Christmas in the Hometown

I went back to my hometown for a Christmas visit last week, but I'm just now posting about it.

It was a good visit; I saw friends and family (sorry, didn't get pictures of everyone I got to see) and visited places in town that are new to me (since I haven't lived there in over 2 years). My oldest son flew in from Atlanta, so we got to hang out for a couple of days.

Interesting perspective: My children visited me lots of times in the many years I lived in Van Buren; I would take them to see new things and they would comment on how much their hometown was changing. Well...this time, my son and I were BOTH seeing our hometown as visitors who hadn't lived there in a while. We were amazed and delighted by visiting some things that hadn't changed, such as Paul's Bakery, Pizza Parlour, and Braums. Thank God those places are there! Neither of us have anything as good or nostalgic in our current homes. (Ok, it's not all about food, but we still have to partake of their goodness when we visit! IYKYK!)

We were also amazed and excited to see things that are different, like Arts on Main, which is delightful, and the beautiful downtown area that is vibrant with glorious color and is so alive with the community gathering there.

Also, finally a Chick-fil-A is coming! About time! Although, the traffic is already terrible in that area. I hope someone can engineer a solution to the traffic problem.

We drove through the City Park one night to see the lights there. It's so fun to see what they have done there; they have added some since last year I believe. We forgot to take pictures of them, though.

We also visited Creekmore Park in Fort Smith. Some of the pictures are from there. The line was extremely long, so we didn't ride the train. We just walked around the walking path.

Saturday night, after Jeremy had to go catch a plane, I watched the Christmas Parade. I thought I was videoing the very awesome VBHS marching band but found that I wasn’t! I hadn't pushed the record button apparently. I almost cried about that. They were magnificent.

So there aren’t many pictures of the parade because I was heartbroken I hadn’t captured the band’s performance.

I also walked around and took some pictures of the area close to the depot where the skating rink and tree are (can’t remember what it’s called). I hadn’t taken pictures of it lit up when Jeremy and I had seen it earlier that evening.

It was a great trip, and I'm pleased that my hometown is doing so well. I miss living there, and I miss lots of people there, but I'm so glad to be living where I am now, 10 minutes from my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. I'm also gaining new friends and have a new church family here. I'm so blessed.

I hope you all have some wonderful experiences this Christmas season, and that you remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! ❤️🎄❤️🎄❤️

Letting Go and Letting God

Guess I'll catch you up on recent events. The last time I posted I was all

excited to see my hometown high school band at a competition 2 hours away. Well, I guess by it's evident that I didn't get to see them this year. If I had, I would have posted about it. It just wasn't to be.  

I haven't seen them perform in person for the last 3 years. It's disappointing; as a lifelong band mom I love marching band, but especially the one all my kids were in. I'm hoping to make better plans next year and either go back to my hometown for a ballgame or get to one of the competitions that are not too far away.

It seems I'm in a season of letting go of some things. As much as I love watching marching bands, I have finally realized that the season for that part of my life has passed. I will still get to see bands perform, but not with the regularity I did for all those years I lived practically in the shadow of the football stadium.

Honestly, being so far away from where I grew up, raised my family, and worked for my whole life until 2 years ago has been so much harder than I had anticipated. I had NEVER lived anywhere else; not even for college. I went to college as a non-traditional, older student with a full-time job. 

I'm adjusting, but wow. It has not been easy for this senior citizen. I have a new appreciation and respect for those of you who have relocated one or more times. 

I'm also in a season of embracing the new. As I have allowed Him to, God has been showing me things and people to add to my life. I guess I'm stubborn, because I didn't "get it" the whole first year I was in this new town. He's been showing me that while I have had to let go of some things of the past, He is opening my eyes to what I have around me.

I have family, and that is amazing! They are the reason I moved here. I also have friends and events right here.

For instance, Last Sunday afternoon I went to the Winter Concert of the local symphony, which was held on the auditorium of the university here. It was amazing! I love classical music, and it is so much better in person. The whole concert was wonderful, but there were two pieces that stood out. 

First, they performed one of my favorite Christmas songs, Sleigh Ride (the arrangement by Leroy Anderson, complete with the "jazzy part." Has to have that for me). Second, they performed the Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah, by Handel, complete with a choir. Even though I always listen to this every Christmas, I hadn't heard it in person in a number of years. It was so moving; it brought tears to my eyes.

This is one of the new things I have available to me that I have come to accept and embrace as part of my new life here. Basically, I had to "let go and let God" show me some of the blessings He has for me here, where He prompted me to move.

So I have family, I have a church family that I am getting to know and love, and now I have the music I love so much. God is so good. 

Thanksgiving Day was a good time with family for me. We had a lot of good food, some great fellowship, and fun. We had times of laughter, some good belly laughs. After stuffing ourselves, we all went for a walk. It was a beautiful day in my neck of the woods; upper 50s and not a cloud in the sky at the time of our walk. After our walk we had dessert, and after that we played Pictionary. Family time is the best.

I totally meant to be started on decorating for Christmas by now, but I've been busy. I plan to start this weekend. I'll post pictures of my Christmas decor in an upcoming post.

Be blessed, my friends. I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. I pray that if you are having to let go of some things you hold dear, as I have, that God will show you something good He is bringing to you, waiting for you to embrace.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every season under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Can We Talk About Band?

Something I didn't think about missing when I moved halfway across the state after retirement was how much I would miss the things in my hometown, in addition to the friends I have there.

Don't get me wrong; I love being in the same town with my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. It's amazing to have family so nearby. I've settled in here quite nicely, and I am well into my third school year retired (I guess spending 26 years as a school employee has caused me to think of time in school years. Occupational hazard, LOL). 

I manage pretty well most of the time. I'm in a routine of picking up my grandkids from school when needed, I have lunch or coffee with a friend every couple of weeks or so, and I attend church on Sunday and Wednesday, as well as Bible study on Thursday mornings at my church. 

Mostly, life is good.

Then I'll be scrolling Facebook and see posts from someone in my awesome hometown and get a wave of nostalgia.

Old Timers Day, or whatever they call it now, was either very recently or is coming up soon.

Someone posted a video of last week's events at the school where I worked and it got me right in the feels.

And then...last Thursday night I came home from Walmart, and as I was unloading my groceries, I heard the sweet sounds of a band playing a few blocks away at the football stadium. I didn't realize I would be able to hear it from here, but maybe because of the mountains and valleys the sound carried. Anyway, a Thursday night junior high football game was going on close enough for me to hear the announcer and the band.

And just like that, I was instantly homesick for my hometown and my little house, which was in close proximity to the football stadium where I heard the band playing countless times.

I got online and was temporarily overjoyed to see that my hometown team was coming here to play the local high school football team this coming Friday night.

But, after doing some research I came to the conclusion that the band would not be making the trip all the way to here. I was crushed. I'm not a sports enthusiast in the slightest. (Sorry if you are. I'm just not. It's a long story, for another time). I only go to the football game to see the halftime show. Usually, I go home after halftime.

So, will I go to the football game this Friday night anyway? Maybe. It might be nice to see some familiar faces on the visitors' side. If I go, I will probably walk around to the home side to watch the local band, like I used to do in the old days when I chaperoned with other band parents and the band almost ALWAYS went to the away games. 

Ah, the nineties. Life was just different, wasn't it?

I've heard that my hometown high school band is going to be playing in a marching contest on Saturday. It's a 2 1/2-hour drive from here, almost as far as going back to my hometown, except in the opposite direction. I might go though, if I can verify for sure that they are going to be there and find out exactly where the high school stadium is.

If I do, there will be another post this time next week, complete with pictures. I do love a marching band contest. 

Until then, blessings my friends! I posted a few pics from the 90s band experience. <3

#foreverabandmom

Just the Perfect Time

I almost forgot to post this! I went to Walmart around 7:30 tonight, kinda bummed that I had waited so late to go. I live at the west side of town, kind of at the bottom of a mountain and Walmart is at a higher elevation on the eastern end, so it’s uphill almost the whole 2-3 miles there.

I headed toward Walmart, resigned that I would just get this trip over with. Suddenly, as I started up the hill in the direction of Walmart, the moon appeared on the horizon, orange in color like it is as it first rises and appearing so much larger than I’m used to seeing it. I’m not accustomed to seeing it that low on the horizon at my house; I don’t see it until it’s really high in the sky, because the trees and mountainside block it. It was gorgeous; it took my breath away! I couldn’t get a picture because I was driving, but as soon as I parked at Walmart I took this picture.

Of course the picture does not capture just how magnificent the moon appeared as it continued to rise in the eastern sky. I just marveled at its beauty for a minute before I went inside the store to make my purchases.

I believe that sometimes when we’re weary and don’t really want to make the trip to the other end of town that God allows us to delay until He can let us have a glimpse of one of His beautiful creations.

We think we’re going late when really it was just the perfect time.

It made my day.

Blessings to you, my friends.

Just When You Least Expect It

Well, after 3 1/2 years, it finally happened...I got Covid. I took every precaution, at least until very recently. I had the first two Covid vaccines and 2 boosters. I am up to date on all that, and yet here we are. 

So, in spite of a positive test this week, I'm doing much, much better and am almost back to normal. 

I don't have any idea where I was exposed. Friday and Saturday, I had been to Walmart, and to a local restaurant. I really don't get out much. I'll probably never know where I was exposed to the virus.

The weekend was normal for the most part, but Sunday night I started to get a sore throat and slight headache. I checked my temperature and by bedtime it was about 98.7, which is close to normal for most people. I went to bed thinking it would be ok in the morning. Allergies, right?

Monday morning my throat was still sore and my temp was 99.2. Still not a high fever, but definitely not normal, either. So after I got dressed I reluctantly went to Walmart (being careful to wear a mask into the store) in search of Covid tests.

There were none. The pharmacist said they had put out a new shipment on the shelf that morning and they were all gone within an hour.

There's really no other option for tests in this town; there's only one Walmart. There is a Walgreen's, and other pharmacies of course, but I had heard that cases were up in the area so I figured they were probably out as well. So I headed for the walk-in clinic. I felt it was the best option; after all, I had a sore throat and slight headache. I didn't really feel that well. Plus, if I was contagious, I didn't need to be going all over town.

After a short wait, I was called back and tested for strep and Covid. And the winner was: COVID.

I was truly shocked. I had really thought I would "out-run" this virus. I still carry hand sanitizer in my car and use it after every visit to a store. I usually try to shop in off peak hours to avoid crowds. I had all the vaccines. Still, it finally caught up with me. I tried my best to stay out of its way, but it caught me anyway. 

I lamented to the doctor who broke the news to me, (who very wisely stayed all the way over by the door and wore her mask) that I had really thought I'd never get it, but I had let my guard down some recently by not wearing a mask anymore, even after I had heard that cases were up in the area. She consoled me by telling me that eventually everyone would probably get it, and that most people lately were having mild cases.

She told me to go home and quarantine until September 3. On that day and the following 5 days, I could be around people by wearing a mask.

Of course I did some research. This latest variant is more contagious and the incubation period is shorter--about 3.5 days according to latest data. But the consolation is that it's milder and lasts only about 5 days. 

So, I tested positive on Monday and it's now Thursday, day four. I am so thankful to have had a mild case. In earlier days of the virus, I lost friends to Covid. I knew it could be brutal.

By the grace of God, I have gone through the various stages pretty quickly.

Monday--sore throat and low-grade fever.

Tuesday--no more sore throat but a raging headache and temperature of 101.5 (my worst day). 

Wednesday--My headache was gone and temp was down to the low 99s, with a hacking dry cough. I lost taste and smell, mostly; I could smell some things and not others.

Today, Thursday--no fever since last night and the dry cough is gone, too. I have a productive cough that is diminishing as the day progresses. I still have diminished taste and smell. I'm hopeful that those will come back.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have prayed for me. I have felt your prayers. God has been right beside me every minute, as He always is.

To my friends back home in the Van Buren area: Sorry I didn't let you know. It kind of blindsided me to be honest. I am almost myself again and as Buddy said on Night Court (iykyk), "I'm feeling much better now!" 

GOD is GOOD. All the time. He sustains me; He is healing me as I type this.

Please take precautions, friends. Covid is still out there, and apparently cases are on the rise with the new variant. 

I leave you with this: Three days out of 4 this week my little daily calendar that has an encouragement or scripture has said things pertaining to our lives being exactly as long as God means them to be. I don't think it's a coincidence. He knows I have lost friends to this virus and was a little scared of it. 

"All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old." Psalm 139:16 NCV

Blessings and love, my friends! <3

Late Summer Post from the Patio

I haven't been sitting on my patio for a while now. As you may recall if you've read my blog posts often, my east-facing backyard patio is too bright and usually too hot by the time I'm up and have taken my meds and made my coffee. 

Most days, I'm up by 8:00 or so (retirement perk!), but since the sun gets up much earlier than that, I end up taking my coffee to my recliner, which is in front of my west-facing living room window. This is a nice place to have my coffee and quiet time. My bird feeder is outside this window, so it's "somewhat" like being outside. 

Nothing really replaces the cool morning breeze and the sounds of nature waking up, though. For that, I have to actually go outside.

This morning, I woke up about 7:30, and managed to get myself up out of bed within a few minutes. I took my medications and fixed my coffee, then outside I went! By the time I opened the backdoor, about 8:10, the sun had topped the trees, at least from my perspective on the back porch. Seven steps down to the patio, however, and the sun was still behind the trees a bit. 

I sat down, after I reopened the patio umbrella. We've been having lots of thunderstorms with high winds in the past few weeks, so I have just left the umbrella closed to protect it.

I was only able to sit out there for 15 minutes or so, because even though it was still a cool 65 degrees out, the sun was blaring down on my patio too much for me.

One thing I got from this morning that I felt was worth sharing was that of perspective. If I had judged whether or not I could have my coffee and prayer time on the patio based on the conditions on the porch, I would have turned around and gone back inside. But five feet can make a difference. Once I was on the lower ground of the patio, it was still shady from the trees behind my house. 

It may seem silly, but I was so glad to have a short time on the patio. It was like a preview of the cooler weather that is to come. I am looking forward to the cool mornings that come with later sunrises. Fall and winter are my favorites for this reason. I love the mornings that I need a sweater to sit out there.

From this morning's reading:

"The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Psalm 145:14-16.

Be blessed my friends! 

I'm Still Pressing On

Two years ago today, at approximately 9:00pm, I rolled into the town where I now live, backed up into the driveway of my daughter's basement apartment, and was greeted by a welcoming committee: my daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson ran out to greet me, welcoming me to their town and their home. 

They immediately started unloading my car, which was crammed full of the last of my belongings from my house in my hometown. Over the course of several weeks, they had made trips to get my furniture and items I could live without until I closed on my house. This was the last hurrah. The caboose. The final load of random stuff. 

The end of the chapter had come earlier that day. I had spent the day loading the car in sweltering 100 degree heat and cleaning the house. I looked through every nook and cranny, making sure I had everything. I walked through each room, remembering events of the 12 years I had spent in my little bungalow that I was able to buy on my own (with God's help, of course) in 2009. I was so proud of that little house. 

After all I had been through, I never thought I'd be able to buy a house of my own. But GOD...He gave me a better job, helped me get out of debt, and eventually, found me the perfect little house.

It felt like a miracle to me. I believe it was.

It was bittersweet to sell it and move 175 miles away to a small town in the middle of nowhere that I had only visited 2-3 times a year since my daughter had lived here. Only the grace of God could have enabled me to do that. Looking back, I know that was the only way I had the strength and fortitude to do what I did.

I believe God gave me the ability to do this hard thing because it's part of His plan for me. I really believe I'm supposed to be here, at this time and in this town.

So, when the time for the loan closing came in the late afternoon, I locked up the house, gave it one last look, and drove downtown to the office to sign the papers.

Tears might have been shed at some point in the process. I went and said goodbye to my cousin at her workplace, drove to where my best friend works and said goodbye to her, then, with one more look at my beloved hometown, where I had lived for 66.5 years (my entire life up until that day), I got on the highway and started the long drive to the town I now call home.

I knew no one here except my daughter, her family, and her in-laws, who live about 30 minutes away. 

I no longer live in her basement; I was able to find a duplex across town, around 10 minutes from her for a decent monthly rent and moved in September 2021.

It hasn't always been rosy and happy; I have had some sad days along the way. I miss my friends in what will always be considered "back home." I miss my little house. I miss the entire town. 

But...I'm finally starting to feel like I belong here now. 

It's wonderful having family 10 minutes away. I love seeing my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids more than 2-3 times a year. I get to go to school events. I pick the grandkids up from school a lot of the time. I have made some great friends, and I have found a church home. 

Who says a single woman can't start a new chapter in her late 60s?

All in all, I'd say it's going ok here in my new town. 

"...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14 

In front of my little house in VB 2021

On the patio in my new digs 2023

July 2023 - new home

God is Working on Your Problem

Recently, my daughter and I were talking about my granddaughter, who broke both bones in her leg about mid-shin in late March. It was her first--and last--soccer game of the season. She's still in a cast, although she did finally get a below the knee cast about 3 or 4 weeks ago. We were saying how it had been so long now, almost 4 months, and it seemed like it would always be that way. We can't see any change with our physical eyes.

Of course, we know due to x-rays taken at her most recent doctor appointment that the bones are healing well. We are hopeful that she'll get a walking cast soon. I hope so. She's so tired of crutches, and at times a wheelchair. Not being able to participate in summer activities is getting really old. It's a bummer for anyone, but especially for a 12-year-old girl.

God used this little conversation to remind me that we often doubt He is doing anything about what we pray for. After all, we don't see any changes, so He must have put our request in the file cabinet to revisit later, if at all, right?

Wrong! God is working behind the scenes. In Isaiah 55:8-9 He says:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

So are My ways higher than your ways, 

And My thoughts than your thoughts." 

He doesn't act like we humans do, procrastinating or setting our needs aside. He has a plan for each of our lives. And He hears our prayers. A couple of places this is evident are in the Psalms:

"O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me." Psalm 30:2 

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19

Also, in Philippians we are encouraged to pray and trust God:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 6-7. 

I don't know if anyone else needed this reminder, but I sure did! It's been a long process for my granddaughter. I've also had some other pressing concerns and seemingly unanswered prayers that have made me question why He has delayed in answering. 

I've actually been kind of down. Not exactly depressed, but not joyful either.

So I decided to put this out there, just in case someone else needed to be reminded that God is at work on your problem! 

We're only human, and we get discouraged. But take heart! As Jesus said: 

"In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 

[Reluctant] Post From the Patio

This is the first post from the patio in a long while. Ever since the blasted "spring forward" time change, I have not been able to beat the sun out there. It's always blaring by the time I'm awake enough. Well, that changed this morning.

Thanks to a steroid shot on Monday for relief from really bad seasonal allergies this spring, I have not been able to sleep more than 3-4 hours a night. Last night I slept about 3 hours; I was awake until midnight (trying to get to sleep for at least an hour) and woke up at 3:00 am. Wide awake. I still laid there though, trying to go back to sleep for 3 hours. I finally gave up at 6:00 and got up. I'm hoping I can return to normal (for me, anyway) sleep patterns soon, and also hoping when the newly prescribed Flonase kicks in it won't cause insomnia, too. I already struggle with that as it is.

So I took my meds, made coffee, grabbed my morning devotional supplies and headed out to the patio. Of course, God met me there. Why do I fight this? I should know by now that He works in the low moments, the ones that frustrate us. Those moments that we see as a terrible roadblock in our plan. He meets us right where we are, in our most annoyed and disappointing times if we sit still long enough.

I'm reading a Max Lucado book that I've owned for 19 years; it was first published in 2004. It's titled Come Thirsty.  I am using it as a devotional book, reading one chapter a day. I can't quote it here because of copyright laws, but if you have access to that book, check out chapter 14. It's all about abiding, and God used it to speak into my heart about something I've been praying about. 

So sometimes what we perceive as a bad thing, God uses to show us the answer we've been asking Him for. Would I have still received this written word in the same way if I had read it from inside the house in my chair by the window? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? I just felt drawn to the patio this morning at 6:20 am when it was a brisk 57 degrees. 

I think we have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in things like this. 

Be blessed, my friends. God really, truly does love you. Always.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 NASB

6:24 am coffee with steam

sun creeping to top of trees

from porch-here comes the sun

I'll Get There Eventually...

My trip to visit with my youngest and his wife was a week ago, and I'm just now writing about it. It's been a crazy week.

The trip west went well. The flight out of XNA in NWA to DFW was good; I actually arrived early. I had Chick-fil-A for lunch! Great news since we don't have one in the small town I now live in. After that, the flight to Houston was uneventful (as we like for flights to be). I arrived there on time; around 5 pm last Wednesday.

We had a great visit. We went to museums, took walks in the neighborhood, and visited quaint little bookshops. They took me to a great little shop called British Isles where everything in the store was from the UK. What a treat it was to go there! Everyone knows that I am completely enamored with the UK and it's at the top of my bucket list.

I got to see their Houston: the places they like to go. It was wonderful! We had lunch in a couple of places, but my fave was Picnic. Great soups and sandwiches, and the atmosphere was so relaxing. I didn't get a picture of everything, but I got a few.

I got to see the play that Jeff was in TWICE! It was so good! I hadn't seen him acting in over a decade. On Saturday night, while he was in the final show, Alli and I went to a play in a different section of the city. We saw The Play that Goes Wrong, and it was hilarious!

They kept me entertained and fed, and they even got me the cutest and most delicious cookie cake for Mother's Day. We had lots of time to just talk and be together. We always have a great time when we get to be together. We even got to play a couple of board games.

Then sadly, it was time for me to embark on the trip home. Last Sunday morning, I woke up to stormy skies and a message from my airline that my flight was delayed...

This went on all day. I had my son and daughter-in-law to take me to the airport when we thought my flight was leaving at 2:30 (instead of 10:53). By the time I was walking into the airport to print my boarding pass, it had changed to 3:15. 

I finally got to fly out of Houston at 6:36pm, almost 8 hours behind schedule. Then in Dallas I was on 2 standby lists for flights to XNA at 8:30 and 10:30pm, because I had missed my connecting flight and had been put on an 8:45am flight on MONDAY!!! The airline does not pay for lodging in the case of weather delays, so I was faced with having to possibly get a hotel in Dallas for the night and come back to the airport by 6:30am to check in. I did NOT want to do that.

I was starting to feel abandoned, forsaken, and alone. So I did what I always do in these cases: I prayed. I texted friends and family to pray with me that I would get on one of the standby flights. I remembered a scripture as I prayed:

"I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread." Psalm 37:25 NASB.

So I prayed this and stood on it.

25 

I didn't get on the first flight but praise the Lord! I got on the one at 10:30pm. I was finally headed back home. The flight was good and another uneventful one, with one exception: as we started our descent into the airport, I suddenly had searing pain in my head, behind my left eye. I seriously thought I might be having a stroke. It was so scary! However, the lower we got, the less painful it was. By the time we were on the ground, my head had stopped hurting.

It was after midnight by this time, and I was exhausted. I checked myself for indications of a stroke and found none, so I made my way to the hotel, checked in, got to my room, and collapsed on my bed. Then I googled about pain behind the eyes during flight descent for the next 30 minutes or so.

You probably already guessed; it was sinus related. I read about uneven cabin pressure and its effect on swollen sinus passages. Everything I read seemed to point to that. It didn't help that it was a smaller plane; the others I had been on this trip had been larger, in the 747 category. I would imagine the cabin pressure was distributed better on a larger plane, but I don't really know. Upon my return home, I saw a doctor and was diagnosed with a sinus infection due to a lot of fluid behind my left ear. This would account for the pain I was told.

But the story doesn't end there. Turns out I'm allergic to the antibiotic I was prescribed! I ended up in the ER with a rash and swollen, red mouth and eyes (because, of course, the symptoms started several hours after the 4th dose and just after the walk-in clinic closed at 8pm).

I can't make this stuff up. LOL!

I was told it was non-anaphylactic allergy, thank God, and sent home to take Benadryl. The next morning, I looked even worse. The skin around and under my eyes was really red and my eyes were swollen almost shut. It has taken 4 days for those 4 doses to get out of my system, but I'm currently almost "normal" again. I'm thankful I didn't take more than that!

I still love to travel, and I even love to fly. I'll just make sure I have taken allergy meds before I fly next time.

Thanks for reading my ramblings, friends. I don't travel often, so it's "big news," LOL. 

Someone Else Will

I'm new to the whole birdfeeder-in-the-backyard thing. After all, I've been retired less than 2 years. I'm learning about the bird population in my area and what they like to eat, but word has spread in the bird community lately, and there are more birds coming to my backyard this spring than there were last year.

I realized I hadn't been keeping up with the feeder as well and I meant to when I noticed it was empty again.

"I let the birdfeeder get empty again, and the birds are going hungry," I thought to myself.

Now, the Lord doesn't speak to me audibly, but I sometimes I just get a sense of what He's saying. In my spirit I felt Him say:

"I won't let them starve. I use many different means to feed the birds."

Ok. There are two of the things I know I'm called to do. First, all Christians are called to the Great Commission of sharing the Good News about Jesus with the lost. The second one, encouraging others, is one of my spiritual gifts. I realized this early in my walk with Christ, and it's still one of the things I'm called to do. It's one of the reasons I write this blog.

So I'm standing in my kitchen, looking out into my backyard. The thought occurred suddenly to me that sometimes we rationalize this way about sharing the Gospel and encouraging others.

Well, if I don't do it someone else will.

Yes, someone else will, because God desires for all to come to Him and be saved. He is "not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 NASB

But...someone else will get the reward for that lost soul being saved.

Someone else will be rewarded in heaven for encouraging that person that was on my heart, but I couldn't be bothered to reach out to them when I felt the tug on my heart to do so.

This revelation was earth-shattering to me.

Something inside me broke. I was convicted of my actions, or lack thereof:

I'm guilty of not sharing Jesus every time I feel like I'm supposed to.

There are times I know I need to write a note of encouragement to someone and I don't do it.

There are times when I really, truly know I'm supposed to write a blog post about something for some person to see someday, probably someone I don't even know. I'll write it in the morning, I tell myself.

In the morning, I can't recall what I was going to write about. IF I even remember it at all.

Someone else could do it, but I'm committed afresh to not let someone else do what God asked me to do.

Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB

A Note About Spring

I've mentioned before that I didn't like Spring. In fact, I believe I said I hated it. Granted, I mostly hated it because of tornadoes, but I also didn't like the pollen that torments allergy sufferers.

Anyway, there are some new developments on that topic.

Spring is...growing on me. (I promise there's no pun intended here, seriously). It might have started with something my granddaughter said to me recently. I had mentioned that I was sad Winter was leaving, and she said Spring was her favorite season because that's when Jesus died for our sins and then rose on the third day.

I started to argue that we didn't know the exact time of year, like for instance, Christmas probably isn't the time of year He was born. But then, I quickly remembered, concerning His resurrection, yes it is. Yes, Jesus' death and resurrection was in the Spring. It was at passover. So I had this little argument in my head, thankfully, and never said a word about it out loud. 

A while back I was having a little prayer time while walking in the park, and I felt convicted about my stance on Spring. The Lord reminded me that Spring is a joyous time of new growth, and, as my granddaughter had mentioned, it was when He redeemed all mankind. 

As I walked, I was noticing the daffodils blooming in large bunches all over. Daffodils are very special to me (see Just a Daffodil, Feb. 25, 2018 in my older blog posts), but I've actually started to enjoy other things about spring as well.

I enjoy hearing the birds singing. I love to see the birds at my birdfeeder in my backyard. I also really enjoy a day when I can raise the windows and let the fresh, Spring air flow through the house. 

So I guess the Lord is changing my heart. If He can work in the heart of an old curmudgeon like me, He can work in anyone!

On a related note, I haven't posted the sunrises much lately, but I took a picture this morning. The first picture is January 27. The second one is this morning, March 15. Look how much farther toward the northeast it is rising now! 

I love this part of science. It's fascinating to me!

Also, notice the birds at my backyard birdfeeder. I love to watch them. 

Be blessed! 

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118.24 ESV

Weathering Storms

For southerners the weather in the spring is very volatile. It can turn "on a dime" and produce a tornado in seconds. This is the main reason I don't like spring. I've spent a lot of spring and summer days, evenings, and nights hunkered down, since I was a child, mind you, in the lowest point in my home, away from windows, praying for the weather to play nice, if you please. It "doesn't please" sometimes, though. It barrels on through on its mission to terrify and destroy.

Yes, I "may possibly" have PTSD due to tornadic storms.

Even though I don't technically live in fear, because I know that God takes care of me, the triggers have been in place for most of my life. It's something I have struggled with for years and feel I have come a long way towards overcoming the traumatic experiences that caused me to react the way I do.

We had one of those middle of the night severe weather events last week, and I feel like I need to share what I realized that night. First, I need to give a little background, listing 2 times before that I know for a fact that I survived a documented tornado.

In 1996, my family and I survived a F-3 tornado that evidently and miraculously lifted up off the ground as it got near us. Inside the house (we had no time to go anywhere, and nowhere to go), I felt the pressure drop, and fear gripped me in the form of a sickening feeling. Later, when we went outside, we found our outbuildings picked up and scattered and our trees either gone or lying on the ground. Our house, however, a 14 x 70 mobile home, was to our astonishment completely untouched except for one row of shingles at the bottom edge of the roof, all across the back of the house. It was both terrifying and exhilarating to see how God had protected us.

Fast-forward to 2021. There had been multiple severe weather scares over the years, but never anything like 1996. In May of 2021, though, a tornado touched down mere blocks from me. I was in my small, 900 square foot little wood frame house in Van Buren, hiding in my bedroom closet; the only place in my house without an outside wall. As the wind and thunder roared outside, I was keeping track of the tornado's whereabouts on the TV in the bedroom. It was definitely headed in my direction, but I didn't find out until it was too late to run to the tornado shelter at the school a block away. I heard and felt heavy objects hitting the house as I cowered in my closet, praying for God to protect me. The power went out, but the storm raged. Shaking, from inside the closet I pulled up the TV station on my phone. I watched the storm's track on the radar until the noise outside started to diminish somewhat. 

I learned later that this was an EF-1 tornado. It did quite a bit of damage in my area; mostly uprooting trees and tossing them about. The loud heavy objects I heard and felt hitting my house were large branches of a tree in my backyard. One of them took down my powerline to the electrical pole behind my house.

A dear friend of mine called, then came by to see if I was ok and offered to take me to her house. I was shaken, but extremely thankful to be unhurt. There was no visible damage to my house or car from what I could tell in the dark. I accepted her offer of hospitality and left with her to stay in her guest room that night. Air conditioning is important in May in the south! Even though technically I would have been ok in my house, with no AC and no ceiling fan there would be no sleep. I opted not to stay there that night, since I was quite rattled from the storm I'd been through. 

So as you can see, I've lived through some trauma in the past. Unlike the 1996 tornado when I huddled in my living with my family under the couch we had turned over for protection, for the last 25 years I have ridden out the storms alone; at least, with no friend or family member with me. God was always with me, though.

Last week, I was awakened at 2:30 am by the tornado siren. I jumped out of bed, and muttering "great!" under my breath, I grabbed my phone and took shelter in my bathroom. Pulling up a "local" (Springfield, MO) TV station thanks to an app on my phone, I was hoping to see that the actual storm was in another area of the county (the sirens blow in the county where I live now regardless of where in the county the storm cloud is). However, to my dismay, I discovered there was a rotating cloud just west of my neighborhood, headed right over me. Once again, I was hiding from a storm and praying for protection. Praise the Lord, it stayed in the air and passed over me without causing any harm. I went back to bed as soon as it had passed, but it took a while for me to go back to sleep.

As I was attempting to go back to sleep at 3:30 am last Thursday morning, I was thanking God for keeping me safe. It then occurred to me that He has always kept me safe, regardless of the severity of damage that happened outwardly. From the bad storm of '96 to the smaller but still damaging storm 2 years ago and all the way back to my childhood, HE has been with me in every single storm.

I do have a point to make. Not all storms are weather storms. We all have storms of various kinds in life that we go through. God never promised we wouldn't have storms, but He did promise He would protect us in those storms. I am thankful for His protecting hand on me in all the storms of life. That is the point of this long post today. 

If you haven't already, please put your trust in Jesus and you will never weather a storm alone.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. Psalm 57:1 ESV

57 

Happy New(ish) Year and Assorted Other Stuff

Well, here it is February, and I haven't posted in my blog. There's a reason for this. I thought I would spend a little time catching you up on my blog-posting saga.

A few months ago, I became very discouraged because it seemed no one wanted to read my blog anymore. I noticed that lots of people read my Facebook posts, though. So I'm not sure what the disconnect is concerning my blog. I used to post a link to it on my Facebook page and people clicked on the link and read it. Then people quit doing that but they were reading my FB posts. I was confused.

I decided to post on FB first, then copy and paste it to my blog, just so I could keep it. Facebook has changed so much over the years, and I was concerned that I would lose those posts. Posting them to my blog seemed the logical choice. 

This worked for a while, then in the busyness of the Holiday season (this is my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!) I kept forgetting to post my FB posts to my blog.

So here we are in February 2023, as I stated earlier. I am back to the drawing board. I've decided I'm going to be posting on my blog so I can keep the posts for material for my book writing, and I will also post the same content to Facebook.

This content, starting with New Year's Day, will be below. This post may be a little long, but I'm reasonably sure no one is going to read this since I've already posted this to my FB. This is just so it's on the blog.