Let's Blame it on the Schools

I have a bit of a problem when I hear people speak of the condition of our country and it seems to me the blame always goes back to the schools of today.  At least, that has been my experience when talking with others.  My problem is this:  Children do not start to school until they are 5.  Of course some are in day care and nursery school long before that, but if I am up to date on the current system the children aren't required to enter school before kindergarten. They are in school five days a week for approximately 7 hours (am I right on this?)  So.....who is responsible for teaching those same children (yours and mine) on the week ends, in the summer and the other 17 hours of the school days?  Me thinks it's the responsibility of the parents!

 

We kick and scream about not being able to pray in schools these days.  I am the first to wish that we had never let one lady take that away while the majority sat back and did nothing.  But, how many children are taught to pray at home?  How many ever hear their father or mother pray?  I'll bet you a betcha (and that's as much as I bet) if the children in any of our schools were polled they would admit that they rarely, if ever, hear a prayer at home.

 

We kick and scream about not having the Pledge of Allegiance at school anymore.....though I  am aware that at least one school I know of does.  Again I ask.......how many of the homes are teaching positive attitudes about our country such as respect for authority, love for the freedoms we enjoy, our democratic government as opposed to others who are ruled by dictators, and so forth?  Granted, there are things that need changing in our system but we have the right to help make those changes through our votes, freedom of speech etc.  It seems most people I hear grumbling and complaining about our government that is all they are doing....grumbling and complaining. They don't seem to be putting any effort out to change it.  I would again bet you a betcha that this is what the children hear at home and never hear anything good about the life we enjoy here in the good old USA.

 

We kick and scream about teachers not doing their jobs when it comes to discipline.  I know that children who are taught right from wrong and are disciplined at home still get into mischief from time to time and need discipline away from the home.  I have even disciplined children in my Bible classes, but that is not my main job when teaching.  A teacher's main job is to teach the subject they are trained to teach.  In most cases a good, dedicated teacher earns respect and rarely has problems of discipline in his/her class.  Again.....the job of discipline, teaching respect for others, etc. should fall on the shoulders of parents and guardians.

 

Now, before one of my fantastic blog followers begins to point out such things as:  What about the children who are not taught at home?  What about those reared in one-parent homes where the parent struggles to make ends meet by working two jobs?  What about those children who are pretty much left to roam the streets?  The list could be a mile long here.  This post isn't written to address these issues.  However, I do believe good, loving, kind, Christ-centered teachers will do all within their power to help those children.  But, it is something they will do out of compassion and love for the student.  In my opinion it is not their job.

 

Do I appreciate teachers?  You betcha I do!  Though I am not a teacher, unless you count over 55 years teaching Bible classes from tiny tots to grown women and all ages in between, I have had teachers in my family from as far back as my Great-Grandfather.  A quick count in my family alone includes 7 currently teaching or in administration and many others who have taught and are now stay-at-home mothers training their children for the time they will enter the school system.

 

God bless our teachers, administrators and schools!  God bless the parents who are diligently preparing their children for the world they are soon to lead.  And God bless America Land That I Love.

 

More to come soon.

 

Here are some family members who are currently teaching or in other forms of education.

 

 

 

 

Son, Frank Wright, Teacher of U.S. History and Government at Kings High School, Kings Mill, Ohio.

 

Daughter, Paula Dyer, Elementary Math Coordinator, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

 

Granddaughter, Jessica Henderson teaches 3-year-olds at a private Christian school in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

Granddaughter, Lindsey Bell, Instructional Aide in Pre-Kindergarten and working on a degree in Elementary Ed.  Huntsville, Alabama

 

 

Granddaughter-in-love, Kari Dyer in the middle, with two of her coworkers.  Kari taught several years and is now a School Counselor and working on her Doctorate. She is also in Oklahoma City.

 

 

Granddaughter-in-love, Martha Ford with her 4th grade class in Antioch, Tennessee

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 

GIVE THANKS

How many of you remember the days of people expressing thanks?  I certainly remember them well.  I am saddened to say that this seems to be declining in recent years.  Why?

 

When I received gifts from others, I was made to sit right down and write (yes.....write with a pen and ink on proper note paper) a thank you note. I tried to teach my children to do the same and I  know that they have tried to teach theirs also.  But, somewhere along the way the ball has been dropped!  Fewer and fewer are sending "formal" thank you notes by mail.  What is even sadder than that is fewer and fewer are expressing thanks in any way.  So many these days don't even thank others verbally.

 

I wrote many thank you notes with this ink pen given to Doyal by my parents when he graduated college back in 1956.

 

 

Here's something I fail to understand. We have instant access to the ability to express our thanks and yet we do not take advantage of it.  Most of the people I know have cell phones and instant messaging in several forms such as text, email, Facebook, and the list goes on. In addition to this, most of these same people spend hours each day on said phones.  The phone is rarely out of sight or sound these days. It seems to me it would be very easy to send an instant thank you these days and times. (I still love hand written notes but I'll accept any acknowledgment.) 

 

Here are a few examples:

 

Recently we sent three gifts to family members. These were not small gifts. Two were over $100 each and a lot of loving work went into them.  One was not so expensive and no work went into it. The day the later received theirs I received a text thanking us.  Then yesterday we  a proper thank you note from the entire family!  I waited 8 and 10 days from the time of shipping the other two to check to see if they had arrived.  I hate asking if someone has received a gift as it seems I'm asking to be thanked.  I'm not!  I just want to know so I can put a trace on the package. Sure enough, they had arrived earlier and both recipients had "been too busy" to respond. By the way, one of them is on Facebook often. 

 

 

I still appreciate the old fashioned thank you note.

And thanks to Jessica and children for their sweet note.

 

 

Another example: Most weeks we sent $ to 3 loved ones. We hear from one every time it is received. From the others.....not so often. 

 

Our children at church are no different.  Rarely do the they express thanks without being prodded.  However, last night I got a big hug and "You're the best Grandma ever" for a belated birthday gift. Both Dottie (the Sunday morning teacher) and I try to reinforce the need in the children to not only be thankful but to express thanks in all things.

 

 

We drive by and get Makayla each Sunday and Wednesday for church. 

She rarely gets out of the car without saying, "Thanks."

 

 

Dottie, in yellow, and I are working with our children to teach them the joy of being thankful and expressing it. Dottie is a great example as she is a note writer.

 

 

 

A bit of humor here:  Allen, seen here ready for church, seemed to always get clothes for birthdays. We taught our children that they didn't have to say they liked a gift if they didn't, but they did have to thank the giver as they had put time, thought and expense in getting the gift for them. Poor Allen learned this lesson at a very early age. We gave the children big birthday parties inviting their entire Bible Classes and the neighborhood children.  Allen would open a gift (Clothes)and I would tell him who it was from. He would look at the person and sweetly say, "Thank you" then quickly grab another gift, tear into it only to repeat the same thing over and over.  However, we always gave him toys and let each sibling give him a small toy as well. At least that way he got a few toys!

 

 

We received many gifts when we lived in The Fiji Islands and the children got a lot of practice writing thank you notes.

 

Julia, Allen's wife, is one of the best examples I know of an example to follow. 

She not only writes many thank you notes, but many, many notes of encouragement each week.

 

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thess 5:16-18

 

 

 

 

 



I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS ME

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS ME

Written by Floyd Tillman
(As recorded by Patsy Cline 8/24/61)

I love you so much, it hurts me
Darlin, that's why I'm so blue
I'm so afraid to go to bed at night
Afraid of losing you

I love you so much, it hurts me
And there's nothing I can do
I want to hold you my dear, forever and ever
I love you so much, it hurts me so


I love you so much, it hurts me
And there's nothing I can do
I want to hold you my dear, forever and ever
I love you so much, it hurts me so.

Some of you "old-timers" will remember this song. I am using it for this post, but it doesn’t apply in some ways.

It seems the singer (song-writer) doesn’t have much self-confidence. Afraid to go to bed at night? Afraid of losing you? Maybe when I was a teenager I felt that way, but now, if I’m going to lose sleep afraid of someone leaving me, I realize that person shouldn’t be a priority anyway.

As one gets older, and eternity is more on her mind, she realizes she won’t have those she loves much longer......or they won’t have her as the case may be. Then, the next verse is applicable. I want to hold you my dear forever and ever.

Neither of those thoughts are what this post is about though. Here goes:

Have you ever loved to the point of hurting? I have many, many shortcomings, but the ability to love is not one of them. I love just about everyone and everything. Of course there are those individuals whom I love more than others. There are even individuals close to me that I have different type loves for. And, I know there are people, even within my own family, who love me more than others.....and that’s okay and normal.

I don’t hold grudges.....sometimes I recall hurts and disappointments, but do not hold grudges. I think I’m quick to forgive. Ask my children, I am about the last one to give up on someone. There are those who were once in the family that others have given up on and yet I hold on to some hope......not that they will return to the family, as this would be impossible, but that they will change. I want the best, now and for eternity, for all concerned.

I don’t know where this comes from, but like to credit it to God and trying to please Him. One side of my family was not this way. Most everyone of them held grudges long after the fact. To my knowledge, they all found it within their hearts to let those old festering sores heal before they died. I remember as a child that I knew that wasn’t right and didn’t want to be that way.

Sometimes though loving till it hurts......really hurts! There are times I think of my family and friends with so much love in my heart that I feel it will burst. When I feel this way I also feel inferior as I feel no one, literally no one, ever has or ever will love me like that. No matter how much I’m assured of someone’s love I know in my heart they could never love me as I do them. That might be lack of self-confidence but in my mind it is reality.

When my phone rings, or I get a text, it is rare that I don’t answer right away. If it is impossible at the moment, I always return the call within a very short time. In my mind this is not only courteous but shows my love for that person. It shows they are important. It shows I care about them and what they have to say. Not so, with some. I have called or texted those who tell me how much they love me and get their answering machine. Then, it might be days or longer before my call is returned. I question, "How important I am to that person when this happens." I know I talk too much......way too much.... and figure that is one reason they do not want to return my calls. I’ve told some that one day there is going to be a death in the family and the person will be buried before the one called returns my call. Just kidding of course, but I won’t leave a message on an answering machine telling of the death of a close family member.

Now all you arm chair Psychologists, Psychiatrists and Counselors go to work. I am a case in progress. Whatever you tell me, I will keep on loving and caring, and from time to time calling even if I don’t get a call back!

The other day I was thinking of all those whom I love so deeply that it hurts and tried to call a couple only to get the answering machine. Then, woe unto me.......I wondered if I was actually worthy of love.......and guess what......God had placed reminders of love all around me!

 

I found a heart waiting for me in my toast. Was God reminding me of His unconditional love for me?

 

 

Each morning as I eat breakfast on the deck I am reminded of hearts that are broken.  If we come to God with our broken and contrite hearts He will heal them.

 

Psalm 73:21-26

When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant;

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

 

 

 

On the deck and in the flower beds, God places hearts.  I like to use this as a reminder to keep my mind and heart of Him every hour of every day and to remember what He has done for Me!  I know I am considered worthy in His sight for He allowed His Son to shed His blood to save Me!

 

2 Thessalonians 1:5-6

All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

 

 

Even with our torn and tattered lives God loves us.  When our hearts were as ragged as could be He made them whole by the blood of Christ.

 





 

Romans 5:6-11

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

 

A Bump in the Road....Maybe

Many of you know that we have decided on another adventure in our lives.  We are planning to move to Huntsville, Alabama in order to be closer to more family.  This move is not a fly-by-night decision as we have thought, discussed and prayed for quite awhile about it.  There are many reasons we would like to stay right here until the end.  Some of them being:

 

1.  We have been accustomed to being anywhere from a few minutes to a little over an hour from our youngest son, Frank since 1986.  He lives about 45 minutes from us at present.

2.  He was married last December to a lovely lady who we are getting closer and closer to and love as our own.  Just as this relationship is growing we hate to leave her.

3.  Frank's two boys have always had Granddad and Grandma close by and we have a relationship with them that distance will not sever, though we love being close enough to see them often.  At the moment 22 year old, Jordan is in Columbus, Ohio  which is about one and a half to two hours away.  Landen, on the other hand, will be closer when we move to Huntsville as he is attending Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee.

 

Jordan, Becky, Frank and Landen Wright

December 21, 2013



 

4.  We love our house and it is the "old homestead" to most of the grandchildren.  However, it is just that.....a house!  Wherever we live will be home to all of our family.

5.  Our Church Family is near and dear to us.  We have grown to love them more than most of them can comprehend.  It will be hard leaving them.  Doyal has preached here.....sometimes sharing the pulpit, but in recent years preaching each Sunday.....since 1989 or 1990.  We have both taught Bible classes as long.  I love my children and will certainly hate to leave them.

 

Some of my Bible class students with our adopted daughter, Margie.

April 2014 right after her lung surgery.

 



6.  We enjoy living in Lawrenceburg and especially enjoy the distinct seasons.

 

My Bible class children in our back yard.

There are other reasons we hate to leave but here are a few reasons we have decided to make the move at this time.

 

1.  We are getting a bit older (84 and 79 respectively.)

2.  In Huntsville there are 33 family members living less than 10 miles. By the time we get there there could be 7 more making it 42 counting the two of us.

3.  IF we ever need assistance it won't be left up to just one family member to take care of us......there will be several who will be willing to share the burden.

 

Just a few of the family members in Huntsville.

 



4.  We know lots of people in Huntsville already and will not have to be concerned about finding new friends...although I know we will find some.

 

Our oldest (the one we've had the longest) friend in Huntsville, Nancy Cantrell.

 

 

Two of my newest friends in the area, Pat Blair and Mary Ann Wallace



We were planning to rent either a small house or apartment until Claudia talked us into moving in with her.  So, now we're making plans to re-arrange her life! She has three bedrooms at the present time.  When we get there she will have hers, we'll have the one she has been calling ours since she bought the house and the three of us will share the other as a study/guest room.  Our first order of business will be a large storage shed which we'll have installed before our arrival.  Then, the next thing will be a large screened-in back porch as extra living space.  Later if we think we need/want it, we will build in the garage for another living area.  When all of her 15 grandchildren come these old folks might decide we need to lock ourselves in another room.  (Just joking....we love all of them!)





 

Doyal busy at work with the drawings for the new screened-in porch.

 

Claudia came up last week end to help start packing and moving.  You should have seen that girl go!  She had her little Nissan hatchback packed like I've never seen a car packed before.  A few more trips like that and we might not have to rent a truck!  I really don't think she will be able to fit our couch or bed in there though.  Ha.

 

Sweet, wonderful, hard working Claudia Beth

 

 

We've been hard at work today going through file cabinets, reorganizing and pitching things.



So now for the bump in the road.  Yesterday we had a follow-up appointment with our doctor after having blood drawn last week.  I was pretty good except that he says I'm pre-diabetic which I have been for awhile.  On the other hand, healthy-as-a-horse Doyal, still had low red and white blood count and also platelets.  All three were a little bit up  from the test in April though.  Dr. Eiler thinks his problem is Myelodysplasia.  He also thinks the rash all over his body is caused from that as well.  Of course he can't be sure unless he does further testing. For the time being Doyal has decided to do nothing.  This will not keep us from moving.....it just makes me want to get to Huntsville sooner to be nearer more family. 

 

Today we started walking again and I have given up Cokes.  (Sad). I plan to start cooking better meals as well.  These are some of the things Dr. Eiler suggested.....not cooking better meals because I didn't volunteer to tell him how I cooked.

 

It is beautiful walking on the levee and watching the traffic up and down the Ohio River less than 3 miles from our house.

I solicit your prayers for Doyal's health and for us as we prepare another chapter in our lives!

 

 

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:........." 

 Ecclesiastes 3:1 and following.



Prayer continues

I'd like to share a few more things concerning prayer.  Some you might find a bit humorous, some trivial and some quite serious.

 

I suppose somewhere along the line we taught our children the need, joy and value of prayer.  I remember when Claudia and Allen were quite small, Pre-Paula, we had them kneel beside their beds and pray.  At first it was the bedtime prayer:  "Now I lay me down to sleep."  Soon we graduated to praying for the things for which we were thankful and things we requested of God.  I tried to have them not get into the habit of just a rote prayer, but to think of different things for which to be thankful, or for different needs. 

 

Here we are with our children in 1963 during their formative years.

 

It seems this must have taken effect even down to the 5th child.  Frank certainly believed his mother's prayers had clout with God.  From a very early age he would ask me to pray that he do well on a test and things like that.  Many times when he was older, junior high and high school, he would call from the school phone and remind me to pray that he make a good grade on a test he was about to take.  I always told him the same......I would be praying he would recall everything he studied for the test.  I didn't want him to think he didn't have to do his part and fail to study!

 

 

Frank as a Senior in High School.  He was still asking for prayers on his tests, as well as other things.  Needless to say, he graduated with honors both from High School, College and with his Masters!

 

 

One day he proved to me how much he believed in the power of prayer.  He was an excellent basketball (as well as football) player and seemed to live and breath each sport during the season.

 

 

Here is Frank as 7th grade quarterback talking over a play with his coach.

 

One morning when he was still in grade school he requested that I pray for him to be 6'4" and black!  I wondered why in the world such a request.  He explained that the very best basketball players were tall and black.  He also said that he had observed the Lord answered prayers just a little less than was asked ( I have NO idea where he got that notion) and he really wanted to be at least 6'3".  I had some explaining to do!  I've never known, at least in my lifetime, God to change a person's color, and in our family, I had never known anyone to reach 6'  on either side (we have a couple over that now; one being Frank's youngest son.) He was never stretched past his present height of 5'9" and the blackest he's ever been is when he got a good sun tan (which he has now after spending two months in Florida.)

 

 



 

Here is Frank as a little fellow in his Miami Dolphin uniform (He's still a fan) and as an adult, the darkest he's been in a long time.

 

I shared in my last post about the chess tournament, the deer and the snow.  Now, I'd like to tell you about our daughter, Claudia's, prayers.  She is one of the most powerful prayer warriors I know.  If I have a need I usually go to her first, though I request prayers from all of my children and a few of my friends who I know to believe in the power of prayer. 

 

Claudia has been through a lot of struggles in her life and I know there must have been times she probably wanted to just give up, but she didn't.  Through it all I've rarely seen her without a smile on her face and a song in her heart......in fact if you ever visit her don't be surprised to hear singing as she sings all the time! And.....she prays about everything. She prays for marriages, divorces, babies, friends, family and people she rarely knows.  And, she thanks God for answered prayers as well as those He hasn't answered as requested.  She knows God has other plans.  She doesn't worry about jobs or houses as she knows God will supply the things she needs.  And He always has!

 

Last year she was able to buy her first house as a single lady. The kitchen appliances, minus the fridge were included in the house.  She really wanted a French door refrigerator but only had a certain amount to spend on it.  She had looked and looked but found nothing she could afford.  She was about to give up and was on her way home when she decided to stop by one more store and check there.  She pulled into the parking lot at Home Depot, turned off the engine and prayed,  "Lord, if you want me to have a French door refrigerator let me find a white one in the 'scratch & dent' area to match the other appliances and for X amount of $'s or less." (I can't remember the amount).  She walked in, back to 'scratch & dent' and there it was; a white, French door, with tiny scratch on the side toward the back and just a few $'s more than she asked!  Now, maybe you think the Lord had nothing to do with this.  That's okay. But. I chose to believe He provided just what she wanted.....no more, no less.

 

 

 

 

Just a few days ago Claudia needed (wanted) some old wood for a project she had in mind.  Two of her grandchildren were with her and she told them what she wanted and told them they should all pray if it was God's will that they find some weathered wood beside the road ready for the garbage truck.  Later, on the way home, she asked God to provide the wood in order to show the children the power of prayer.  And, there it was....just what she wanted right beside the road just waiting to be picked up.  And here's the results of that prayer....by the way....the two 15 year old grandchildren give God the credit!

 

 

Weathered wood hanger over the TV, an answer to prayer.

 

 

A true prayer warrior!  And sometimes the Lord blesses us with little things and smiles.

The weekend of her 60th birthday celebration we, along with our best friends, Nancy Cantrell (mine) and Nannette Cantrell Lyon (Claudia's) stopped at Cracker Barrel and Claudia found this lying among the merchandise.

 

The effective prayer of a righteous man (woman) can accomplish much. James 5:15

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Prayer

I have so many thoughts swimming around in my head.  Some are "post worthy" and some probably don't amount to a hill of beans.  I didn't plan to post except once a week or less as I'm sure people would get tired of numerous posts, However, I just can't get this out of my head and feel I just have to share.  I pray you will find it beneficial.

From the time I was very young I was a very prayerful person.  I prayed about everything, large and small.  I want to share a couple of things that were obtained through prayer.....or at least I feel they were.

Back in 1966 when we were coming back to the States by ship.....21 days of sailing if I remember correctly......Doyal entered a chess tournament.  He was a pretty good chess player back in the day but for the final match his opponent was very good as well.  So, being the good wife that I am, I prayed for him to win the tournament.  And, of course he did!  I was excited to tell him that I prayed for his win. He thanked me but cautioned,  "We shouldn't be bothering the Lord with trivial things like chess tournaments."  From then on I was more cautious about my prayers.  I weighed whether I should bother the Lord or not.  Once Doyal realized the effect his statement had on my prayer life he apologized and encouraged me to get back on my schedule of praying about even the smallest of things.  He still encourages me, as I will admit that I don't go to the Lord with the faith of a little child as I once did.

 

 

I don't think this was the ship that we returned home on.   It is one of the old P & O liners that traveled the Oceans back in the day though.

 

The next example I want to share with you is quite interesting.  We had one of the native Islanders visiting with us from September until early December in 1966.  Fiapati was born in the Ellis Islands and later moved to The Fiji Islands.  Of course he had never seen snow.  It was fresh on my mind not to bother the Lord with little things, but I thought and thought that it would be so neat if Fiapati could experience snow since he never had, nor probably never would.  I also wished and wished, but didn't actually ask God for it.  Then it happened!  The earliest Snowfall (1 inch or greater): 4.0 inches - November 2, 1966 recorded in Huntsville!

 

 

Fiapati Elisara in Fiji 1967.

 

The children and I coaxed Fiapati outside and pelted him with snowballs.  He joined in and we had a good snowball fight until it got too cold for that Islander's thin blood.  He stayed inside quite a bit of the time until the snow melted, but he did get to experience something most Islands only dream of.

 

 

We only have slides of Fiapati in the snow.  Here are Claudia age 12 and Frank age 3 with their first ever snow man.  The snow was beginning to melt when this was taken.

 

A few days later I asked Doyal,  "Do you think God answers prayers that we just think about and wish for but do not actually ask for."  He knew right away what I had done and asked,  "Did you pray for that snow?"

And the final story for today.  We moved to North Dakota in 1970 when our oldest son, Allen was almost 14 years old.  Deer hunting is BIG up there and Allen soon began to want to hunt.  Doyal hunted some when he was younger, but never was interested after we married.  You know good daddies, they will move mountains for their children.  So, within a few years Doyal and Allen looked forward to deer season.  I can't remember for sure, but I think it was the last year Allen was at home that the following happened.  They had been out a couple of time and had no luck. The last day of the season they went out for one final time.  I had to take some of the other children to Grand Forks, about 60 miles away, to the orthodontist that day and on the way there and back I prayed they would get a deer.  I requested that if they both could not get one, to at least let Allen get one.  We arrived home to find Mother standing out back.  She almost shouted,  "Guess what happened today?"  She had a smile on her face so I knew it was nothing bad.  I parked, walked around the garage and there was Allen with HIS deer.  I confessed to Doyal that I had prayed for that and how I prayed.  He grinned and replied,  "Next time ask for me one too."

 

 

Allen's senior picture.  The picture we have of him with his deer is a slide.

 

Now, don't get me wrong.  I have always prayed for important things like sickness, travels etc. and have thanked God for answers to those prayers as well as many other things, but I've been more careful about the little things.  Starting now I am going back to talking to Him about everything, both small and large.  And, the next post will definitely be of interest if any of this has.

I know some would disagree with me about my views of prayer and that's okay.  I love you just the same!

 

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

Matthew 21:22

 

 

   

I'm Back!!!

I haven't posted anything on my blog since January 4 and I've certainly missed it.  Many (well.....perhaps three or four) have asked why and when.  I have a lot of "whys."  Actually there are too many to go into detail.  I'll sum it up by saying this:  Computer problems that wiped out everything, two different Google accounts that confused me, turning 79 and realizing my brain is fast fading (it doesn't understand technology as it once did.....hey, wait!  It never did understand technology, so scratch that excuse), had to have major help getting back on my account.....(Thanks to my favorite Dyer grandson who spent a "few" hours, I'm back up and running).  And further, we were on a two month long trip and I did very little on the computer, came home and spent three weeks pretty much in bed.  Now I'm feeling 95% and ready to get back in the swing of things so maybe I'll post more often for the many who are begging me to post.  Oh well, as I said the three of four and begging is a stretch also, it just makes me feel better and as I have said before, "It's ALL About ME!"  Is that really what I said.....Nope the statement was, "It's NOT All About Me."  So, first of all:

THANKS JOSH!

 

What would I do without my tech-smart grandson!

 

 

Next, and briefly if that is possible:  We are planning to get back to our Alabama roots within the next year.  We have been married 61 years, 3 month and 24 days as of tonight at 6 pm CST and have lived in this house 25 years, 3 months and 28 days.  Because of these years, and the fact that we are both "savers," we have a LOT of stuff.  Much of it is of no interest to anyone except us so we are trying our best to work on at least one room each week and get it cleaned, sorted and packed.  We're having success with many of the rooms but now are working on the study.  Wow!  This IS work because we tend to read every paper, bulletin, sermon, etc. etc. before we let them go to the land of no return....the shredder!

 

Our baby daughter, Sharon, and her husband spent two nights with us on their way back from northern Ohio where they went to be with John's mother who is quite ill.  During the time they were here our grandson, Jordan was here for a night.  Sharon and Jordan, with my supervision, got our bedroom closet cleaned out and organized and after Jordan left Sharon got a hard-to-reach kitchen cabinet emptied and put the few things back in that we just can't live without. This was a huge help!

 

 

Sharon and Jordan at the airport when we took Jordan for his trip to Florida to spend time with Frank and Becky.

 

 

I won't bore you with anything else on this post.  Will leave you with the following words from one of my favorite songs:



 

 

"This world is not my home, I'm just a passing thru. 

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; 

The angels beckon me from heaven's open door,

And I can't feel at home in this world anymore."