What a Week

Little did I know as I wrote my last blog post that I would have the week that I have had.  I use to long to know what was to come and with a week like this, I am glad that I  don't have the ability to know the future.

Last Saturday evening, my daughter and I were home alone.  Somehow we inadvertently left our door unlocked.  Shortly after 9pm, I sent my daughter to our front room to see why our little dog was barking like crazy.  This is not an unusual event, because our little dog barks at his own shadow.  Shortly after sending her to check on him, I hear him get worse and my daughter starts screaming in terror.  I left my kitchen and ran to the hallway.  I see a strange man standing inside our front door with the door shut behind him.  He was in the same room as my daughter and our dog.  Without hesitation, I ran toward him screaming for him to leave.  I did all I knew to do and shoved and pushed on him until he was out of the door and the door was locked.  He remained on our porch as we raced upstairs to call 911.  He was found, arrested and taken to jail.  It was the scariest moment of my life and I am grateful that God protected us.
The next evening, I was with my small group and we prayed for a lady that is a part of the group because she was having a colonoscopy the following morning.  She is in her early 40's so we were not anticipating anything bad.  The next morning I received a phone call from her that left me stunned and in tears.  My life lifelong friend and my sister in Christ had cancer.  We have since heard the news that it is Stage 2 Colorectal cancer.  The doctor's are VERY optimistic.
That same day I saw a post of Facebook that said that my brother-in-law's mom's cancer had returned and is in her lungs.  I do not remember her not being a part of my life.  My sister and her husband have been married since I was 9 and our families have been friends my entire life.
Later that evening, I led the first session of the Fall Ladies Bible Study.  I have never led this particular group and felt very weakened by the previous few days.  I felt as if Satan had literally been beating me up. I left there, encouraged, renewed, and refreshed.
Life can be surprising, disappointing, and discouraging, but God is still in control.  I have to remind myself of this pretty often during the day as I think about what could have happened to us when the intruder came in, as I think about somebody my age having cancer, and think about a lady I have known my entire life dealing with a return of cancer.

Sisters

An email from my sister prompted this post.  We are almost exactly 10 years apart in age.  I was brought home from the hospital on her 10th birthday.  She has never made me feel as if she was older and I was a baby.  We shared a room until she left home.  She has always been an encouragement to me and when I received her email this morning, it only served to confirm the fact that I am so grateful to not only call her sister, but to call her my friend.  I love her more every single day and am so proud that I am her "little" sister.

She told me in her email that she had heard this song on Pandora and it made her think of me:

Sister by: Sarah Bettens

Sister I know there’ve been times when you didn't think 

I was a very good friend

Sister you must think I'm out of my mind

It's a struggle sometimes to pretend

But I know what I'm doing 

I know who I am

I know how it works and I'll see where it ends

Sister I need you more now than I ever did

I've been thinking again

I've been thinking again

Life can be tricky and sneak up on you like a tiger looking for

prey

And we've had our share of surprises, 

There must be a good one coming our way

Because we're really all looking, we're really all lost

The less we expect, the smaller the costs

Sister I miss you more now then I ever did

I've been thinking again

I've been thinking again

Things that aren't funny, are funny with you

So I'm better when you are around

And I might say I don't need any advice

But I wear the clothes that I found

In the back of your closet, wherever you hide

Secrets that nobody ever will find

Sister I love you more, then I ever did

I've been thinking again

I've been thinking again

Sister I love you more, then I ever did

I've been thinking again

I've been thinking again

Windows Open and Breezes Coming In

Nothing like having the windows open for the first time.  I love the way the house feels when they are open and even better...I love the way the air smells.  It is a clean and crisp feel and smell that makes me want to bake apple pies and pumpkin bread.  I am planning to decorate for fall tomorrow.  My rule is that until I can leave the windows open all day, I do not decorate for fall.  It just does not seem right to have a 102 degree weather and pumpkins on the table.  I have to wait each year.

One of my favorite fall recipes is pumpkin bread.  Here is my favorite recipe:

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, lightly bean
• 16 ounces canned unsweetened pumpkin
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 9 by 5 loaf pans. Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs andpumpkin. Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.

BOOK SNEEZE BOOK REVIEW "Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God" By: Sheila Walsh

I read this book a while back and thought that I had posted a review of it for Book Sneeze.  Since I had not, I thought I would do so today.  

Sheila Walsh is a gifted writer that literally draws you in with the first few words of this book.  I read this book not long before a very devastating betrayal of a friend.  I think the lessons that I learned about trusting God in this book helped me get through it.  Trust is something that the world has devalued in the last few generations.  For society, a handshake was enough and for God, His word has always been enough.  Now, society does not have much integrity, but God's consistency has lasted forever.  Sheila uses her own insecurities and trust issues to offer a real account of what happens when I woman allows herself to trust God with the unknown and unseen.

This book was a easy read and quick read but I found that she skipped around a lot in the "story".  There would be times that, as I read, I would have to re-read the previous pages to realize where she was on the current page.  Even with that, the book was interesting and insightful.  Sheila uses her own personal life and lives of David and others to make her point that you can trust God with EVERYTHING.  I have referred back to her words over the past year as I have been faced with a situation that required me to completely trust God to handle it.

Front Porch Ramblings

Holidays are not always the same for us as they are for other families.  My husband swings shifts on a 7 day rotation and has to work most holidays.  Today is no different.  I am spending time on my front porch with the temperatures lower, overcast skies, and a light drizzle of rain.  It is pleasant and peaceful.  As I sit here, I have several thoughts running through my head so I will share them:

*I recently starting leading a women's small group on Sunday evenings.  It becomes more and more obvious each week that God has brought this group together.  It is amazing to feel and know that we are together for a reason.  I love these ladies and am so blessed to have each of them in my life.

*As I start to prepare to lead a women's Bible study which starts next week, I am humbled.  The study is by James MacDonald and is entitled "Lord, Change My Attitude (Before it is too late)".  It has humbled me in so many ways.  The first week is about complaining.  As I have been studying, I have thought that I really needed this YEARS ago.  Maybe my complaining would have stopped by now had I heard these lessons before now.  ;)  If you struggle with negative attitudes, I would like to recommend this study.  

*I found a little devotional book from 1978 to put next to my chair where I usually sit to read, have my coffee, or have my quiet time.  I picked it up this morning and the very first devotional had something to do with dealing with people.  Funny, the Bible study is about complaining and this little book was about dealing with people.  I picked up my Journey devotional to read today's devotional and it was about something very similar.  I think God is trying to tell me something!

*I knew that I would be gone all day yesterday, so I planned ahead.  I got the house completely straightened and all of my chores finished Saturday evening before going to bed.  I packed a change of clothes, the things I needed for Sunday morning at church, the things I needed for my small group Sunday evening, and things my daughter would need for the day.  She and I were singing in the Worship Choir yesterday morning and the sound check was at 8:30am.  We live 15 minutes away from our church.  I decided to spend the afternoon with my mama while in town.  Last night, my daughter (14 years old) was asked by several college girls and older high school girls to go see "The Help".  I decided to let her go even though I was EXHAUSTED.  The wonderful influence that these girls are for my daughter far outweighed me being tired.  So she and I left here at 8am and got home a little after 10pm.  It was a good day!

I am so blessed to be sitting here in the quietness of my porch.  There are sounds but they consist of birds, wind, a drizzle of rain, and passing cars.  I am not laboring...that is for certain.  A great way to spend the holiday.

Yard Sale Fun

Yesterday, my mom, daughter, and I went to a yard sale that my church was having.  I went with the thought that I would not find anything and really did not need anything.  As usual, I was sucked in and found several things.  One was something I have wanted for a while, one was something I could not leave there, another was something I collect, and the rest was free.  

So here they are:

This is a large bowl and pitcher.  It has chips and other imperfections, but that is what made me like it.  It was well worth $2.

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I have wanted to find one of this thermal coffee servers.  My husband swings shifts so we do not always drink our coffee at the same time.  I also will drink coffee all throughout the day.  This is a way to save it without it having to be reheated.  This was $3.

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I collect Starbucks things with the old logo.  My daughter spotted this at the yard sale and it was only 25¢.  A great find at a great price!

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As I was leaving the yard sale, I saw a friend that asked if I wanted some books.  These are all brand-new books that she had taken out of her Sunday school class.  I am excited to read each of them and use them to lead my small group.