greedy and wanted to bite. . .but they all kept eating whatever he threw down between bites for himself. I was amused and proud that Noah Fredrick was thinking about what was going on. And he was sharing having great fun feeding all the different animals.
It didn’t take long for us to empty both bags of bread, one regular sliced sandwich bread and one package of hotdog buns. Everyone behaved pretty well and when we ran out of food for the animals, we found a couple of treasures: a large feather from a goose and some other little treasures from nature. (Noah has a box at home where he keeps his nature treasures.)
By the time we left the park, it was really warm. We pealed off our sweatshirts and hats and enjoyed the sunshine. Noah snapped a picture of a beautiful seagull-like bird soaring over the water. I thought he did a good job taking the picture and he has asked for a child’s camera for his birthday which will be in June. Thank you, God, for my youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick!
P.S. Regarding his desire to eat the bread. . .when he was two years old, I took him to a small pond where there were three beautiful white swans swimming on it. I took a loaf of fresh, white bread. After several attempts to get the swans to come and eat the bread, a bunch of baby ducklings came running up to him from the pond. I can still see him standing there in his little white shoes with ten or twelve baby ducklings running up to him. I handed him two or three pieces of bread and told him to look at the duckies. . .he simply started stuffing the bread into his mouth. He wasn’t at all interested in the baby ducks!
When he was three, his mother took him to another lake near our home that had walking trails all the way around it and she had a loaf of bread on the tray of his jogging stroller for the geese. When she stopped to feed the geese, he had already opened the sack and was eating the bread! I think Noah thinks bread is for people, not for animals necessarily! But now he is sharing. . .
Posted in Creation Things, Election, Friends & Family
What a difference a day makes! When I woke up this morning and looked out the window, it was a far cry from yesterday’s sunshine and warmth. I snapped this picture later this afternoon and realized it really is Spring, just good old March “going out like a lion” as the saying goes.
I am very thankful we did have warm and sunny skies yesterday for Rowena’s funeral service. My sister and her husband buried his mother yesterday and there was no snow on the ground. Although it was a bit chilly, a large group of family and friends gathered to say goodbye. Rowena received Christ as her Saviour when she was just fifteen years old in a Methodist Church in her hometown here in Iowa. She was very dear to all of us and after a long illness, the LORD called her home to heaven.
My youngest grandson, Noah Fredrick, had his first TBALL practice yesterday for the 2011 season. When I spoke with him last night, I asked him if he caught the ball. . . “Yeah, Nan, about a hundred times. And I threw the ball, too. I can run fast, Nan!” I know you can, Noah Fredrick, and your mother is a good ballplayer, too. The first game of the season is next Saturday and I plan to be there, rain or shine.
So, soon we won’t see any more snow for another year and I must say the light dusting of snow was very wet and beautiful this morning. I don’t mind the snow. God gives us the seasons for a reason, and there is something to be learned from all of them, isn’t there?
“God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth. . .Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.” Job 37:5, 6 & 13
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family, God's Word
Just two months ago tomorrow, I woke up early on January 27th and posted three new articles on my blog sites. . .then I went to the hospital for surgery. It was my gall bladder and it has been a long recovery, even though it was done laproscopically. I am just now getting my strength back.
My husband had his gall bladder removed the week before Christmas which changed all our family Christmas plans and I spent the next three or four weeks taking care of him. Then I became ill. While I don’t think the two incidents were related, we know that God allows ALL things for good for them that love Him and are called according to His purpose; so I guess I needed the rest and time for recovery.
We had light snow cover again this week even though I didn’t think we would see any more snow. It soon disappeared. We had a few days in the 60′s and 70′s which popped out buds on the trees but this week temperatures stayed mostly in the thirties. So, it’s still cold here in Iowa!
I have seen some robins around most of the Winter and today we saw baby ducks on the little ponds when we took a drive on the southern edge of the city. So I do think Spring is just around the corner.
I am trying to adjust to my new dietary endeavors–my husband can eat whatever he wants–and the surgery has worked the opposite with me. What I used to eat with no problem I can’t tolerate at all now. Also, I think I have put on a few pounds since the illness, so I will be watching it.
A trip to the mall the other day left me exhausted, but I did find some wonderful sales on Gloria Vanderbilt jeans and slacks; also found some Spring blouses and sweaters I needed for a resonable price. Nothing like a few new things to perk a girl up a little. I rarely go shopping for myself, but it was time.
Our five-year-old grandson, Noah Fredrick has his first baseball practice next Monday right after school, so Spring must be right around the corner.
During my recovery time in resting and praying, God gave me the program for the Spring Brunch at our Church. I am writing a program on Susannah Spurgeon, her life and works and her marriage to Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It has been a great blessing reading and researching her life and the program went together in about two week’s time. I am looking forward to presenting it in our Church May 14th. If you’d like a preview of the program, you can find it posted at http://sovereigngraceonline.org/2011/03/about-charles-spurgeon-2/. I am glad it is done and ready to go. . .I only hope I will be able to deliver it to the ladies and their guests.
If any of you are inclined, please keep me and my family in your prayers and hopefully, there will be something of substance here for you from time to time now that I am feeling better. Love to all of you–I’ve missed blogging!
Posted in Creation Things, Friends & Family
