Christmas on the Way!!

I meant to post this last night after I had finished blocking it, but another migraine put me under for the evening.

Here's the Mid-month KAL from the Knitting Dishcloth Group. It was designed by Noreen and called Ribbed Diamonds. I like the way it looks--kind of elegant in the purple, I think. She has three patterns on her blog that she has designed. I have finished two of the three, and I really like what she's done.



I can see these being a nice Christmas gift for my daughters. I've planned on several things for each of them, and I was thinking of adding progress bars to see how far I've gotten with my Christmas projects. I'll just have to figure out how to do this.

I know that I'm making an Irish Hiking Scarf, a cable hat, a cable knitted purse and a Miter Square Rug for Cara. Since Lindsay lives in Texas, she has no use for winter scarves or hats. But, she is also going to receive a Miter Square Rug and some market bags. I haven't decided which ones yet, but she is starting to go green, so these will be a good gift for her. Any ideas or suggestions on good market bags, I'd love to hear them! I know that she wants something sturdy and not to open weave or mesh.

Both of the girls picked out the colors for their rugs, the Peaches & Creme is here, just have to get started and get these finished. If you look at the link for these rugs, the picture is the whole way at the bottom--after the instructions.

I'm off to work on that baby blanket some more--this is the top priority project right now. The baby shower is on October 25th, so it MUST be completed by then!

K--that's all for now!

Beth

A Fun Evening and Internet Cafe Chat

Last night I finally made it to a square dance. We had such a wonderful time. It was a lot of fun, a lot of laughs, and I know I'll definitely go again!! I don't know exactly how many people were there, probably about 50. One fellow there was so enthusiastic about swinging his partner that I thought she was going to be swung off her feet by the end of the evening!

As I was leaving last evening, I noticed this in the sky. Luckily for me, I had my camera along because I haven't seen one of these in a very long time.

The picture is a little dark because it was almost dusk. But, can you see the rainbow? I was so thrilled to see this. I can't tell you the last time a saw a rainbow!


And now, on to Internet Cafe Chat:




Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is the verse for contemplation this week. And here is the question that Kim asks:

In what ways have you “conformed to this world” in your own life? Then, share the story of how God worked through you to “renew your mind” in that situation.

I have to say that God speaks to me often about this--is this acceptable in MY eyes? Is this good and perfect in MY eyes?

As I travel in my journey with God, I have changed in so many ways. I used to swear like a sailor in a storm. I thought nothing of taking the Lord's name in vain and dropping a few (now, let's be honest here--it was WAY more than a few!) choice words randomly in a sentence. Make me angry--watch out--words that have no business in my vocabulary would fly!!

Once I accepted Christ into my life, this behavior disappeared overnight--literally overnight!! God just took this away from me. People around me know that I find this type of language offensive now and tend not to speak in this manner around me. And, if someone would say the Lord's name in a manner that is not appropriate, I will tell them that I do not want to hear that--in no uncertain terms.

God continues to speak to me in regards to this verse. He has spoken to me about the friends I make--what kind of company should you be keeping, He says. Are these people who are acceptable in my eyes? Do they exhibit behavior that I (God) want to see in you? Are they going to draw you back into unacceptable behaviors?

Even down to my choices in reading materials: Is this something that I (God) would want you to immerse your mind in? Is that book glorifying MY Name? Is this book drawing you closer to Me or farther away from Me?

I rarely watch television or go to the movies. When I see most of the choices that are available or hear people speaking of shows on television or movies that they have seen, I know that the majority of them are not glorifying God.

I have made many changes in my life by listening to what God is saying to me, and it is a very simple question:

Is this behavior good and acceptable in MY eyes?

If I can very easily answer "no" to this question, then I am assured that this is not a place I should be, not a behavior I should be practicing, not even a book I should be reading.

I know that there are many more areas of my life where God has work to do in me. I will continue to listen and obey in my journey, and God will be there for me as I sometimes struggle to make these changes.

Read more about change........

It's Official!!

RAG-TAGGERS--SECOND PLACE

Yes, our box arrived at Emily's yesterday--in her mailbox with another DRT box! The first box the mailman places in the mailbox counts as arriving first, and that was ours!!

Honestly, I'm just glad that it arrived at all! This was mailed on Monday with delivery confirmation. Every time anyone on my team checked the USPS tracking site, the information wasn't updated, and for all we knew, our box was still sitting in Virginia--lost in a corner--all by itself!

So, congratulations all around to all the team members of Deuces Wild for achieving first place, Rag-Taggers for their second place and Dishrag-Taggers for third!!

This has been a lot of fun, and I think I'll do it again next year (we'll see what next year brings me first!). What a great way to meet some new people via the internet, and most of all--as I have mentioned before--a great lesson in teamwork and encouraging others.

Now, I'm kind of in a rush this morning, and I don't like to hurry. So, I'll be back later today to post at The Power of Your Love.

K--that's all for a while!

Beth

Oh, To Be a Cat! and DRT Update!

I was getting ready for work on Monday, went into the bathroom, took my shower and returned to my bedroom. What do you think I found in there?

TWO LAZY KITTIES!!

This is Miles, better known as "The Sock Destroyer".



This is Scout, and yes, she is as huge as she looks in this picture!

These two have the life, I tell you! Eat, sleep, being pet and pampered! Miles is only 6 1/2 months old, so he is rather active--running here and there--getting into all kinds of things. Right now, he is trying (no, he really is--hold on, I have to go get him!) climbing the screen in my bedroom window!!

Scout is 8 years old, and she is getting rather lazy. Miles keeps her on her toes though. He loves to chase her around, so at least she is getting some exercise!

I have to tell you this--when I walked in on Monday to finish getting ready for work and saw these two sleeping so peacefully in my bed, it was all I could do not to just crawl in there with them!

I'll be back after work to post Thankful Thursday and hopefully updates on Dishrag Tag. It's official--Deuces Wild box arrived at Emily's yesterday. They have been in front all through this competition, and they are very deserving of the win.

We're hoping our box arrives today for second place!

K--that's all for a while!!

Beth

Just a Little Bit More on Dish Rag Tag

As you can see from the bars on the left, Dishrag Tag is coming to its completion. There are three teams whose progress bars are complete, and one of them is my team! We are the Rag-Taggers, the next to the last team in the progress bars.

All three of these boxes are on their way home--we're just waiting to see whose will arrive first!! I'll be sure and keep you updated. Our box was mailed yesterday afternoon, so it should reach home by Wednesday!

Prizes are involved here--a project bag, stitch markers, a special tape measure. However, when I think about Dishrag Tag, I realize that the greatest prize that I have received from joining this adventure is not the prizes themselves.

The greatest prize was meeting and interacting with a great group of people who encouraged and cheered each other on, people who I would never have met otherwise.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all this encouragement and the positive comments carried over into our everyday lives? That's the way it should be--cheering each other on continually--not grumbling and complaining about things we generally can do nothing about. Maybe our day-to-day life would be a little more pleasant.

K--that's all for a while!

Beth

Internet Cafe Chat

I'm posting my Cafe Chat at The Power of Your Love today. Please stop over and visit me there!

Thanks,

Beth

Out to Eat

Wow!! I have been out to eat twice within less than 24 hours!!

Last night, a friend from work and church and I went to the Pizza Grille. This is truly a unique place. All of the pizzas are individual, and there are about 15 different pizzas to choose from. Their house salad is awesome with a dijon house dressing. Yummy!! We sat there and talked, and then went from there to her house to visit for a little while. I got home around 11, fell asleep, and woke up at 3--unable to go back to sleep.

I don't know what is with my sleep patterns lately, but I never seem to get a full night's rest--beginning to get very disturbing! I don't mind getting up early, in fact, I'd rather get up early, but waking up at 3 and not going back to sleep night after night is getting tiresome (literally!).

Then, this morning, this same friend and I met someone who had retired from our work in April for breakfast at a small restaurant in town in Mechanicsburg. We had our coffee, our breakfast, and then sat and talked and visited--just caught up with one another. We stayed there for almost 3 1/2 hours. When I came home, my son said, "That must have been a very big breakfast!"

We decided that we need to get together and visit more frequently than this. And we now how this goes--we always have good intentions to do things like this, and then they tend to fall by the wayside. I think in order to do this, you almost have to set a definite date, and then follow through.

I'm working on the baby blanket today. Would somebody please do me a favor? The next time I decide to do something like this, remind me to look for a pattern that requires something larger than a size 4 needle. This is seeming to take forever. At the rate I'm going, I hope I'm finished before the baby is born--much less for the baby shower in October!

So Much To Share!

First, if you'll take a notice to the left on my sidebar, you'll see "The Flickering Firefly Award". This came to me this morning from my friend Karin. This is what she writes about this award:

"This award is to recognize bloggers who shine the light of Christ for a watching world."

Please stop by and visit her and read a little bit more about her life and this award. I will definitely be passing this on to others who "shine their light".

I'll be posting more about this on The Power of Your Love, so please stop by there, also.

I have a few projects that I've been working on to share with you:

This is a baby blanket for my daughter's friend. She just recently lost her mother and is expecting her first baby in December. I've known this young lady since she was three, and she has become another daughter to me. I've heard through my own daughters' grapevine that she has asked if I was planning on making anything for her new little one. I've been working on a baby blanket for her new son. Here's a couple of pictures. They aren't very good (as usual). I don't know what it is about me and a camera--we just don't seem to mesh. And also, due to the nature of the stitch of this blanket, I have it held down with numerous items--including two phone books, a giant box of crayons (yes, we love to color at my house!) and my iron!! Obviously, this blanket is going to take a lot of blocking!!

My youngest daughter picked out the yarn for this on her last trip home from Texas. She is coming home for 3 days just for the baby shower. Her friend doesn't know this--her coming to the shower will be a complete surprise. She keeps saying, "I can't believe that I'm having a baby shower and my best friend isn't going to be able to here!" She is in for a BIG surprise, and I can't wait to see her face when Lindsay walks into the room!

When it's all completed, I'll post another picture. Then, of course, I have a baby hat, and some socks, and other various items in mind for this new little bundle of love!!

I'm also working on a dishcloth (no surprise to those of you who know me!). This is a designed by Noreen. It's a KAL (knit-a-long) from Rachel's Knitting Room on Yahoo. This is a very different cloth with a twisted stitch design for the border. It's only about 1/4 of the way complete, but I just wanted to share some pics of this, tooI really like the unique design of this cloth. It's different from any other cloth that I've made. I can't wait to see the whole thing completed. I'll post a picture of that also.

And, now, in closing, I'd like to offer a huge "THANK YOU" to Aunt Kathy (no, she's not really my aunt!) for instructing me in how to link to everyone else so that everyone can have credit where credit is due! Thank you, Aunt Kathy!!! You might want to stop by and visit her, too. She has some pretty interesting things going on at her place!

K--That's all for a while!!

Beth

Thankful Thursday

My "Thankful Thursday" has been posted on "The Power of Your Love". Please stop by and visit me there......Beth

Wordle

This is something I created on wordle.net from one of my previous Thankful Thursday posts.

I really like the way it turned out. Notice what words are the most prominent

It's a little hard to see all the individual words. Just left click on the picture--it will enlarge and you'll be able to see all the smaller words. I love it!!

Belated Labor Day--A Little DRT News

We had our belated Labor Day picnic at work today. But, it wasn't joyful as it was supposed to be. I can't go into any details--just know that there has been some turmoil at my work that created a kind of dismal fog over our celebration. Enough about this!

The person that I was to start training yesterday did arrive home safely from Texas. Her family there is fine, and for that I am thankful. She wasn't able to fly out of Houston because of too much debris on the runways. But, she is home now, at work today, and so we began her training. So far, she seems to like our place of work, and that is a good thing. We are short staffed and need people who are willing to work, willing to be part of a team.

And another item on Dishrag Tag--My team is tied for second place with two other teams, so right things are looking up for our team! Anything could happen though--a cranky mail carrier, weather delays, knots in yarn, blistered thumbs (like my right thumb is now!!).

You would think that with all the dishcloths and hot pads that I have made, that I would have thought to grab one of them before reaching into that microwave and having plastic and brown sugar melted onto my thumb--now wouldn't you? I was just in a hurry and not thinking, and that's all there is to that.

K--that's all for a while!

Beth

A Little More on Dish Rag Tag

All I can say is WOW!! The person I sent the baton (box) to should have received it at her work this morning. That is what the tracking on the USPS told me.

But, did it arrive at her work this morning? Of course not!! She calls the post office and finds out that it was accidentally put into a bin headed for Pittsburgh and she is in New York!! She was so upset!! She had taken all of her knitting goodies to work with her, planning to get this accomplished over her lunch.

So she calls her local post office, and guess what? The box is sitting there!! Off she goes during her lunch time, picks up the box, and gets the entire thing finished and mailed out to the next person by the 5:45 p.m. mail pick-up!! Way to go!!!

We're having a picnic at my work tomorrow--a belated Labor Day celebration. Everybody signs up to bring something. I stopped at the store on my way home to pick up ingredients to make baked beans. I knew I had brown sugar at home.

Get home--start cooking the bacon and the onions. Take the brown sugar out, and it is hard as a rock!! So, into the microwave with this to soften it up a little. Back to the bacon and onions to stir them around a little. Open the cans of beans, dump them into the crock pot. Go to get the brown sugar out of the microwave........OUCH!!! The plastic bag that it was in got so hot that it started to melt, and a piece of it melted onto my thumb!! Oh, it really hurts!!

I'm glad that I hadn't planned on knitting this evening. I don't think I'd be able to with this blister that is running up the entire side of my thumb.

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have some pics of our at work picnic!!

I was supposed to start training someone new today, but the poor girl went to Texas to see her first grandchild, and she is stranded there because of Ike! I'm just thankful that she and her family are fine.

K--that's all for a while!!

Beth

Wondering??

Today, I am wondering about myself. I walked into church today, and someone said to me, "We missed you last night!" My reply was, "I was supposed to be somewhere last night?"

And yes, I was. I was supposed to be at "Dinner and a Movie" being held at church. There was going to be a dinner and then a viewing of "Phantom of the Opera". I love that movie, too!

I have this marked on my calendar for next Saturday. I don't know why. For some reason, I am having trouble remembering where I am supposed to be when. And here, I sat at home all evening when I could have been out doing something. Kind of upsets me when I do things like this, and now I'm wondering what I'm really supposed to be doing next Saturday!

I can tell you exactly why this is happening to me, too. I really don't even need to wonder about this. I have again overextended myself. I'm praying about what I need to let go, have been praying about this for several days now.

I'm involved in a lot of activities that I love and consider each of them to be important. But, I have to listen and let something go. There are just not enough hours in the day to complete everything that I have committed myself to.

When I do this (overextend and over commit myself) I have a tendency to fall back and not do anything! I just get overwhelmed and don't accomplish much at all.

I need to examine where I am in all of this and drop a few things. Right now, I basically feel as though I have no time to "just be". But, what to let go?

As Christians we are called to
balance, not imbalance, even
in the area of our work for God.

Please stop by and visit "The Power of Your Love". This is a new venture that we're embarking upon. If you like would like to be involved as an author, please drop me an e-mail so that I can add you to the list of participants.

I think that you will enjoy this--an opportunity to share your joys, sorrows, concerns, praises, prayer requests. I've added a video today that has a lot of meaning to me.

K--That's all for a while!

Beth

A Time for Sadness

I've received some news over the past two days. First, my children have had two friends who are sisters since my youngest was only three years old. Their mother passed away on Thursday. She used to be my next door neighbor. Sadly, their mother has had relatively little to do with these girls since the youngest of them was 6 years old. She is now 24 and expecting her first baby in December.

Needless to say, these two young ladies have very mixed emotions about their mom's death. Her memorial service is Sunday afternoon, and I'm going in support of them.

Secondly, I (and my Small Group) have been praying about a little boy named Chase. He was born with a heart defect that required a heart transplant. He was flown by Life Lion from Hershey Medical Center to the University of Pittsburgh when he was just days old. His parents are 18 and 19 years old. This little fellow has been through so much--at least 5 different surgical procedure that I know of, within his life span of 5 months.

I heard about Chase from a patient at my work, his great-grandmother. She just approached me shortly after he was born and said that she didn't know if I prayed or not, but if I did and if I knew anyone that did, to please pray for Chase.

Chase went to Heaven yesterday to be in the arms of Jesus. His great-grandma said that it was just time for him to rest.

I can just picture this little one, nestled in the arms of Jesus--Jesus looking down and smiling at him and welcoming him home.

So, please pray for Chase's family, particularly his young parents, to feel God's presence with them and His loving embrace wrapped around them.

Beth

More on Dish Rag Tag!! (WHEW!!)

Today when I came home from work, my Dish Rag Tag box was awaiting me!! YEAH!!!

I opened the box, and this is what I found:

Here's the dish cloth that the person preceding me in the race knitted.

Here's the goodies she packed into this little tiny box!! Two balls of yarn, a bag of M & M's, a magnet that says "We are kindred spirits" and stitch markers!!

So, off I go to knit. My son is trying to talk to me, and I'm telling him, "Shhhhh......I have to concentrate on this and get this finished." I'm knitting, knitting, knitting. And here it is:

My contribution to Dish Rag Tag made from the yarn that I was sent. Then I packed the box up again with yarn that I am sending to the next person. She'll make her dishcloth out of that yarn. Also some goodies for her! And then, on to the next person!

We're almost finished, and I have to say that it's been a lot of fun. I never thought I would like competitive knitting, but it has brought out a side of me that I didn't even know I had!

I'm glad I was sent M & M's--melt in your mouth and not in your hand--very nice to have around while you're knitting--something yummy to pop into your mouth and doesn't mess up the project!

RAG-TAGGERS ROCK!!!!

K--that's all for a while!!

Beth

Beef Stew

Yesterday, I said that I would share my favorite beef stew recipe. Since fall is on the way, winter soon to follow, I'll be making this quite a few times. Believe it or not, I've had this recipe since I was in Home Economics class in 9th grade!!

So, here we go:

Ingredients:

About 2 pounds of stew beef cubes
1 small can of tomato soup
2 tablespoons of instant tapioca
1 slice of white bread, torn into somewhat cube shaped pieces (It really doesn't matter about the size--just tear it up!)
potatoes
carrots
onions
celery

Preheat the oven to 250 (yes, that's right--250). Mix together the tomato soup, 1 and 1/2 cans of water, the tapioca and the bread. Cut up the potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. You don't have to peel the potatoes if you don't want to. Me, I prefer not to peel potatoes!! I use however much of the veggies that I like--if you like more taters, use more taters!! If you like more onions or carrots, you can just use more of them. That's the beauty of this recipe--you can use however much of whatever!!

Place the veggies and the meat in a roaster pan. Pour the tomato soup mixture over the meat and veggies. Mix it all together and cover with a lid.

Place the roaster pan into the preheated 250 oven for 5 (five) hours!! DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN, DO NOT STIR--DO NOT DO ANYTHING!!

After 5 hours, take the roaster pan out of the oven, stir once and dinner is ready!! I usually serve this with my grandmother's baking powder biscuits. I particularly love this on a cool fall evening or for some reason, when it's snowing!!

That's it!! It's easy, quick to prepare and only one pan to clean up. I like to make this on a Saturday around noon and then just forget about it until it's time to eat!!

Just a quick note about my son's foot--he is feeling somewhat better today. This is going to take time to heal. He has been staying off his foot for the most part. Up and around for a little bit not too long ago, and it started to throb again. But the swelling is starting to go down and it's not quite as red.

And, oh--I didn't receive the DRT box today--probably tomorrow--so I'll have some pics to share since I now have the UB cable (I still like camera thingy majingy) and batteries!!

TAGGED!!!

YES!!!! I have been tagged in Dish Rag Tag!! This means I should be receiving the box probably by Thursday. This is my plan--receive the box--knit.....knit......knit.......dishcloth finished!! Off to the handy-dandy mailing machine at the post office and ship the box off again--all in the same evening!! I hope it gets here Thursday and not Friday. I have plans for Friday night, but I tell you this much--I would put my plans on hold for DRT!! This team has just been awesome!!

We're supposed to put a little gift in the box to mail to the next person. I wanted to send something that was only from Pennsylvania. Someone at my work suggested lebanon bologna!! I can just imagine how the yarn would smell by the time it reached the next person.

I'm thinking more along the lines of something from Hershey, but then again I'm afraid the chocolate would melt. Hmmmmm.......any ideas????

As for my son---he did come in to visit the doctor today. My diagnosis was correct---he does have cellulities as well as an abscess on his toe. He has to be on antibiotics for 10 days and use a cream also. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

I called around to a couple of different drugstores for prices for the antibiotic. The highest store was $43.99 and the lowest was $17.99. Now, I wonder about this--why is there such a huge difference for the exact same medication?

Well, I'm off to create a few things. I'm getting ready to add some things to my Etsy shop. There's free shipping for the month of September, and I'm thinking of continuing that on to October just because this is my favorite time of year.

A friend of mine has a list on her blog about why she likes this time of year, and I have to agree with every item on her list. She happened to mention the different foods we eat at this time of year as compared to the summer--stews, soups, etc.

Tomorrow, I'll share the best and easiest beef stew recipe I've ever come across.

Oh, and remember the Prayer Journal. If you want to be a participant of this, please drop me an e-mail. That way, when everything is all ready, you can be added on to the list of participants. I'm still thinking of names--any help with that is appreciated also. This is for all of us, so I'd really like your input as to what you would like to see and not see in this journal.

K--that's all for a while!

Beth

Found It and My Poor Son!

I had Small Group last evening and didn't arrive home until late. Then, my son showed me his foot. He told about his foot, how he thought he injured this two days ago. I looked at it and told him that I thought he had an infection going on. He didn't want to hear this at all!!

By the time I arrived home last nght, his entire foot is red, swollen, hot to touch--definitely an infection going on!! He still didn't believe me (like I don't see these things every day of my life!).

So, I looked up cellulitis to show him that this is indeed what he does have. Poor boy!! He's looking at the pictures, reading what is said about this, and suddenly he sits down.

I glanced over at him--he is white as a sheet, droplets of sweat falling from his face!! He's about ready to pass out!! I quickly shoved his head between his knees and ran to the bathroom to get a cool compress to put on his forehead.

He's okay--didn't actually pass out--but was pretty close. I think he is now convinced that he needs to go to see a doctor today!!

I'll let you know later today how all that turns out.

And, oh--I found my camera thingy majingy, which I was informed is technically called a UB cable!! How was I to know? You will never guess where I found this!! In the clothes hamper of all places. I think a little kitty named Miles was up to his tricks again!!

K--that's all for a while!!

Talk to you later!!

Beth

Am I a Stump?

Today 16 people were baptized during our three church services. I love baptisms--I feel as though I were being baptized all over again.

This day was a special day because a member of my Small Group was baptized. She was so ready for this, so excited. Her excitement is catching!!

Our message today was "What's the Wise Thing to Do?" It was about how sometimes we position ourselves to not be receptive to God's wisdom by admiring the lifestyles of people who are successful, but not satisfied. We all know these people. We see them on television, work with them, meet them during our day to day lives. They are filling their lives with all sorts of "things", and they may be successful financially, but they are still searching because they are not satisfied in their hearts.

Another way to not be receptive to God's wisdom is by spending most of our time with people who take the path of least resistance. Again, we know these people--those who take the easy way out, don't live with integrity.

Pastor Joel utilitized a saying he had read at some time--"Brooks become crooked by taking the path of least resistance. So do people."

And how many times do we do this without even realizing it. And God is saying to us, "No, not that way--come this way."

Another way of not being receptive to God's wisdom is by thinking that there is nothing new for us to learn--that God has nothing new to teach us. I know that there is so much that God has yet to teach me, has not even begun to present me with. I want to keep an open mind and ear for His voice.

So, how do we position ourselves to be receptive to God's wisdom? By assuming the position of a lifelong learner. By surrounding ourselves with God's words, God's people and learning everyday that God has something new to teach us. We need to claim ourselves and walk, stand, sit and kneel in the presence of Jesus at all times.

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.......Proverbs 11:28

I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life being a stump. I'm going to have to ask myself from time to time--"Is this a wise decision? Am I being a stump? Or am I being a flourishing tree?"

Beth

I also wanted to mention (as per Kathy's comment in my last post) that if you are interested in becoming part of the Prayer Journal (no definite name yet), please send me an e-mail regarding this. I'll be working on this bit by bit through the week and hopefully finished by the end of the week.

Once I receive your e-mail, I'll add you to the list of those who will be able to post on the journal.

Prayer Journal

I mentioned briefly yesterday that I was considering doing a Prayer Journal blog. I've been praying about this, asking God if this was something I should or should not do.

His answer was for me to put this question to all of you. Would you like a prayer journal blog--where you could post prayers for yourself, for others, post God's answers to prayer in praise, share with one another?

So, I'm asking everyone who happens to stop by to please leave a comment regarding this. I'm willing to work on this--a new blog within my blog--dedicated to prayer alone.

Questions to answer:

• Is this something you would like to see happen?
• What would you suggest for a proposed title for this--other than "Prayer Journal"?
• How should we set this up--requests, prayer responses, praises in the comments section--or should I really reach out and explore ways to do this in another way?
• Anything else you would like to add I'll be open to considering.

Thanks so much for helping me with this project. I know that this is something that God wants to do in my life and the life of many others--to help increase our prayer life and our communication with Him. But, I also know that He wants all of us involved, not just me.

Beth

I wanted to add that if you feel strongly about this, as I do, feel free to post a link to your own blog. The more people praying to God about their own individual situations, others situations, our troubled times, anything on your mind, the better!!

He is just waiting to hear from us!!

I worked all day with a migraine today, and that was no fun. I practically forced myself through the day, came home and went to bed. I've just now awakend after a 3 hour nap with the headache a little bit better.


I have some ideas floating around in my head about a prayer journal. I saw one one someone else's blog, and I thought it was an excellent idea. My thoughts are to expand this a little so that others could easily participate and prayer could easily be given to others through this blog.

I'll be praying on that this evening, sleeping the migraine off.

We're supposed to get a lot of rain tonight and tomorrow from Hurricaine Hanna, and I have to say that I'm looking forward to it. I love rain!!

Back to bed with me!!

Beth

Thankful Thursday

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven.....a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted...."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

I printed this verse and took it to work today. Then I gave it to three people to think about and write what they are thankful for during this season in their life.

Here are their answers:

#1. "I am thankful for the health of my parents who are in their 80's. Most people my age lost their
parents long ago."

#2 "I am thankful that all of my children have found their lot in life and are happy and healthy."

#3 "I am thankful that at this point in my life I am still at a place where I can choose whatever path
I want to take and be successful wherever I am."

I take "Thankful Thursday" to my work because most of the people there don't realize just what they have to be thankful for. There is a lot of grumbling, complaining, gossiping about others and just not a pleasant atmosphere for the most part.

Amazing, when these 3 people put words onto paper as just one thing that they are thankful for how their attitudes changed towards others.

And here is my list of thankfuls for this week, for this season of my life:

• I am thankful for this time of year, the fall of the year approaching, the splendor the leaves turning into gorgeous colors of reds, yellows, oranges. Who could have imagined this wonder except for God!
• I am thankful for this season for my church. It is a wondrous time--all the Small Groups and entire church coming together as one. The message on Sunday correlates with the Small Group teachings throughout the week. I love this time of year--connecting people with Small Groups who don't belong to one at the moment.
• I am thankful for the rough times of my life because they make me fully appreciate the good times.
• I am thankful that I experienced the love of my sister who passed away almost 5 years ago. She truly brought joy and light into my life when sometimes there was none.
• I am thankful that I have a roof over my head because there were times when I thought I may not.
• I am thankful for God never leaving my side, even though I wasn't even close to looking at Him. He never let me go, and I am most thankful for this.
• I am thankful for this season of my life. I know whatever this season brings, good or bad, God will guide me through and use me for His good and given purpose.

Beth

Bye-bye Goldfinch, Yum-Yum Spaghetti Pie!

First, I have to tell you--not only can I not find the thingy majigger to put my pictures on the computer, but now my batteries have died!!

We have a bird feeder outside my office window, and there is a beautiful goldfinch that comes everyday to feed. I've been trying to take a picture of this little bird for a couple of weeks. Today, he finally came around to the side of the feeder that faces the window. I crept up to the window very slowly because he scares so easily and flies away.

Okay--up to the window, bird in position, camera in position--batteries dead!! No picture of this birdie today!!

Now--on to the spaghetti pie. I made two, and my son ate almost an entire one by himself when he came home from work. I seem to always make to much spaghetti, and this is perfect for using the leftovers. Just make sure to keep the leftover pasta and sauce separate when you put it away.

Here we go:

Mix two beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and 8 oz. of cooked pasta.
Put this into the bottom of a 10 inch pie pan. Cover the pasta with your leftover sauce. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through. Then sprinkle some mozarella cheese on top and bake for 10 more minutes until the cheese is melted.

Let it cool a little, and then it slices up just like a pie! My kids always loved this when they were little, and appparently my son still does!!

I sometimes add a little ricotta cheese on top of the pasta before putting on the sauce or mix in some zucchini or squash with the sauce. You can do almost anything you like with this, and it's always delicious!!

K--that's all for a while!!

Beth

Picnic and New Powerful Suction at My House!!

It seems as though everyone is interested in the picnic I attended yesterday. I did go. I actually had to talk myself into this because I was ready to back out at the last minute.

Then, I decided I needed to get out and be with some people who feel and think the same way I do (fellow Christians!). The "devil"ed (thank you, Kathy--I didn't think of the pun there--not really intended--but a good laugh) eggs were ready. All I had to do was get myself together and get there!!

And so I did!! There were about 20 people there--a wonderful, nice group of people. I do have pictures, but I can't find my camera attach it to the computer thing (whatever the technical name is!), so we'll just have to wait for them.

I did meet a very nice gentleman there who wanted to be sure that I was going to be at the cafe on September 12 (and get this--the name of the cafe is Warm Heart Cafe!) and also the square dance on September 27. So, I guess I'll have a partner to swing after all!!

I've always felt that if God wanted me to have another man in my life, that He would send him to me. Now, I'm not saying that this is this man--but it was nice to have some male attention for a change!

It was a very wonderful time! Very relaxing and a welcoming atmosphere. Now, I can't wait for the cafe in a few weeks--music, coffee, conversation (three of my favorite things!)

When I came home, my son had lovingly gone to the store and purchased a new vacuum cleaner for me. I think he was tired of hearing me grumble about my old one. It clogged every 10 minutes or so while vacuuming, and then I had to take it all apart, put it back together, and start again.

He researched vacuum cleaners (if you knew my son, you wouldn't find this unusual at all!), and came home with a brand new Eureka for me. It's called "The Boss", and I'm so thrilled with this that I even took pictures of it!!

Poor boy--he said that if he had known that a new vacuum would have made me so happy, he would have gotten me one a long time ago!! We worked and worked last evening. I even had him take the vents of the duct-work covers and cleaned them all out!!

So, a very wonderful day all around!! This was just what I needed for a great pick-me-up!

Sorry I can't find my cord to show you the pictures. I have some nice ones of the stream that runs through the park, and of course, playground pictures, too!! As soon as I find the cord (see what comes from cleaning too much--I put this somewhere where I knew I would remember and now I can't find it!) I'll post the pictures of the picnic and my new vacuum.

I've posted all the teams involved in Dish Rag Tag. I'm in the Rag Taggers--way down the bottom--team #23. Right now, it looks like most of the teams are fairly close. This has been more fun than I thought it would be, and I'm glad I joined (are you glad you joined, Kathy?--had to convince her!!)

Now, I'm off to make Spaghetti Pie for my son. He has requested this, and I think he deserves it after treating his mom so very nicely yesterday!! There is usually too much, so I'm going to make two and take one tomorrow to someone I work with.

K--that's all for a while!!

Beth