Pray for Protection - Psalms 91:11

Sept 1 - Pray for  Protection.... Psalms 91:11
"For He will give His Angels Charge over you to guard (protect) you in all your ways".

One of my favorite pictures is the Guardian angel over the children on the bridge.  I had a Catholic friend tell me that  that was a  Catholic Angel.  I don't know about that.  All I know is,  that  picture  hung over the bed that I slept in  at Big Granny house, and it  is  now hanging in my guest bedroom.

 Praying for protection  for our family is a great way to start.   After all, we have been doing this all of their life and even before they were born. Different ages and stages come with different fears, ( I know we should not, but Mom's worry).  The older they get,  the less control we have over their environment. Until, we realize  we have no control and that is a scary thing for  a Mom. So,  we have to depend on the one who is in control and trust Him and pray.

So, Moms and Grandmoms let's pray for our family daily.  Pray for protection.

Moms and Grandmothers- let's pray for our kids and grandkids

Our church has magazines for us to pick up and read.  I picked up the August  "Mature Living "and  "Home  Life" to read this month.  On the same day I found two articles on prayer.  The first was "Praying with Paul" by Kaye Johns.  I looked up the prayers in the Bible that she wrote about and realized that  are perfect prayers to pray for our kids. Then I Looked at the other magazine and found a list of verses to pray every day of the month.

These are what I found :
Paul's prayers Ephesians 1:5-19...Ephesians 3:14-19...Philippians 1:9-11...Colossians1:9-13
for more information you can visit her site learntopray.org or prayerpower@learntopray.org

Then in the Home Life  magazine I  found this list and looked up each verse and copied them in my Journal so that I will be ready to pray these prayers over my kids and grandkids.  I plan to start Saturday,  the first day of September.  Some days  I study, but my  pray life is lacking  and sometimes  I am praying  but have trouble finding time to study. I have trouble  doing both well.  So why not combine the two and pray the word back to God. If the verse does not apply,  find a verse that does and use it.  Add to this list and make it your own.

31 Daily Prayers for your kids

1) Psalms 91:11..............................Protection
2) 2 Timothy 3:15...........................Genuine conversion
3) Jeremiah 29:11...........................A sense of purpose
4) Roman 4:20-21..........................To grow in Faith
5) Romans 12:1..............................Submission to God
6) Roman 6:2, 14............................Power over Sin
7) Colossians 1:10..........................To Please God
8) Romans 13:2..............................Respect for Authority
9) Proverbs 1:5, 8...........................A Teachable Spirit
10) Hebrews 6:1.............................Increasing Spiritual Maturity
11) Proverbs 8:10-11.....................Wisdom
12) 1 Kings 3:9...............................Discerning Truth from Error
13) 2 Corinthians 1:12.....................Integrity
14) 1 Corinthians 6: 18-19..............Moral Purity
15) Joshua 1:9................................Courage
16) 1 Corinthians 15:58...................Perseverance
17) 1 Timothy 4: 7-8.......................Self-discipline
18) 2 Peter 1:5-8............................Usefulness to God
19) Colossians 3:12....................... .A Sensitive Heart
20) Proverbs 17:22 ........................A Cheerful Heart
21) Philippians 2:5-7.......................A Serving Heart
22) Psalms 97:12............................A grateful Heart
23) 1 Timothy 6:6-8...................... .Perspective on Possessions
24) Colossians 3:23.........................Pursuit of Excellence
25) John 17:15................................Protection from the Evil One
26) Hebrews 2:18.......................... To overcome Satan's Temptations
27) Proverbs 1:10,15..................... Avoid negative influences
28) Daniels 2:17-18, .8.................  Godly Friends
29) 2 Corinthians 6: ........................A Godly (future) Spouse
30) Psalms 1:1-3.............................A Consistent Walk
31) Proverbs -2...............................A long Prosperous Life

How do you hold a baby?

Today I talked to my Mom about having trouble holding my grandchildren with the broke left  elbow.  I always hold babies on my left hip so that I can use my right hand to do whatever else I need to do.  Mom told me that she always holds a baby on her right hip because when she is holding a baby that is all that she wants to do.  That's my Mom.

No Pain

I woke up this morning and my arm did not hurt.  I stayed very still to savor the moment.  It was great..... and then I moved and it hurt.  But it gave me hope that I am going to beat this  thing.  I have to move to get better and increase my flexibility....so that  I get  back  to playing tennis and moving boxes and holding  babies on my left hip.  That is my goal.

It feels good to feel good

After being so sick last week, it really does feel good to feel so much better.  Maybe that is why we get sick,  so that we can appreciate  life when we get better.  Of course the elbow is still broke and I have to go to get another x-ray in the morning.  Which means I am going to have to miss another Monday morning bible study.  Sorry Lita, I knew that I would have to miss some classes later for traveling,  but I was hoping I could make a few classes.

We are still waiting to hear from the Red Cross.  When we  went to the meeting  Saturday, projection was for a direct hit of Tallahassee and flooding  in Thomasville.  We were told to be ready.  This morning we woke up to the storm heading west.  We need to pray   for all of the areas that will be effected.  This is a big one,  moving slow with a lot of potential for damage and flooding.  

Tuff week

Saturday I broke my elbow.  Monday I started throwing up at the orthopedic doctor's office..  The rest of the week I felt so bad that the least of my worries was a broke elbow.  I lost seven pounds in 4 days.  Not the kind of weight you want to loose, (all fluid). I became afraid to eat because I got sick after eating or drinking anything. Which is really something considering how much I love food.

 At first I  blamed pain , then the drugs, or maybe a virus.  Finally Mark talked me into going to check it out.  Turns out the I have a bacteria infection. My body was doing all it could do get rid of it and making me miserable in the process. I am not contagious,  but I  have added an antibiotic to my list of drugs.  I have caught up with and even passed Mark on drugs.  He has been great. Although , he did cut his finger cooking .  I had to help him stop the bleeding.  I told him that we have  to take turns getting hurt or the kids are going to commit us.

I kept thinking of the verse in James that says," Count it all joy when you go through  various trials,.... That  it produces endurance".  I must say,  this week has given me more appreciation for nurses and Mark. I also have a  new empathy for people who have chronic pain or illnesses.  This has only been one week in my life.  

why I love nurses

Okay,  freak accident at  family reunion around noon,  right before we  ate.  I tried to hang in there and eat and feed Olivia with ice on my arm..  Finally, realize I had to get help.  We left the kids with family.

Mark and I drove to nearest hospital.  We waited  in the Waiting room for four  hours to see Doctor who came in for four minutes.  His first question was, " who hurt  you".  I tried to tell him it was an accident,  but all he did  was squeeze my arm in three places, tell me it was bruised and sent  me home with Motrin. He told me that if it was not better in three days,  to come back.

When he left the room, I lost it.  I told Mark that we had just wasted five hours.  I am not a wimp,  I just  knew something was wrong.  I saw the nurse that had told me earlier that she was sooo sorry about the wait.   I told her that I needed help and  had not received any.  After listening  to me, she went to  get her supervisor.  He came in with the male nurse, who was bringing me my Motrin . I told them that I  was sorry to be causing problems, but I  needed help.  They assured me that I was not the problem and asked if he had ordered my x-ray yet.  When I told them  that the Doctor  said that I did not need x-rays,  they were floored.  He started to say well, he has more educat...... wait,  I'll be right back.  He came back and told me that they were going to take care of me and that the doctor would come back and explain.  Mark told him that we really did not care to see him again.

The nurses took good care of me. .  They brought me a drink an blanket and kept asking me if I needed anything.  I told the young nurse that she had kind eyes and that is why I asked her for help. When the new doctor came in, I could tell by the way he said that my elbow was broke,  that he knew what the  first doc had done. He sent in another male nurse who put a splint and sling.  He gave me orders to see an Orthodedic doctor Monday. I thanked the x-ray nurse, even  though she hurt me.  I realized it was important to get it  right.

We went by CVS and got drugs and finally got to Mom's house about 10:30.  The best part of the weekend was the kids getting  to spend time at Big Granny's with cousins.

4:00 A.M. Rambling from the "good girl"

I woke up this morning with this thought.  I hope that my sharing my journey and struggle to memorize the book of James does  not come across as bragging.  I know that I am not very smart.  I was a solid "b" student.  I was not that bright. I just studied hard.  After all,  back then you could not be a cheer leader without being on the honor roll.  The ability to study really helped in college and I even  made all A"s one semester.

  I stink at trivia pursuit.  I get words mixed up and I am not an English Major.  I can not figure out this computer thing and constantly mess up face book blogs.  I get confused between face book and e-mail, and texting.  The only reason I can  blog,  is my daughter set it  up so easy that all I have to do is push My blog and post publish.  I am still afraid of this computer and it still drives me crazy.  I can not figure our why the word facebook keeps showing up in my dialogue. Even spell check can not figure out what word I am trying to spell.

  I am doing this blog because  I feel like it pleases God.  I write what He wants me to write. It started out as a way for me to "take" family and friends on our travels.  We  love telling stories about our trips and this was just a way to do that. Our business is called Travel  Treasures.  The treasure is the travel with the man I love.

  But this memorizing scripture is another journey that I am on and I want to bring you along with me on this journey.  God have given me a passion for His word.  It  started with me being the "good girl" who read my Bible daily,  because I knew that was what you were suppose to do.  I did more skimming than reading and would be half way through the chapter and realize that my mind had wandered  during most of it.  Then I discovered Ladies Bible study and realized that I loved it for the fellowship and the incentive to study.  After all. the"good girl" always does her home work. Then God gave me Bible Drill where I learned much more than any of my kids.  I was not a great teacher, but I was their #1 cheerleader and I loved them.

Now that Mark I travel.  I am given the rare opportunity of having a lot of time in the passenger seat.  Mark drives and listens to the radio and I study mile after mile.  I am sure that Mark enjoys me being quieter than ever.  So, there have it.  Four A.M. rambling from  the " good girl "  who  is now an older girl and  a student forever  with so much to learn.  Please remember, if I can do it,  so can you .  After all, if you are a child of God, you have the greatest teacher in the world living inside you.    

connecting the chapters

This the a first for me.  Trying to memorize the whole book of James.  The challenge for me seems to be getting the verses in the right order and into the correct chapters.  I noticed that chapter  two starts off nicely where chapter  one leaves off. 

 1:27b  to visit the widows and orphans in their affliction and to keep your self unstained from the world.............2:1.Do not combine our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality (prejudice).

Chapter two talks about  showing your faith through you works (good deeds) ending with faith without works is dead.  Then chapter three is all about controlling the tongue which is a fire, an unruly evil,  full of deadly poison. It also compares wisdom from above to earthly wisdom.

 The last verse of chapter 3 is verse 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  Wow, look at the contrast in  Chapter 4:1  What causes war and fighting among you?  Look at the rest of the chapter where this and much more  is discussed. 

 Chapter  four ends with verse 17 " Whoever know what is right to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin." I really struggle with the first six chapters of chapter five.  James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the  miseries  that are coming  upon you.  But then you get to 11b and read.".that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." Then  you go to the last  two verses James 5:19 and 20....My brethren, if any among you stray from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The transition from chapter to chapter is beautiful  and builds on the chapter that comes before.  You can not take one verse and receive the message.  You need to put them all together to glean what you need from what you read.  Then you need to apply it to your life and with the help of the Holy Spirit you can know the Will of God for your life.  Boy, I have a long way to go.  I hope that I live long enough to get my act together. 

How can I make a difference?

Next Tuesday, our little friendship bible study group will begin another study.  This is a short 4 or 5 week study. We meet at First baptist Church Tuesday morning at 9:00 A.M.  Join us if you can.  We will be doing a Max Lucado study with a guide book and tapes..... I think I mean C.D.s. The name of the study is "Out Live Your Life." Discover how you can make a difference.

 I dropped Olivia off at Pre school this morning.  Alle and I hung out at the church while her Mom was at the dentist.  The nursery was being remodeled so,  we visited the pray room.  Alle played on the nice new carpet while I practiced saying James chapters 1-3, out loud,  over and over. She seem to like hearing me talk while I gave her a bottle.  While at the church , I picked up a book so  I could go over this new study.  I turn to the first page and this is what I read......

"For the Christian, none is higher than this: when we love those in need, we are loving Jesus.  It is a mystery beyond science, a truth beyond statistics.  But it is a message that Jesus made crystal clear: when we love them, we love him."----------------------Max Lucado

The funny thing is, this reminds me of several of the verses found in the book of James.  Not sure if  I'm ever  going "get over" the book of James.

Oops, I left out two verses

This morning I studied chapter four of James.  I finally felt ready to close the book and write it all  down  from memory.  I thought I did pretty well, until I looked back at the chapter.  I  left out two verses.

James 4:9 and 10

Be miserable and mourn and weep, let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into gloom.  Humble your self before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Maybe,  I left them out because I do not like to think about negative things.  I tend to want to read and memorize  positive verses.  Maybe it is just human nature to pick and choose what we read and learn.   But here we have  have the results of sin and the solution .

great weekend

We came back from our 5000 mile, 13 state trip and decided to have a yard sale.  We had stopped by  the world's longest yard sale in Kentucky  and sold enough to pay for the trip. We put an ad in the paper and set up tables in our front yard and planned a little sale.  Carrie put  a note about the sale on  face book.  All of a sudden our  little yard sale turned into a big sale.  We had people coming early and calling and texting and asking questions on face book.  I even started putting pictures of the merchandise on face book.  We covered and uncovered the tables several times dodging the rain and sold a lot of stuff on Friday.  We covered up the stuff  went up town and picked up more items at the storage room. Then we had a date. We ate supper at Applebee's  where Drew is now working and went to the art center to see a play... Forever Plaid. We sat with Phillip's parents, Carrie and the kids.  Phillip and the other guys did a  great job..

 Saturday morning started off raining and stayed clouded all day which was nice.  Pat and Art (aka)  Oma and Opa  brought Becca and Riley  to spend the afternoon with us. They are a lot of trouble.  We put a pizza in the oven and kept working.  Things slowed down so, we moved tables around and set up an area the size of our next show and packed boxes and tables accordingly.  We are now ready for the Flatlander show in Lakeland and Flea across Florida in Madison.  Then Clint and Anna brought out Chinese food and the two little ones to spend the night so that they could go to the play.  Both of them are good babies.  I got Alle ready for bed and gave her a bottle while Mark worked on getting the glass off of the tables.  After Olivia's bath, we realized that Mark was working in the rain so, we took off Olivia gown and put on  a shirt and let her go outside to be with Granddaddy.  It was not raining hard and her hair was already wet.  I watched as she and Granddaddy played hide and seek around the tables in the rain.   We put her gown back on and she  ate a snack and went to bed. Alle did very well for her first spend the night with Granny.  She was up at 1:00 and 5:00 and went right back to sleep both times. We enjoyed getting to see all of our kids and Grandkids this weekend, except for Sara. Hope to see her soon.  It is not every week we can spend time with family and still make money.

 Sunday we went to early service and Sunday School and then to  grocery store.  After lunch, Mark took a nap and I watched movies on T.V.  We very seldom have a veg out day, but I think we were more exhausted than we realized.

wisdom from youth

I bought " Chicken Soup for the  for the preteen Sold" for Becca.  She will be a teenager on her next birthday...Yikes. Being a  Granny to a teen age girl is hard to imagine. I read a few quotes from the book.

My favorites:

"Sometimes it's nice to be important, but it's always important to be nice."  Kaleigh Cronin, 10

"Some teachers are there to teach and that's all, but others are there to watch and help you grow"                       Janne Perona 13

"Don't  be afraid to make new friend and expand your relationships with other friends." Nikki Chance 15

"Never let a stain from the past make a mark on your future." Jillian Graham 12

"If you give your enemy a second chance,  they might turn out to be your best friend."  Many Tallant 12

"Never underestimate the power of love and friendship."  Melissa Quincosa 13

"No matter how much I learn, there is always stuff I don't know." Chelsey rice 8

"It takes years to build up trust and seconds to destroy it." Dijana Atikovic 12
_________________________________________________________________________________

If I could change the world for the better, I would..........

"Ask everyone in school to say one nice thing to another person every day.  Have every family tell each other they love one another."              William Baun 12

"Have people talk to each other and listen more and make sure that everybody would have enough play time."
Neil Gogno 9

"Want everyone to have at least one best friend that they could count on." Andrea Hawsey

"Pay teachers more, because teachers are the foundation of all learning.  Without teachers, the world would just be a useless space full of useless people." Angela Rotchstein 14

"Makes sure that everybody int the world is able to read.  Reading is the world's greatest  gift for the mind and imagination"     Jessica Behles 14

Don't you just love kids.  We can learn  from them,  if we listen.  Let's pray for a wonderful and safe  school year for all of our  kids.

Forever Plaid

If you are within 100 miles of Moultrie Ga, you need to be at the Colquitt Co Art Center Saturday  night or Sunday afternoon.  We just got back from one of the best plays I have ever seen.  You just do not expect to find that kind of quality in a small town theater.  Four men, with a back up band carried a 2 hour show that made you laugh and sing  and want to dance and remember.  Songs from our past were song in perfect harmony.  Pat, (Phillip's mom) and I were singing along.  I did not want it to end, except that I knew the actors had to be exhausted.  I am so proud of all them.  If you do not see this play, you are missing out on a wonderful experience.

we're not even home when we're home

This morning  I had a doctor's appointment at 9:00 a.m. in Tifton. So, we plan to leave the house around 8:00 because I like to be fifteen minutes early.  The problem was we had a storm last night and all of our clocks had a different time when we woke up.  I woke up and the kitchen clock said 5:00 a.m.,  so I sat on the couch and studied.  Mark got up saying that the bedroom clock said 4:20,  but he knew better because  it was light out side. We thought that the kitchen clock was correct so,  we went for a short walk before my shower.  The news talked about floods in Tifton so,  I grabbed extra clothes in case the red cross called us to help in Tifton.  We got ready and got in the car and the car clock said 8:50.  What how can that be, my appointed is 45 minutes away and I am never late.  We made a call and got there as quick as I could.  We decided that Mark would go to the Tifton store while I went to Doctors to save time.

We left Tifton and headed to Madison Florida to have lunch with Mom and Jimmy and some of his grandchildren.  I helped Mom finish lunch and fix 5 little plates for little ones.  We visited while the smallest  ones  ( 1 and 2)  took naps  and the older ones (3,5, and 6) watched T.V.  Then Mark and I scouted all around Madison looking for just the right spot to set up for the Flea across Florida yard sale.  We took notes and finally found  two great spots and stopped by Farm Bureau to help us.  Going back to your home town sometimes causes memory problems,  One of the agents ask me if I knew who he was.  I had  to admit that I did not recognize the "young" man that dated my sister 40 years ago.

After making a few more contacts, we decided to go by Monticello on the way home.  We stopped by our booth there and was able to gracefully take every thing out and close that booth. We need  to get rid of booths in Antique malls, because we like the traveling and selling  so much better.  Mark told our Tifton  store this morning that we would be out by the end of the month. Our business has officially changed and we feel good about it.

Finally made it home and realized just how off our Kitchen clock was and changed the time from 4:50 to 5:40.  I was getting  stuff out of fridge for salads,  while Mark was  working  on the computer.  Our mouse was messing up, so Mark,  who never likes to put things off,  asked me if I was ready to go up town and buy a mouse.  So, off we go again.

 While up town we decided to go to the storage units to find more tables for our yard sale this weekend.  But, we soon realize that Drew has the keys in the Tahoe, so we go by and see him at work and grab the keys. When we got to Jimmy Allen's warehouses,  it look like a party was going on  with a lot of storage units open selling stuff.  We knew a lot of the people so,  we visited, bought  stuff, and  talked to Jimmy before  getting  tables out of units.  We did remember to go by Walmart,  but they did not have the kind of mouse we needed.  We finally got home around 8:15, ate a late supper and got on the computer and for some reason the mouse started back working.  We put 230 miles on the vehicle on one of our stay home days.

yard sale

Okay, it's official, we have decided to have another yard sale this weekend.  It will be Friday and Saturday, August 10th and 11th from 8:00 until 2:00.  We  had too much fun on our last trip and found lot's of cool items.  This time we traveled over 5000 miles into 13 states and stayed in 19 hotels. We shopped in stores, at auctions , flea markets,  yard sales, rummage sales, estate sales;  in a warehouse, a greenhouse,  and   barns.  My favorite was a Nebraska barn with an old gentlemen  who explain to me what these items were and how they were used back in the day. Come and shop with us and see how much I learned about "barn stuff".

Home again, Home again

First day back home and it was wonderful coming home to a nicely cut yard, Thanks to my favorite son-in-law.  We will be getting all of our "junk", I mean,  mail tomorrow. The answering machine had 13 messages, 9 political, 2 wrong numbers, and 2 from antique auctions inviting us to come spend money. Talk to or text all kids and Mom, making plans to visit.  Mark spent the morning going over numbers and said, that we sold enough to pay for gas, lodging, food and almost all of the merchandise for this trip. So, I think we will have a yard sale this week at the house.  Then, I am sure that Mark will plan us another trip. Love traveling, love coming home.  We have the best of both worlds.

Hotel breakfast club

Hotel breakfast  nooks are a rather strange social event. Complete strangers sit around eating unhealthy breakfast while talking to each other like long lost cousins. The breakfast consist of donuts, biscuit with gravy and sugary cereals.  The talk is just as sweet.  

We listen to 3 older  couples (yes kids, we can still find couples older than us) from different states talking about their hwy 127 adventure. After discussing the different treasurers that they  found , they talked about what was in and what was out.  Shabby furniture  and barn stuff are in, while beanie babies and Avon bottles  are out.  Hull  may be going out.  Of course,  the talk changed to children and grandchildren. They said that  their children use to have to check with them and now, they have to check in with their kids.  They all agreed that most of the kids thought that all of  their treasures were ugly and would not give 25 cent for all the had. One said that she had given instructions to her daughter on which antique dealer she  trusted to auction off all of the stuff after death.  That started a debate on the merits of tag sales verses auctions.

While I was listening, I thought about what I am learning in the book of James.  Maybe I should learn to  listen more and talk less.

Going Home

We sort of got rained out  today.  We closed the booth down three times this morning and got soaked. This afternoon we completed closed down and loaded up  early. Then,  we went back to the hotel for a swim and ate am early supper.  We sold enough stuff this weekend to pay for our trip and are bringing home a lot of good merchandise. There are tornado warnings out. We are taking it easy tonight, watching Olympics and trying to stay awake past 8:00 central time.

We started this trip on Friday the thirteenth. We drooped off the  trailer with tents, tables and low end merchandise  in Kentucky  and  drove 4000 miles, went to 13 states and stayed in eighteen  hotels. We shopped in antique stores, mom and pop stores, barns, warehouses,  yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores, basements, rummage sales, auctions, and  a green house.

Then we came back to Kentucky to set up and pay for this trip. My favorite sell was yesterday.  We  had a five piece china set that we bought a long time ago for five dollars. It  was worth  a lot more.  A young woman  and her Mom  a bought a few small items and were leaving when the saw the dishes.  I could tell she was excited when she asked me how much it cost.  I glanced  at the tag and told her seven dollars, even though it was more.  She said that she received  7 sets  of this pattern when she got  married.  She only needed these  5 pieces  to complete her set. She  had been looking for years because her pattern had been discontinued.  I told her that I brought it from Georgia just for her.  

End of a great long trip.  We met a lot of people, saw a lot of  beautiful places, did a lot of hiking and swimming, worked hard and played hard.  Before we get home, Mark is already talking about the next trip. Missed the kids and the grands and are ready to see them     ,

I love children

I have seven blocks on my wrapping table that spell out the word welcome.  I can always tell when a small child has walked by the table.  My welcome signs has turned into a block tower.  I guess it is impossible for a child to see blocks and not build something.

I have necklaces on the wrapping table  for children.  It is hard for me to find little goodies for boys unless the are very young.  So, I was excited that this batch had some football necklaces in them.  My plans do not always work like I think.   Kids know what they like.  One little boys ran up to the goody box and grabbed a gold beaded necklace and yelled "neat,  gold disco balls".  One cute 9 year girl grabbed the football necklace and said she wanted to wear it for her brother's football games.  Oh well, I try, as long as the kids are happy, I'm happy.

A brother, sister duo came by and Mom was really shopping hard for a long time. The little boy picked up a stick sat on a box and made a drum set out of two empty  boxes and one bucket.  His sister asked if she got a stick, could she play and he responded, "no,  this is too hard for you."

A proud granddaddy  came by with a very small child that looked older that his size indicated.  I asked how old he was and was told he was 10 months old and was born at one lb and 3 oz.  He  was not suppose to live, but God had other plans.  When he reached for me,  I asked if I could hold him.  I had to stop myself  from kissing his face over and over.  He was very strong  and I struggled as he grabbed my hat and glasses. All babies are a miracle from God, but sometimes we need a reminder of how precious life is.

I did have one little brat come by, whose mama did not seem to notice that he was dangerous close to breaking several of my good glass pieces by knocking over a table.  I grabbed a box of fishing bobbles and dumped them out and told  him to come pick his favorite one.  Of course , he grabbed three,  but it was worth it to save my glass.  His grandma bought him a small silver spoon that he preceded to use to "gently"  tap every piece of glass as he walked my tables.  I can not remember if they bought anything, but I was glad to see them go.  My Mother-in-law told me when I was dating Mark that she loved kids, but hated brats.  That is one reason that I  tried so hard to raise well-mannered kids.  God makes mischievous  kids who loved to explore and discover, but it takes a parent to make a brat.

pay it foward

We are working this week trying to sell enough stuff to pay for our trip.  We always try to be good neighbors. This week we met a lady from Kentucky name Diane.  She came over and bought a lot of stuff from us and told us that she had lunch in her crock pot.  We have never had a 15 bean soup/sandwich.  I watched her make ours.  First, a slice of bread then the beans soup, then another slice of bread and then covered with more beans soup. It was very good, but I could only eat half of mine. 

For years we have fed others when we travel.  It was kind of nice being on the receiving end of this pay it forward business.