Overwhelmed to Overcomer Chapter Four

Wrote from: July 30th to August 28th 2016          

This is letter # 3 …. WHEW !!! …. time sure is flying by …. I am having to encourage my maintenance man Martin to complete my office … ordered my last two cabinets and Mike picked them up 2 weeks ago … I took a mini-vacation July 25th & 26th hoping to come back to a finished office ….. SIGH!! …. “nope” …. poor Martin …. he has adult ADD I think ... & is a inventor/genius at heart …. and his mind goes in a 1000 directions constantly …. and sometimes I have to be patient and I am learning quickly I have to be VERY DIRECTIVE if I need something done.  Well as of today Saturday July 30th …. my cabinets are in place, 2/3rd of the drawers have their pull handles attached … ( I bought pull handles for all my cabinet drawers, they didn’t come with any) several of the temporary counter top supports are still sticking out, all the paneling is in place around the counter top, now to get the trim on …. and the rest of the handles attached (Martin will have to go get longer screws to attach the rest of the handles, the ones that came with it were too short to go through the drawer fronts.

     My mini -vacation was to help work at vacation bible school, Sunday thru Tuesday evening, the theme was “The Rainforest - Sunquest” … I helped with the 3rd and 4th graders which worked out perfectly … none of my grandkids were in them grades …. Bella was in pre-K to 1st grade, Bubby was also in that group. Pixie was in the 2nd grade group, and Ryver was in the 5th and 6th graders. It was fast paced and fun …. this Sunday they get to bring home their crafts …. 3rd through 6th grade made Brazilian tree stump stools …. (I helped decorate an extra just in case a child showed up on Tuesday and needed one so i get one too …. YEAH!! ) Pre-K thru 2nd grade made stone ladybugs (from PinInterest)  …. they are really cute. 

    Hubby is in The Big City today taking Disaster Training Classes, he will be there next weekend also. Due to his corrective heart surgery in 2014, it is vital he has health insurance …. between the very vital necessary medicine he has to take daily and the vital blood work that is part of his monthly routine to keep check on his medicine levels it is a HUGH FACTOR!! ….. He has drove truck for years. several years ago the owner sold to another trucking company …. it hasn’t been “easy” since …. the ‘“company” now has put a young person at the dispatch post who has the “SHARE THE WEALTH PHILOSOPHY” …. that means if you have worked for the company for many years or if you have worked for few hours you all share the runs equally …. what this means for the older drivers with seniority is that their paychecks have gone from good wages during the season to mediocre …….. and health insurance is $135.00 a week right off the top of my hubby’s paycheck so often times his “bring home $$” is under $200.00 a week. For the older drivers with years in this company it has meant going from $800.00 to $900.00 dollars a week during the good running season where you can put money back to help you through the “famine season”  to $200.00 to $300.00 a week and just making your bills. Even through this God has blessed us abundantly and always supplies all our needs. It is sometimes pretty scary @ the eleventh hour but God has never failed us and never will!! ….. also … I realize I don’t mention specifically my Hubby a lot … He is involved in Gun Shooting Competitions, him and his “shooting buddy” Dippy have attended several of the national competitions in the last year. He also does "The Big City Search Dog Assoc." (that’s where he is this weekend) and he does Search and Rescue also in a near by county. This is his weekends (when he’s home he is playing his “game” on the computer “DELTA WARS” he has developed several friendships around the globe … literally …. he has several people he talks to in Germany, England and a couple other places regularly) During the week it’s truck driving.

     Sunday evening @ 9:44PM …. a leisure nap and coffee in the afternoon is always a relaxer …. till you get to this hour of the day …. and …. you realize being awake means you write … LOL.  Today was the last day our Pastor & his wife were with us @ ECC. … He is retiring from being a Pastor but will still be involved with Bible camp , and other ministries. I will miss them greatly but trusting the Lord for our next Pastor …. we also are on a journey and an endeavor @ purchasing a new building and moving as a church body into a bigger church building. 

     Listening to kids settle in …. everyone had naps and slept late today … but … school starts in 10 days here so parents are having the kids go to bed earlier …. right now they sleep in here because it is A/C and we have had a lot of storms come through at night where they were doing the mad dash through rain , thunder & lightening into the house Harry and Fanny feel more secure with them in here so everyone can get a good nights sleep. Thinking about this …. Tomorrow is already August! WOW!! …. 

    We are still a bit stunned here a man we knew died over the weekend, … he was a neighbor of ours, 60 years old … his name was Jimmy A.; he owned a small engine shop for years before he sold it and started working at a local business.  We did business with him …. in the first years we were here so many times we had old clunker lawn mowers he’d fix on credit for us till payday …. He was always so good and kind to us. … he will be missed!! 

     I went to a party @ a long time friend & acquaintance house yesterday, Sharon, met her and her family when i worked at the outlet mall 22 yrs ago … Sharon and her husband ran a jewelry store @ the mall and their daughter Sarah who was about 3 or 4 then … was a frequent visitor the clothing store where I worked part time. … Sarah is now 25 and lives in Chicago, and her sister Amy is 26 and lives in another state too. Sharon and Randy have a 8 year old named Lia who is just this incredible little girl …. Sharon is trying to sell Nerium … a skin care & health product line …. a bit over my budget but never the less she invited me … we had a chance to pray with another girl who attended the party too; Sharon met through their jewelry business. She had just moved here from down south a year ago … and was diagnosed with MS recently … and is facing back surgery Wednesday August 3rd of this week. 

    There is all a lot of different stories out about people, who they met, who touches their lives and the twists and turns each life can take …… It never ceases to amaze me the people who I have met here and their lives and how we often continually intersect and intertwine back and forth …. For Pastor’s last message he read the story about a guy who starts his day off with a lot of troubles and gets mad at God till God tells him about all the blessings He gave him inside those troubles ….. This morning the elderly man Gramps, who lives at my apts normally gets a ride with Fred, to church but Fred was speaking this morning @ the first service about our Brazilian Mission we support so I had to go get Gramps plus transport 3 kids to church …. AND THEN MY CAR WOULDN’T START  …. I immediately began to praise the Lord …. I found this frequently helps … opposed to anger, upset or frustration. …. needless to say my Hubby was able to jump start my car …  I took the kids to church, dropped them off headed to town to get Gramps … and arrived back at church 5 minutes after 10 … ! I think on the goodness of God’s preventive measures that i may not understand till eternity but yet I know this hiccup in my morning was a blessing He gave and bestowed on us ….. 

    Tuesday August 2nd @ 9:25PM …. one of those tired evenings …. had corn flakes for supper, Fanny and Harry made everyone pancakes (I had one, they were tasty too.) … yep … lots of carbs …. Today was one of those so much happened in 2 days my head is still trying to absorb it all …… more happening with “MT’s” process … that I mentioned in my other letter …. “MT” arrived at my office first thing Monday morning … I had placed two calls to the inspector @ the end of last week to no avail (all Section 8 applicants must have an inspection of their perspective apartment before the Section 8 Housing will authorize funding for the apartment) ….. I had been hoping to get “MT” moved in by or near the 1st of the month. When “MT” arrived I picked up the phone dialed the number and the inspector for the apartments answered on the first ring …. (miracle #1) then she said are you available today? I said “yes”  and she said “I am on my way” (miracle #2) normally every Section 8 inspection I have ever had, I had a 1 to 2 week process getting an inspector there …… She arrived within the hour, and we passed and I handed “MT” the key to his apartment …. He just sat there stunned and in tears ….. I then realized we hadn’t processed anything on our part …. (as far as my office goes) so I began flying through that process ….. I had “MT” call the electric company to get it turned on in his name …. another hurdle … apparently there was an old amount showing from 2006 that he owed $76.00 they couldn’t even locate the address where it was generated from …. he was in tears again because of the set back … I called a local pastor I know real well and after 2 days between meetings we made contact and he went directly and paid it for “MT” …. Pastor Charlie’s church is next door to the library where “MT” hangs out all the time …. “MT” had decided to wander by and see if he was out of the meeting he was in when we went there …. Pastor Charlie recognized “MT” and shared he knew me real well and was able to minister to “MT” also. “MT” was able to get his electric on right there and then after Pastor Charlie paid the old bill. As I think about the sequence of events leading up to today I sit as stunned as “MT” feels …. as I realize how strongly the hand of God has played a major role in this man’s life ….. and “MT”s response ?? all he wants to do is pay this forward and pay back all the kindnesses …. Pastor Charlie has suggested he become part of the Food Pantry help and “MT” has graciously accepted with joy. God is so good …. It’s not just “MT”s life events but all around me I see God’s hand working and sometimes miracles that only He can do …… 

     I think all of us has dreamed of winning that million dollar prize and what we would do with the money ….. my particular dream has always been on a bit grander “scheme” for some reason I have always thought I’d like 5 million … not just a million. I have lists and wishes made up of what I would do ….. BUT ….. the other day as I contemplated these wishy dreams of mine … I clearly heard the Lord speak ….. and i am positive I cannot repeat here word for word what He said but …. here’s the just of this conversation … occasionally …. and not all the time … when Power Ball and Mega Millions gets big ….. yep …. confession time …. I buy a ticket and spend time dreaming “if I win” ….. so in light of all the needs lately between my Hubby’s lack of work, and Harry & Fanny moving up to our place, my son & his wife's health issues and financial and housing needs …. my mind raced to see if the jackpot was worth buying a ticket …. it was then God had our discussion …… He said “ if you will trust Me, like you have been over these last few days in “MT’s” case and these other things you see me working in …. you can trust Me with all your needs and everyone else’s too…. you do not need to rely on the world’s system of money, you have Me!” WOW !! was all I could say and Yes Lord you are so right!!! ….. So with peace and my faith in place and my hand in His …. forward I go trusting Him with everything …..  and yes …. it won’t always be easy …. but walking sometimes blindly by faith takes a bit of practice and balancing skills ….. but for those of you who have some scary doubts or what if’s ….. I am out on the tight rope of life right now …. and I found that a upward look beats a downward glance anytime!!! …… and yes it is scary and downright frightening at times …. but His hand is steady and strong … and I have made the choice to follow and trust Him …. 

       August 6th 2016 Saturday @ 10:44AM …. I have been up since 6:30AM but it already feels like a whole day …. Fanny had a call from her sister, she needed her to babysit this weekend 35 miles away for her 4 kids ….Fanny ask me and I said GO! … Annie & the kids will be fine here. Annie & l had to be @ the high school @ 9:AM this morning to pick up her computer, for school. We had to be out of the house by 8:40AM …. took about a 1/2 hour @ the school … stopped by the store and was home by 10AM.  

     On Thursday Harry received a call from his employer …. they were laying off 40 employee’s he had his choice “lay off or go to 1st shift” they were only offering this to a few weekend employee’s of which Harry is one of them. He normally works from Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 6AM  to 6 PM …. he will now be working Monday thru Thursday from 6AM to 4:30PM …. and he looses the $2.00 and hour weekend bonus. All things considered we are discussing “the positives that can be” and not dwelling on the negatives that could be …. life is always full of choices …. 

        Sunday August 7th 2016 @ 6:18PM   Sitting here relaxing after a wonderful Sunday …. We had a dinner after church …. we had a special speaker today from the Solomon Foundation they spoke during Sunday School and church and also we were introduced to our new temporary pastor Brother Paul and his wife Lin What is so neat this morning God had me up early with a word …. TACTICAL WARFARE …. I sat for awhile with this “word” and pondered over it …. the Lord had me look up it’s meaning in my two dictionaries …. one is a Thorndike & Barnhart and the other is a Funk & Wagnalls …. As I proceeded to look up definitions the Lord impressed on me that it isn’t about me but it is about the enemy we face …. Eph.6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  v12 ... For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

    I first looked up the word TACTICAL … in the Thorndike & Barnhart … Concerning tactic’s characterized by adroit procedure and skillful expedients. 

(I looked up the word tactic: -“procedures used to gain advantage or successful methods - the art of arranging) 

Then I looked up the word ADROIT  …. it meant … expert use in the hands or the mind, skillful …. 

Then I looked up the word EXPEDIENTS … fit for bringing about a desired result; desirable or suitable under the circumstances, giving or seeking personal advantage; based on self-interest - useful means of bringing about a desired means or results 

This is from the Funk & Wagnalls TACTICAL ….. Pertaining to or like tactics, exhibiting adroit maneuvering - 

(TACTICS - The science and art of handling troops in the presence of the enemy or for immediate objectives - Any maneuvering to gain an objective. )

(ADROIT - skillful expert ) 

If we take these definitions and instead of trying to apply them to ourselves ….. we apply them to our enemy Satan …. it gives us a clearer view of what we are up against ….. He and his demonic troop have been honed …. in the art of warfare since the beginning of time … his objective is to use procedures and to gain advantage or use successful methods and the art of arranging to manipulate us to take our eye’s off Jesus.  He uses ADROIT procedures; he is an expert in the use  of the hands or the mind, he has skillful EXPEDIENTS … which are fit for bringing about a desired result; desirable or suitable under the circumstances he places in our lives, he gives and seeks personal advantage in all of us; he does this by using our weaknesses & deepest desires based on our own self-interest - he is crafty in using any  means of bringing about a desired means or results ….

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 New English Translation (NET Bible)

v10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, v11 so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

Genesis 50:20

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

    As God began to speak to me on this I realized that we are our own worst enemy … and i need to do some deep soul searching to weed out and get it before God anything the enemy can use against me …. and right now I have been so “PROUD” of my lack of fear that it has become a target for the enemy …. and on top of all this is ideas, ideals, motives, thoughts …… that need to be checked and rechecked that they line up with the Word of God. 

    It is 8:01PM ….Harry & Fanny arrived home a bit ago … Harry was informed today that they have decided to lay 10 more people off and he is now one of them …. I told Fanny that I am so glad … they are here and not going to have to struggle else where …. 

     Sunday  August 21st  2016 @ 8:32AM  … Harry has a job he starts tomorrow … it is about 25 miles away, then yesterday he ran into a friend he worked with @ the old place and was told he’d already been called back to work and they were talking about they might need him back … so I am praying for God’s best for him. We are going to have to leave in about hour for church. The kids have had their bath’s and are dressed …. they get excited about going to church, matter of fact I do too … I really enjoy going. 

    

    Sunday August 28th 2016 @ 4:17PM     …. Had a great time at church today, Pastor Paul preached on John 3:16 … For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. He brought a whole different aspect to it …. he had 3 points based on the “Good News” verse …. it is #1) Truthful News  #2) Positive News #3) Hopeful News …. I really enjoyed it.

     Over the last few weeks I have been spending time reading a series of Lori Wick books … called the Rocky Mountain Series. One of the theme’s throughout the books was learning to trust God … the other theme that was woven through the stories was “Learning to not judge” …. In the last book one of the characters faced the challenge of whether she was judging or “fruit inspecting” …. Then today as Pastor S. spoke, God spoke to me again in regards to this cliche “ We aren’t suppose to judge….

 Matthew 7: 1-4   v1 Judge not, so you aren’t judged.   v2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.   v3 And why do you behold the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the huge log that is in your own eye?  v4 Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the splinter from your eye; and, behold, a huge log is in your own eye?

Galatians 5:22-23   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance (control): against such there is no law.

Matthew 7:16-20  v16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  v17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.  v18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  v19  A tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. v20 Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

Matthew 12:33   Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

For years the “common cliche” was “we are not allowed to judge but we can be fruit inspector’s” …. In a small loving voice over the last several weeks God has begun to show me this small white lie is right up there with “stick’s and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” …… A true “FRUIT INSPECTOR” looks a piece of fruit over and looks for  the blemishes, rotten spots and imperfections ….. I am sorry to say this is JUDGING. The Bible no where says  …. “FRUIT INSPECTOR” !!! It only says Matthew 7:16a You shall know them by their fruits ….. somewhere over time we injected the “INSPECTOR” classification. …. that’s not what God’s word says at all. It is our job to look for fruit not for the blemishes, rotten spots and imperfections …. God wants us to be “Lookers for fruit” …. and along that line of thinking we are to be the Aaron's and Hur’s Exodus 17:12  But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 

 We are to be looking for the Zacchaeus’s who may be hiding up in the tree …… 

Luke 19:2 - 5 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

v2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. v3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.  v4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

v5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

We are to be the Ananias’s to all the Saul’s in our lives

Acts 9:10 - 13 & 17 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. v11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prays, v12 And has seen in a vision, a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. v13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:  Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto you in the way as you came, has sent me, that you might receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.  

     It is so easy to look at someone else's appearance, how they dress or don’t dress to our specifications, how they act or don’t act, and the acts they have committed against us or someone we love or care about … how they talk, the speech they choose to use, their manner’s they present in front of us, their physical features, their faces may mirror their hard life, or their lives in that moment, It is not our’s to judge or inspect. It is however for us to love them as Christ loved us and to begin to pray for them as God gives us utterance. Could you imagine Ananias if he had told the Lord … “I’m not going to help that murdering piece of trash!! he was responsible for the death of a lot of my friends”!! …… I can see Ananias now as he walked in and seen the man responsible for 100’s of saint’s deaths sitting there blind …. and trying to obey with all the emotions going on in his heart as he was trusting God’s word …. 

   Is this easy? … not at all!! … it will take a lot to change course in our minds and hearts especially if we bought into the “FRUIT INSPECTOR LIE” ….. 

       We are almost at the end of the month of August already …. I think back over the summer and how fast it went. …. Friday my computer died at work, I had to reluctantly contact my boss and tell her …. she wasn’t happy …. and my nerves were jangled but this too I had to hand over to the Lord instead of “worrying it to pieces” …. 

     We are adjusting to a family of 8 … and things are starting to flow and blend with God’s help. I am being forced to deal with my over-abundance of STUFF … I found prayer has helped in the getting rid of process …. and to whom …. 

   “Our Annie” is in 11th grade and taking Nursing courses through the Tech School. I forgot what it costs to have a kid in school and all the needs …. whew!! We were able to find one of her required school workbooks on the internet for fairly cheap. Bubby started out a little rough at first but is doing much better now and Pixie is doing good in school. …. Harry is adjusting to his new job and likes it …. he works for a place that makes classic car parts from antiques to more modern. …. 

    Hubby’s work is slowing down considerably even more so then it already was …… My maintenance man had a second call on the job he applied for …. so I am already praying if he leaves, for God to provide another maintenance person as capable as he has been …. and for wisdom for me as I interview … if it comes to that …. I believe a pathway to the future, laid with prayer is much easier to walk. Bonnie has been cut to 3 days a week and we had a meeting with her phycologist last week and discussed her meds she takes … he is a Christian and it shows, and i am so thankful we have him. Bonnie is having more and more memory issues and has lost a lot from her past …. it is sometimes difficult yet I know it is part of the process with this disease she has. 

    Well i am going to wind this down here ….. I am not sure how soon I will be getting another letter out  Love to you all and may God bless you. 

    

       

Overwhelmed to Overcomer Chapter Three

WROTE From ... Saturday JUNE 4th 2016  to Saturday July 16th 2016 

    Today is Saturday June 4th … my 14th anniversary @ my job. …. You know you’ve been at a job ……   A - L O N G  T I M E  when the kids who were “toddlers” and living @ the property you manage with their parents are now coming in to rent an apartment. 

     Doing some house cleaning and rearranging. Giving a dresser to Harry and his wife Fanny. (Harry has been in our lives for approx 27 years he moved here with our Tia Marie in June of 1995) ( Harry and his wife Fanny were living approx 35 miles away in a house for about a year or more .... they were renting this house from Fanny’s sister and it was furnished, they just moved back nearer to us) …. 2:59PM…. well I loaded the dresser in my car and took it down to them at their new apartment,  I was able to locate a card table & some folding chairs for them also. Fanny was really sick with bronchitis so I brought the kids ( Pixie & Bubby ) home for the day, so she could get some sleep. ….…. I let the kids play in the mud for awhile and was able to get some more cleaning done, then I had two alien looking creatures come to my front door insisting they were my grandchildren. I still think they were  creatures from the deep mud bog …. LOL ….

      June 11th 8:21AM …. lots of plans but not sure where they will all end up …. Hubby had ask if I would help him clean the garage & area around the garage up …. Laid to bed till 6:30AM and spent time just laying back so to speak and relaxing …. much needed ….. now it’s on to getting ready for the day, fixed a western omelet for us for breakfast with a couple of strawberries on the side …. had to get a bit fancy …. this is like once or twice a year I do this ….. LOL …. usually our mornings are jump out of bed, eat cereal and hit the road running. 

      My devotions this morning were on preparing our kids for their future …. (that’s not the title, that’s what i called it) made me stop to think on the small things we say in front of children or to them ….. how it can alter their view of things the rest of their life ….. and effect the next generation through our words to them, especially when they hear words from someone they trust. I think of a verse in a song I sung as a child, ‘O’ be careful little ears what you hear” ….. 

     Somewhere as a young person, I was in the hearing range of a story that was told from one person to another …. about a minister who prayed for his son then his son was killed in an accident ….. a frightening concept for a young person …. the message that day I heard was “don’t pray for your kids or God will kill them off” … just trust God with them. ….. Trusting God with your kids is fine but I have learned prayer is vital! …. I don’t often discuss this subject …. but as a part of my life sometimes it’s there …. with having 3 children already invested in heaven, my two remaining kids were raised by me with some less then ideal … ideas …. needless to say their road in regards to church and spiritual things has been somewhat strewn with misconceptions also …. Things I heard as a child took root and grew …. some to weeds and some things grew to fruited trees. It is now at this place in my life’s journey that I have come to realize my weeds for what they are, …. and now … the joint effort of God and me and the task of pulling them out, digging them out and destroying them …. 

      I am so thankful that God is the Master Gardener and I am His garden. He knows just how to weed out those things that have been hinderances and wrong mindsets. My life is a garden in process. The whole key though is “To let Him be the Master Gardener” ….   

       Sometimes the weeds in my life have been “COVETED” plants I have refused in times past to let Him pull …. I am so thankful that God has been patience with me, teaching me and showing me the deception of the weeds I thought were good plants … with the many weeds and hindering vines that have sometimes overgrown my life He has gently yet firmly continued to weed them out. 

   9:48AM …. I am working on my junk room …. that’s where I literally throw stuff I don’t really want but don’t have the mental energy or time to figure out what I do want to do with it …. I also have my cat area here and other things ….. like … BOXES …. some of my family understands about the boxes and those of you who would like to be “IN” on this …. the BOX THING is a family … kind of … tradition ….. LOL … I always have boxes of various sorts and sizes …. heavy duty ones to light weight shoe boxes …. not a lot of them mind you just 40 or 50 on a regular basis (LOL not really more like 15 or 20 for real)…. I keep them “turned over” so to speak … there is always people @ the apartments coming or going so I normally find myself transporting them to & fro ….. then there is the “care packages” I send occasionally to people. So boxes are a handy thing to have around …. then there is stuff that needs a box to transport it to the trash, . or to a closet or under a bed … enough said.  

     10:46AM …. it’s getting hot outside, suppose to be in the mid 90’s today …. and I have actually made a dent in the “Back Junk Room” …. taking another break as there is no A/C except in our bedrooms …. Hubby has worked diligently on our old trailer, trying to install lights on the back to make it more legal to take out onto the road. Our game plan originally was to get up @ the crack of dawn, and get the trailer loaded with stuff for the local dump …. Hubby did get the trailer parked in front of the garage …. then proceeded to try and get the tail lamps installed …. one went on fine the other one …. well it was a trip down “Patience Lane” … he had bought a tail lamp kit at a used outlet store, saved a lot of $$ but …. figured out quickly why it was at a second hand outlet store …. someone had failed to provide a place for the wiring to get through the back of the lens (in other words NO HOLES for wiring to run) …. he got past that dilemma, a drill helped a lot but we still have one light that will need some tender gluing now …. anyway …. it’s now too hot to be working out there any length of time …. I suggested we work all week at loading it up then haul it off next weekend. He liked that idea so next weekend it is … Lord willing …..  

   Came across a store receipt for 2 biscuits with egg & bacon and a drink almost $6.00 … whew breakfast isn’t cheap … I am going to buy biscuits, eggs and bacon and make some of our own … why pay $1.90 for one when you can make them for about $.75 cents a piece. 

    

    4:54PM … I just got up from a nap …. decided to call my sister Yvonne …. LOL .. she’s been trying to lay down & take one … but she keeps getting phone calls. ….. heheheheee

June 13th 2016 Monday @ 8:07PM …. been home for about an hour or so …. playing with my early birthday present or 4th of July present, to myself …. or it could be an belated Mother’s Day gift to myself …. whew the possibilities …. LOL … a young man named Devon B. came in to my office this afternoon and wanted to sell a brand new never been used tool box …. YEP!! … a tool box …. one of those 4 foot or so high ones with a lower box with several drawers and an upper box with 4 or 5 drawers … yep it’s a Stanley Tool Box …. God is so neat …. just the other day as I was rearranging my 2 tool boxes and one tool bag, and 2 milk crates that have been designated for bigger tools … I was just sayin … “Lord I sure could use a bigger kinda tool box” ….. well low and behold there it sat behind his car in the parking lot … he’d bought it to carry tools in his SUV … He’d taken the wheels off to “shorten it a bit ….. but alas it was too tall still …. he’d even permanently mounted the upper tool box to the lower one so it won’t slide off. It was one of those moments  when you hear music and your eyes get real big and you just looked upon a dream come true ….. before i knew it I had dickered with him, subtracted some money he owed me, and made a partial payment …. he was loading it up for me and even putting the wheels on the bottom, he’d taken off …. SO … all said and done …. it now sits plum full of tools in my house … aaAAHHHhh ….. and no plethora of various tool boxes sitting around ….. (Oh by the way Hubby’s tool box is in the garage …. ) …… another story with this is … my son and I use to case the pawn shops here in town … frequently contractors would pawn some pretty nice tool boxes and tools …. My son and i between us has quite a collection …. Sometimes he would take the tools and hand me the tool boxes …. 

        On another note …. As I began this letter, I have had some thoughts as I have been writing … I keep thinking … I need to clarify a few things ….  so …………

#1) I love to write … so some letters maybe longer and some shorter ….

#2)  Some may be funny and some may contain more serious content ….. 

#3) Often over the years we have concepts and ideas about people we know, family, friends and loved ones …. but like all of us over the years we evolve, transform, change, age, (LOL) our ideals and concepts grow with us or shrivel up ….. who I may have been or for that matter who you were 20 years ago may not be … and quite possibly …. may not even resemble who you are now …. for some of us it may be just about our personality for others our shapes, sizes, wrinkles and aahh-hum hair color may even change a bit (LOL) ….. For some of us it may be changes we have learned to embrace, for others it may be full till ahead …. for others it may be struggles, errors, and victories …. never the less …. change is inevitable. ….. so all said and done …. These letters will be about our lives, our ups and downs , who we are …. the good the bad and the ugly ….LOL …. 

     June 14th 9:58PM Tuesday night …. tonight I am the “Ugly” 😡 …. SIGH !! it’s been a “texting time” (a pun on wording here) between me and my tenant’s … I have a few who don’t understand what it means to respect others right to peace and quiet!!

     June 15th Wednesday 2016 @ 6:58PM …. Another perspective on last evening’s issue ….  well …. after spending all day @ work …. and talking to various tenant’s in regards to the “NOISE” issues …. I came to the conclusion it is more a perception issue then a actual noise issue. Sometimes …. time does “heal wounds” and perceptions too …. with much prayer and a few hours to contemplate I decide to write a letter to all the tenant’s involved and ask their opinion on how to resolve this issue and ended up having a meeting with about 7 tenant’s. We had a “thinking jam-fest” …. we came up with some good ideas …. Next is to implement them ….. Been a long day, and just got home.

    June 18th 2016 Saturday @ 9:25AM ….. been up since 6:15AM …. had to do a “Dog Walk” … our 85 lb. Black Lab-Blue Heeler mix Cobi …. will not walk with my Hubby … he lays there and gives me the saddest looks and posturing he can until I feel soooo …. guilty I go out and go for a walk with him …. LOL then he jets out the front door like a rocket …. wiggles and squirms with delight and just trots on ahead with his head up …. it’s called Owner Manipulation if I ever saw it … LOL. I know this dog is smarter then me cause I have a hard time motivating to go for a walk, and he knows how to get me out there in the great outdoors. …. We have about a 1/2 mile or longer of field road to walk so we can get in a few hills …. 

      Today I am tackling some much needed “Spring” cleaning although it’s officially Summer, window blinds …. and Citrus cleaner .. a soak in the tub and Wah-Laa …. clean blinds …. It’s just doing it that seems to elude me … BUT … right now all the blinds are in the tub having a bath! … have to pat myself on the back …. LOL .. now for the rest of the house … 

      SOCKS …. do your socks disappear in the dryer, drawers, or laundry room? Or do you place all your mismated socks together in a bag or basket or .. or  … in a certain spot, hoping to find the other mate? …. Single Socks make awesome “rice bags” or cleaning rags cut open …. or the tops cut off can lengthen a sleeve or bed pants …. BUT DO NOT LET THEM SIT TOGETHER TOO LONG ….. I have for years been told they are actually aliens who left alone too long multiply ….. LOL …. SIGH!! …. ( this is my story and I am sticking to it) …. At some point in the past … and I couldn’t tell you how long ago …. I placed gobs and gobs of unmated socks in a VERY  L A R G E  BOX …. then piled some give away clothes on top in my closet ….. 

not a good idea …. They multiplied!! ….. but that’s not all the story …. in the mean time I have collected socks in a milk crate, three large bags and a basket …. but finding my VERY LARGE BOX in my closet on Friday morning while looking for some “put up summer clothes” took me to hysterical  laughter!! ….. I could not believe I had THAT MANY SOCKS!! …. so … today I am tackling the SOCKS …. mate the ones i can …. and …. and … I’m not sure about the rest …. it will be a story for another day … LOL . (but I think I will pick out some good ones to make “rice socks” with and turn the rest into cleaning rags. ) 

       Spent time counseling Bonnie …. she learned yesterday @ her quarterly Neurologist appointment that she is going to have to go to the Rehab Center in October for testing that will take approx. two hours, this place is located in The Big City.  The last time she went, 3 years ago, it was 8 hours and very traumatic for her. It was to get a baseline on her dementia, and schizophrenia and find where she was at. This time it is to again to see where she’s at. I am so thankful for the great neurologists in this area that we have worked with. She has been keeping herself all worked up since yesterday … came into my room a bit ago wanting to know how long I have known about it …. I told her about 6 weeks now ….. SIGH!! ….. 

     What I have learned from helping Bonnie has proven to be very valuable lessons in dealing with those with Mental Disabilities, Handicaps and Disorders …. which I frequently deal with on a regular basis at the apartment complex where i work. I have had some very memorable memories from some of those encounters …. one that sticks out in my mind was a guy name Mark (Mark passed away September of 2014) Mark was our resident Mentally Challenged / Alcoholic …. he was generally quiet and a recluse who stayed to himself. But when he ran low on his “drink” he would go days without sleep. He would watch all the old westerns & detective stories for days ….. He loved Chuck Norris as Walker, “Texas Ranger” …. Mark came into my office one day dressed in a fringed leather coat 😳 …. and proceeded to tell me he was now working for the Texas Rangers on a missing person case 😣….. I realized instantly this was not the time to start laughing 😅 although I wanted too ….. so I became as serious as I could 😳 and ask him who was missing … he told me the guy in the wheelchair (another one of my tenant’s) …. we discussed the possibilities and he left … and … I immediately called his care giver … Pastor Chris from the First Baptist Church here in town. Pastor Chris had, had the privilege of being ask by Mark himself to help him … and he had accepted the challenge ….  What took place was Mark had become “WHO” he was watching on TV. A quick trip to the doctors and some medicine to help induce sleep was in order.  Mark and i had, had many chats over the years and some about the Lord …. he was always interesting to talk to. 

      Some Updates …. Our trailer in front of the garage …. today, it is week one … and it’s still sitting there …. and nothing in it except some old bark and weeds growing …. 

     Hubby is in Louisville this morning ….. an early search …. as he says a (recovery)  this is when the missing person as been deemed “gone too long” and the inevitable looms large ….. 

     Life as we know it ….. sometimes takes turns and unexpected twists and we started out with good intentions at point “A” but somewhere in “This Amazing Maze Called Life”  

we find ourselves somewhere lost in the moment of the maze and wonder “how did I get here?”  and what happen to the last week, … month, … year, … decade??? I can’t answer this for anyone but myself and possibly those who are traveling with me in the same household …. “It Is What It Is” now stop looking back and just keep moving forward … as we get on up that thing called the “Pathway of Life” and journey froward … (because there are no time machines on this pathway) enjoy life and embrace every moment.   … 

     2:27PM SATURDAY …  nap time is looking good ….. blinds all washed and rehung … Living room cleaned up & swept …. laundry still going, washed one of the fans in our room …. started looking more like a circular hairy dust dispenser then a fan 😩 …. the cost of animals and a old house …. sadly the socks are still in piles …. but there’s always later ….. 😄

Sunday June 19th 2016 @ 7:11 PM ….. Father’s Day .. and a day to remember  our Dad’s.

  Attended Sunday school but decided to head home afterwards …. Had ask before I left about lunch … Hubby was steak and my stepmom & I were pork chops. A stop @ the store (Wal Mart)  and I was ready to get lunch …. grabbed some Yellow Squash & Zucchini’s & some potatoes for our veggies. (NO DESSERT for us LOL) … Then off to slumber land …. aaahhh … a nice Sunday afternoon siesta …. (nap) …. my weekly routine …. Sunday’s is my day to relax and rest! 

Sunday June 26th 2016 … @ 8:11PM …. Another week …. Sock update …. well …. I now have about 150 pair of mated socks and still one bag to go to mate (all dark ones) …. whew … Earlier in the week I located another ….. SIGH …. box of socks in my spare bedroom …. I now am inquiring with everyone if they need socks …. I think everyone has the same problem …. too many socks .. LOL …… Next UPDATE …. another SIGH!! our trailer project is still sitting patiently in front of the garage …. EMPTY!! … the cost of getting older and a hot summer …. and sigh maybe a bit of procrastination ??!! LOL ……… I have acquired another pet of sorts …. a little raccoon that was helping its self to our cat food …. I quickly realized the little thing was in poor health and missing it’s left front “arm” @ the “elbow”  ….  (and more recently … realized it’s left rear leg / foot was mangled …. doesn’t make me fond AT ALL OF TRAPPERS!! …. anyway …. decided to feed it outside and close our back room @ night … (which means I have to let the dogs out for a potty break middle of the night now ….  ) Then behold I discovered another small family member of “Rocky’s” as I have dubbed this one is now here ….. so much for feeding wild life …. It’s either possums or raccoons … and I think I prefer raccoons. 

    This weekend was grandkids …. I had Ryver, Bella & Ryder Saturday afternoon for a few hours then my son came up to let Ryver shoot his gun ….. Then Pixie, Bubby & Annie came home with me after church today … (Annie is Fanny's daughter) 

      Another update from the previous letter …. my Counter Top Saga @ Work finally is coming to a close. I was able to pick up the last two foot portion of my counter top this past Thursday June 23rd at Lowes. … the girl in the counter top & appliance area was someone new and ask if I would sit down and talk with her about what happened … I said sure …. and we discussed the various difficulties I had experienced … and how it could have been avoided. Hopefully the store will remedy this situation seeing I learned it had been having a string of bad issues out of this particular dept. ….. Now for my maintenance man to finish my office up.  

    It’s 8:55PM … it’s still Sunday evening  … Stopped by my son's to drop off Ryver’s “coveted” jar of green slime …. it’s amazing how something like slime is so “loved” by a kid …. actually I researched how to make it and found a great recipe so I called Ryver and we have a “Slime Making Date”  …. (I will share the recipe)  …. My son offered me a cup of his Guatemalan Dark Roast K-Cup Coffee … as a coffee lover how could I refuse …. yep actually it was past my coffee drinking time like close to 7PM but it’s OK I had a nap which guarantees I won’t see the sand man  before 11 or 12 PM …… and that’s Ok …. anyway here is the recipe on the next page for the slime …

SLIME RECIPE

                1 teaspoon borax powder

1 1/2 C water, divided

4 oz (1/2 C) Elmer's glue, clear or white

food coloring ( may also use Elmer’s glitter glue or colored glues)

Instructions

1) Add borax powder to 1 cup of WARM water and stir to dissolve. Set aside. 

        2 ) Pour glue into a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 C water. (you can add some of this water to glue bottle to get all the glue out) Add a few drops of food 

coloring until desired color is reached and then stir to mix glue solution until smooth.

3) Pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch the solids start to form. Stir for a few moments and then use your hands to gather the mass. The mixture will be very soft and wet.

4) Keep kneading until it firms up and feels dry. Discard excess liquid in bowl. 

The more you knead and play with the slime the firmer it will become. Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container and the slime will keep indefinitely.

*Note: that this is not a recipe for human consumption. It is for play purposes only. Make sure to supervise young children.

July 7th 2016 Thursday night @ 8:52PM  

     Well it’s been a week and a half since I wrote …. I not only made Slime for Ryver I first made some for Bubby, then Pixie … then I made Ryver's and Bella. We had dark yellow for Bubby, pink for Pixie, green for Ryver and light yellow for Bella. I found with variation in warmer temps of water the Slime becomes a bit harder … like a play dough consistency …. I used Clear Elmer’s Glue the 5oz bottle which actually is a 1/2 cup which you are suppose to use.  The kids loved the stuff …. 

     Lots of changes …Harry and Fanny, and the kids purchased 2 six man tents, and a canopy and moved onto our side lawn beside our garage …. After much prayer over the last few months ….. and …. Hubby and I had to come to some decisions and this is why …. physically neither of us can keep up with the large yard anymore …. and since the tree came down … it has added some difficulties …. like a way over grown back yard …. Between rain, broken down lawn mowers, allergies, and my severe allergy to poison ivy … our once beautiful manicured lawn and flower beds look like an over grown jungle of sorts. I knew we either had to sell and move to something more manageable OR …. let someone come here and share our place …. and help with it …. Hubby didn’t want to sell and I didn’t either really … we love the seclusion and peacefulness here …. so ….. I ask my son & daughter,  neither of them was interested … so I ask Harry …. and here we are today …. 

     Woke up at 2:00AM this morning … wide awake … ( I do this every so often) …. was reading in Romans 6 …. and in my devotional from Charles Stanley when this came to me ….. Why do we spend so much time blinded by darkness …. and have a difficult time seeing in the light? 

Thinking on small pet sins that we nurture and hold dear …. when we are really suppose to kill them off!! We deceive ourselves into thinking we can handle them until we become so accustomed and numb to their presence that we think they don’t exist anymore …… Till God slaps you up side the head @ 2AM with one of them and … it becomes time to repent.

    One of the biggest things I think I battle is addiction to sugar …. after that it’s just comfort foods …. that middle of the night munchie …. mine’s a slice of bread and butter (real butter) and sometimes a slathering of some jam (I prefer strawberry or orange marmalade) …. and this is more justifiable when the bread is 100% whole wheat …. BUT …. food …. in general is one of my pet sins … I am able to justify everything and anything I eat … I have 900 excuses why for all of it …. YET …. (and this is what God and I are working on is the word … GLUTTONY!!) Eating something excessively doesn’t necessarily mean eating a gallon of it …. if 5 or 6 potato chips are enough (as the bag says) then 1/2 a bag is gluttony …… (I personally can find ways to justify a whole bag …. then sit as the salt hits my system and I feel like YUCK!! and still make jokes and laugh it off ) …… God isn’t laughing!!  ….. OK enough said ….. 

      We spent the 4th of July watching and listening to RAIN … RAIN and more RAIN ….. My son, his wife and the kids came up to fire off fireworks between rain drops over the weekend. We had a nice two evenings in a row …. and it was relaxing …. My son is dealing with a herniated and tore disc … he had his 1st injection and not sure if he dares to take another one … left him feeling rather yucky. He had to go back to the doctors this week …. 

    Aaaahhh …  Friday evening July 8th … it’s 9:33PM …. Another long day @ work … I have been working with the VA (Veteran’s Assoc.) with a homeless vet … “MT” ... he’s been on the street for about 4 years … battling depression, homelessness, anger at the system …. inabilities to work because of physical disabilities and a VERY SMALL VA PENSION …. yet in all this there is a strength and kindness he possesses that impressed me from the get-go …. He arrived at my office with what he thought was a Section 8 voucher … he was overwhelmed with the packet … I opened it and realized it was just the application …. What transpired is …. I took the bull by the horns, filled it out for him & mailed it … then began a plethora of phone calls from me to the local VA to Washington DC to our congressman’s office …. God is good!! “MT” received thumbs up and his voucher is a go!! Today he arrived right after the storm … I got into my emaIl to find his online interview there & ready to do …. he completed it and now we are waiting for another packet of paperwork to process him for an actual apartment sometime in the next 7 to 10 days …. 

     My stepmom had her yearly case management meeting at the Handicap Workshop today I stayed in the loop via the phone … they cut her to 3 days … she has had trouble with going 4 & 5 days a week …. she is ok with this and so am I …. Her doctor and myself have taken her off Haldol a drug that is antipsychotic and helps people with schizophrenia. She had her last shot  May 2nd … I had begun to notice some behavior issues and disorientation issues with her …. now off the drug they have all cleared up … She is on medicine for Dementia and I think the two interacted somehow. Sue has become a very calm pleasant person who thinks pretty clear 99% of the time … I am really happy with the results. 

      Harry picked Pixie up from church camp this forenoon and got caught in the horrible wind and rain storm we had …. dodged falling limbs and branches driving back to our house. …. Amazingly God has blessed us where we live …. our place sits in a holler and often we don’t receive the wind issues  …. we had placed Bonnie’s large 10ft span wooden umbrella out back for Harry, Fanny and the kids …. when the storm was coming in I prayed for safety over our place ….. again God is SOOO good …!! The umbrella was still standing after the storm unscathed !! along with two tent’s and a canopy … I was able to practice my FAITH OVER FEAR Tactics …. 

On a funnier note …. I was at my office when this hit …. at the end of the storm …. I was in my small bathroom (one wall sits on and outside wall) when a HUGE GIGANTIC ENORMOUS CLAP OF THUNDER HIT !! …. WHEW!! the vibration alone stunned me … ummm I was enthroned and unable to move …. I felt like a drunken sailor coming out of the bathroom it literally rattled my brain!! …. then it kept rolling and rolling and rolling for a full 2 or 3 minutes … it was heart pounding noise!! ….. I called Harry he agreed with me, we had never heard anything like it before. …..  I also called my Hubby to make sure he was safe & ok … he had been heading back to the shop with the "big truck" when it broke loose … he had a branch come down and hit the side of his truck but no damage. I then called my best friend … Kara, she lives in Indiana … they didn’t get hit as bad …. it stayed on our side of the river. 

     Fanny is feeling much better since she moved … the place they had rented was full of mold, it really tore up her COPD the doctors wanted to hospitalize her …… like she says the fresh air and time will help but breathing all them mold spores will take time to get out of her system.

     Tomorrow Bubby gets to go to Bible Camp for the day … kindergarten and First grade have a one day session from 10AM to 3PM. He is all excited about his day at camp. …. Storm came home tired out!! …. My Pastor was in charge of the 2nd & 3rd graders this year so I am sure he was tired out too!! …. 

     

   Tuesday July 12th 2016 …. @ 6:28PM  Today has been a whole lifetime of moments since Friday …. We decided to get our dog Cobi to the vet today $$$$ … he has a severe ear infection but also has a tumor in his ear which prevented all the antibiotic we put in it to get to the source. So another trip in the morning to drop him off for surgery. $$$$ …. My car is @ my son's … my starter died …. ordered that … won’t be here till Thursday or Friday $$$$ Then he will put it in …. BUT …. my motor mount is broke so we will be having that replaced too $$ … and he’s going to try to put my front fender on that fell off when I hit the deer back in Feb or March … AT THE WORK FRONT …. my church is helping to pay for “MT’s” deposit on his apartment …. Our Benevolent Fund guy dropped it off … he is part of the group that helps decide who gets what  …. he lost his mom a few weeks ago …. she’d been in a nursing home …. I was able to encourage him … Ok back to my car …. it broke down @ the grocery store Sunday after church … I had stopped to get milk and a few things ….. there they sat in a hot car … that won’t start … called my son … he came to fix the car (or try to) and Harry came to get the kids & groceries so they didn’t sit in the heat in my car.

Saturday July 16th 2016 @ 3:44PM  ….. To continue the previous paragraph ….. Wed. morning Harry took Bonnie to the Handicap Workshop, Cobi to the vets and me to work … so thankful for his willingness to get up and run us where we needed to be. Hubby picked me up @ work Wed. afternoon and we went and picked up Cobi …. The vet bill wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be … $282.00 for surgery ….. My car is @ my son's waiting for the starter to arrive …. Thursday morning I receive a text … starter will be here today … HALLELUJAH!! I do some phone calling to my son & Hubby …. I call Harry @ home to be on the look out for it … and the post office … in case it don’t fit in the box … UPS delivered it!! Thank You Lord!!  Harry calls me …. Hubby picks it up …. my son begins to pull starter ….  I have my car back Thursday night.  So thankful God held the rain storm off long enough to get this done …. we had a bad one later in the evening. …… Then Abby one of my dogs has a swollen back paw and won’t walk for a few days … we treated her with an aspirin and some dog de-flamatory meds and today she is fine. 

I am going to stop here …. Till the next time …. May God’s blessings flow abundantly in all your life ….. 

      

Overwhelmed to Overcomer Chapter Two

THIS WAS WROTE MAY 2016 ..... BUT POSTED APRIL 2017 

  

 One of my goals for 2016 is to reconnect …. Often we think about travel, to accomplish this, but for some of us logistic’s, jobs, time and finances …. make it near on impossible to do this. And if we can travel, there normally is the “coin toss” which way to go …. and no matter which direction we head in, there is always someone were not going to see. So …. like in the “good old days” when horse & wagon were the common mode of travel and letter writing was how people communicated …. I have decided to …. with a modern twist (using my computer) to generate a letter at least every few months …. and hopefully going to reach out to reconnect with those who I care about. I have been writing letters to friends and family anyway so this endeavor is broadening my spectrum of connections. 

    The last several years have brought a lot of changes to our life here in Kentucky and I am sure in your life too. As I have begun to think on how time flies and realized we will have been here in Kentucky 22 years this year I was a bit stunned when I began to think on how quickly this has happened. So to begin with I am going to just re-introduce us and what’s been happening here ….. May 31st is our 22nd anniversary on our arrival here and it truly seems like only last week ….. July 17th of this year marks 22 years at our house we live in. December of this year (2016) will mark 15 years we have been the owners of this house (and the bank for at least a few more years LOL) ….  

   For those of  you have heard about the recent “tree saga” at our place …. and some of you I have sent pictures to …. We had this wonderful HUGE tree in our back yard that sat approximately 3 to 4 ft. from the corner of our garage and about 12 ft. from our house, towering about 6 to 7 story’s high …. it was 4 Hackberry trees that had grown together. One tree had covered our immediate “back courtyard area” near the house for years. Several years ago one of the trees began to lean precariously after a week of frozen ice covered branches, over our dining room area and our electric lines that ran into the house. We had to call some tree cutter people and have it brought down safely. Then we move forward to this winter and early spring and I had notice the one that leaned over the garage looked like it was hanging a mite closer to the garage roof, …. Sometimes you can look at something TOO MUCH and convince yourself of anything …. so after staring for a time at the tree over the garage, I decided I was imagining things ….. BUT …. you know when it is not your imagination and it’s God trying to tell you HEY LOOK!! you keep hearing this still small voice saying “the tree IS leaning and it’s not your imagination” …. So I grabbed my camera and decided to take some pictures that’s when God had me walk around the tree and discovered the bend was totally rotted out and was not going to hold much longer. …. Along with this find came the split between the other two trees that I seen. YIKES!! So again I contacted the tree people, Pikes Tree Service is owned by Christians and I have had opportunity to get to know Steve the owner. He pretty much came to the same conclusion I did …. the tree was coming apart and needed to come down …. then the waiting began …. first we had to figure in the $750.00 it was going to cost then, the weather factor ….. lots of rain and wind … which neither of these conditions was favorable to bring in a large crane and a lift truck needed to do the job. Finally 3 weeks and lots of lessons in patience, fear and prayer came into our lives. God held the tree together through several bad wind storms, and the rain ceased and down came the tree with Pike’s Tree Service’s help. The tree is the kind it will try and grow it’s self back so we had the stumps left about 10 to 12 foot high …. they are already growing an “umbrella” shaped “bush” at the top. It’s amazing the lessons God can teach you about things you thought you had long since overcome through times like the “Tree Saga”.  I think the greatest lesson that came out of it was the lesson about FEAR. I tend to be pretty fearless …. i.e. things don’t bother me much in the realm of “fear” … I don’t worry over a lot of things some people find needful to worry about …. I tend to take the “hey sa-ra, sa-ra” … “Don’t worry be happy approach” and “it is what it is now get over it!” stand on things … So when I started “tree watching” this tiny spark of fear got in unaware into my heart … SIGH … I found myself dwelling on the “possibilities” and “what if’s” ….. This all happened in about 24 hours ….. We had some cold weather too, so it was needful to build a wood fire …. which required SOMEONE …. to go out under the LEANING CRACKED TREE  … where we had some wood cut up and ready … and load up the wheel borrow and bring it into the house …. ALL THE WHILE THE WIND WAS BLOWING FAIRLY STEADY AND STONG ….. and Sigh; our tree was swaying in the wind …. I was mumbling a lot under my breathe … I just didn’t realize HOW LOUD I WAS MUMBLING … LOL … but hubby heard …. and was quick to remind me of all the times I had given him one of those “PEPPY WIFE TALKS” …. you know …. the kinds where you think your being all sweet as sugar and SO POSITIVE it’s just dripping off your lips??? but your hubby feels like your talking through fangs and it’s really slobber dripping and not sweetness??? ….. WELL ANYWAY …. (he must have heard me at some point in time …. and something sunk in …. cause …. I had one of my peppy wife talks handed back to me …. (I think he actually was gloating at the prospect of being able to remind me ….. ) “SO … what about all that positive talk you tell me about praying then speaking the word and confessing what you want and not what you see?”!!! ……. whew …. kind of rattles you to hear this back at you …. BUT IT WORKED!! I 

#1) I had a couple more weeks to conquer fear and prove God was totally able to answer prayer with that tree. …. 

#2) I was able to learn that God has to down size your pride once in a while a bit to get it back in line with His Word and His will. 

#3) I also learned that sometimes even when your being right it can be wrong … like a wrong motive, a wrong emotion, a wrong feeling …. Sometimes pride can mask it’s self in 

     something we know for a fact .. and we become so proud of the fact that we really know; 

     that it becomes the stumbling block that can take us down.

      Today is Monday May 9th … it is 8:59PM …. God has blessed us in so many ways with wonderful friends and extended family …. Years ago I had met a lady named Doris … I just thought the world of her … we had met at a bible study then over the years had went different ways and then reconnected at another bible study …. several weeks ago she had called me, she owned a tablet with Facebook on it and we had been connecting through that for some time … she had lost her Facebook account and couldn’t quite figure out how to get it up again …. so she stopped by my office …. I decided to stop by her house and see if I could help her out. ….. Doris is 85 years young. I ended up going back to her place that Saturday and have stopped by several times since. She is such a sweet person and so wonderful to sit and talk to and with about the Lord. Doris was married to my daughter-in-law’s great uncle. I was there this evening from about 6 to 8 PM and it only seemed like a few minutes. ….. I also have reconnected with another friend Meredith, she lives in New York we text often and It seems so good to reconnect with old friends too even if they are about 650 miles away. 

     My job as an apartment Manager (14 years at it … as of June 4th 2016) … is sometimes very taxing in the people department. I sometimes feel I work in a “FishBowl” … my office is blessed with lots of windows which isn’t a bad thing, …… I guess …. I can keep a good eye on whats going on most of the time ….. but …. it’s not real private either. …. then …. T H E PEOPLE …. they call them tenant’s …. lots of people! 

     There are 48 units at the property that I manage, that’s 48 households …. 48 different lives of families unfolding on a daily basis around me ….. 48 possible soap opera’s … 48 different drama’s playing out on life’s big screen daily ….. sometimes reaching my office on a first person basis but more frequently happening via 2nd and 3rd party “messengers” (or gossips … if you want more clarity how I identify these messengers) Then you add all the people who just stop by to put in an application or pick one up, then all those who call looking for an apartment. …. Put that with all the different personalities and those who suffer from various stages and degrees of mental illness, depression, anger, and elderly memory loss from various reasons and all kinds of malady’s that happen in one’s life and it’s a melting pot of a great novel …. (for those who love drama!!) BUT …. inside of all of it …. is the “Great COMMISSION” Go ye therefore teaching all nations ….. This small community here on planet Earth is my “nations” It is a mission field all in it’s own tiny corner. It’s a place to live before others your testimony or lack of one. It’s a place to witness God’s goodness and to share about Him.  It is a place of ministry and a place to demonstrate God’s love. Easy? ABSOLUTELY NOT by no means!! and some days it seems downright impossible …. BUT …. After years of studying King David’s life and the concept God called him a man after His own heart …. I have come to a conclusion that David lived, worked and played in continual remembrance of all God’s goodness and spent a lot of time in praise & worship; not worrying about tomorrow or if he was living right. He just chose to live full throttle in life loving it and embracing God in thanksgiving. So King David has been my role model and “go to” when I need reminding about whom I serve. With all life's up’s and down’s I try to embrace each day as a gift from God to me and praise Him in all things. 

May 10th … Today is my daughter in law’s birthday and it has been storming since 3PM and it’s now almost 7:30PM. Loaned my son our lawn mower, was going to stop today and pick it up but all that wet stuff pouring down kind of stopped me stopping ….. Which makes me think on all the God Moment’s I have had lately …. Saturday my son called me about 12:30PM and ask to borrow the lawn mower, Ashton had come up to work off some money he owed Grandma (that’s me) …. I had picked him up about 9AM after I had gone to the Methodist Men’s yearly yard sale.  … I had made a list of garage sale items I was specifically looking for to help me focus and NOT BUY a bunch of stuff I didn’t need. I was looking for a pretty plastic table cloth for my Prayer Room Table, some small pretty saucers , a couple of children’s bibles, and some wall or table lamps. (only I had forgot I was looking for lamps that particular day and had failed to write it down …. but when I saw them it was a God Moment … OK so back to the subject of my God Moments …

#1) At the garage sale I found 2 beautiful wall lamps, a stack of pretty mismatched china 

      saucers, a book about Angels Among Us, and a very Spring looking plastic table cloth that just fit my table perfectly. 

#2) Ashton & myself were delayed several times getting out of our place after we had cut wood and moved brush on Saturday …. In pulled Mike my maintenance man with his pick up truck …. and Mike’s brother Pete. ( I had been wondering how I was going to get the lawn mower in my car by myself ….??) Thank You Lord …. Mike graciously loaded it on the back of his truck and transported it to Scott.

 #3) Coming home Friday night I had to stop @ the store … when I went to get back into my car a lady parked in the vehicle next to mine was shooting me dirty looks (an ex-tenant who is not real fond of me LOL) I had a mean moment and sat there and dawdled so she could get her eyes full ….. (it’s kind of reverse psychology LOL) …. anyway, I then proceeded to pull slowly away …. as I was heading south bound up our road which is very curvy, I met a 

       north bound truck passing a north bound car on a curve .. the truck was on my side of the road …. If I’d been just moments sooner we’d have hit head on in the curve, God’s timing  was awesome and I was able to move over to the side on the short straight away after the curve!! 

I love these Moment’s when God just touches things and wahlaaaa … prayer, unspoken prayer & unknown prayers are answered and becomes a “K-N-O-W “ that God was in it …. brief moments of gratitude and amazing seconds of time where Heaven touches Earth and the tiniest miracles occur in our daily journey here …. The most amazing thing is I don’t necessarily go around looking for them but they just keep showing up …. sometimes in the most unexpected ways and places. It’s like finding tiny gems as you take a walk along the pathway of your life. 

      Back to my job ……  A while back I hired a young man named Shawn H. to help with the Landscaping and Curb Appeal @ my apartment complex …. my maintenance man @ that time was facing much needed major surgery and was unable to preform all the outside work that a 48 unit apartment complex with 7 buildings and about 6 acres of property require on a daily basis. ( We hire a mowing company to keep the lawns mowed) …  but there were unattended flowerbeds, shrubbery and just a lot of other things that needed some tender loving care. I finally received the much needed approval to hire, so I did …. I first met Shawn @ the church I was attending from April 2015 to February 2016. He is a natural born landscaper and immediately took authority over the property; I gave him freedom to landscape as he saw the need. I now have this beautiful flowering landscaped property to drive by and pull into every day … I feel so blessed to have found this gem of a young man. …… My maintenance man "Bub" did have his surgery on April 7th, he had a plate put in his neck to help support the severely deteriorated disc.  ….. I also had to hire a new maintenance person …. Had several applications and finally hired a guy named Mike S. … he’d done property maintenance in Florida for some years and had a great sense of what is required of a property maintenance person. I’m still adjusting to having someone around who knows what they are doing when it comes to paperwork ….. Bub my previous maintenance guy had workedas a contractor for 26 years and was part owner with his family of a small General Contracting / Construction  company, so he was really knowledgable where it came to repairs of doors and windows and every other needed repair we had …. and he understood the “business end” of things …. BUT …. Mike came also with his family owning a small General Contracting / Construction  company, so he was really knowledgable too plus he’d done property maintenance a huge PLUS!! …. and I have to say another God sent gift to our property. I’m still adjusting to having someone around who understands the finer points of property maintenance needs. 

    We are currently remodeling my office …. a much needed upgrade …. Our company went “high Tech” in late 2014 … I had always had a computer at my property so I was one of I believe 11 properties that did have a computer so I was blessed in that aspect. But when they went “High Tech” They hired a program writer, bought all the 180 some properties laptop computers & HP  colored printers …. everything came all pre-programmed when it was delivered to my property. ….. SIGH!! the down side was …. I had had a desktop Apple/ Mac computer  for some years (I also have Apple Computers at home here) ….. so …. adjusting to Microsoft again was not an easy switch for me …. matter of fact it was down right annoying to say the least …. but after over a year I am learning .. and adjusting with a lot of learned patience and prayer … LOL ……. BUT …. back to the remodeling now in process … My office has a nook that years ago i had had wired up and “wired in” as a media center area, my computer, printer, and fax machines were all there in this nook. …… It worked well for years …. till the upgrade to “High Tech” happened …. then after all the reports and paperwork became internet bound, and email friendly I was constantly running around my desk and across the room to my “new” laptop computer (cause they took my desktop one) and where the cable company had wired in the cable it didn’t reach my desk across the room. AND WIFI DOESN’T WORK WELL ON OR WITH MY COMPUTER (although my smart phone can pick it up) so …. I am hooked up directly to the cables. …..  THERE WAS THIS HUGE NEED TO GET EVERYTHING BY MY DESK SO IT WAS ACCESSIBLE … Thus the remodeling part …. I recently had the electrician we use on our property to come in and rewire everything across the room near my desk …. so for now we have a temporary set up until the counter tops we designed come in and are built into place to give me a workable station and media center that is functionable. ( our counter tops are delivered on this Thursday May 12th)  …. MY DESK is a huge 3 x 6 foot heavy wooden desk with a glass top that is beautiful …. but huge and not real practical with the needed upgrades …  ……. It is 9:04 PM and it’s till storming out …. and my eye’s are droopy so i am heading off to slumber land. 

May 25th 2016 …. it is 8:07 PM … whew … I reread this letter and already a lot has happened 1st of all well I dealt with the week ahead I was also preparing to take a much needed “mini vacation” to Knoxville TN with some ladies from my church to a Ladies Conference. … I am going to just write and not necessarily in chronological order …. First of all My counter top was delivered by Lowes for my office …. it looked beautiful …. BUT …. sigh … not quite right …. after quick measurements we discovered that the 12 ft required to fit along my wall was fine …. BUT the counter coming off the wall counter was 2 ft too short. Then my dilemma started …. We actually didn’t pay attention to the measurements until we actually placed it in my office on Monday May 16th. It was then we realized some of the equations just won’t work. I had ordered a wooden 24” wide drawer unit and a 18” wide filing cabinet unit to fit under my counter. The 24” drawer unit was to go at the end of the counter coming out into the room …. thats when the reality of a 4 ft “L” was not going to work with a 24” drawer unit. I had told the customer service person I needed a 12FT wall counter and a 6ft out into the room piece …. she measured the outside length not the inside length …. thus the outside measurements were 4’ ft + the 2’ ft width of the other counter top was 6ft. …. but when you placed a 2ft wide cabinet under a 4ft space it left me 2ft to pull my chair under …. definitely not wide enough. So the new “Counter Saga” began …. Also on Monday May 16th I had to take Sue my stepmother and “G’pa” a 75 yr old man I help take care of … (his real name is Larry S.) to the doctor’s for back to back Dr. Appts. for both of them. Our doctor left the practice and we had been trying to get into see the new “Dr.” so cancellation was not an option. …… Lot’s of new tests were ordered for both of them so we are facing more appointments again ….. (actually I am suppose to take Sue to get blood drawn like tomorrow ….. first thing in the morning) ….. The rest of my week went wild crazy …. On Tuesday May 17th I went back over to Lowes to try and figure out the counter top situation.I had ate a late breakfast so I wasn’t hungry and by the time I hit Madison IN I was VERY HUNGRY and @ Lowes …. not a good thing …. SIGH!! …. I had so many variables threw at me my head was spinning from everything they “COULDN’T DO” for me …. and all the things they could but I didn’t want!! What got settled on more out of desperation then anything else was I decided to get the 6ft extra counter length ( the story behind this was …. “So sorry, we shorted your counter top” …. but the minimum you now can order is 6’ (even though I only wanted a 2ft section) so I “designed hastily what I wanted   if I had to have a 6 footer to deal with …. (mind you my head was spinning @ this point in time) it was going to almost match up to the existing top but now I would have a “J” shaped top instead of an “L” …. Oh well “hey sa-ra sa-ra” what will be will be”  …. Decided to go to the Professional Desk and complain …. I did and was nice!! NO honestly the man was so kind and he looked like he’d had a rough day too so I was truly nice!! Then I arrived back at my office and got Lowes on the computer …. where i filed a complaint!!! 

Wednesday was busy … Thursday May 19th I received a call from Lowes, a guy named Scott called and said they wanted to help me solve my issues ….. HALLELUJAH!! … great timing too …. I had to be in Madison IN by 4:30 PM to pick up the van us ladies from my church, rented to go to Knoxville TN. I arrived @ Lowes @ 3PM … It went quickly … Scott cancelled my order for the 6ft counter top that I DIDN’T WANT and reordered the 2ft section I needed to begin with and they are doing it for FREE !! God is good!! Sue had to ride over with me …. the original plan was to have Lee go too and I was going take him out to eat for his Birthday …. Lee had to be in Louisville with Molly for her annual doggie eye exam for the dog team. …. (so sorry but Sue and I ate Chinese anyway) then I went on to pick up the “8 passenger van” @ the car lot …. We got a 2016 Toyota Sienna (I think that’s how you spell it) ONLY IT WON’T SEAT 8 OLDER LADIES … it would only seat 6 “older ladies” unless 2 ladies were under 50 lbs. LOL …. made a hasty call to our organizer and found out there were only 6 going in the van … another HALLELUJAH !! Parked my car in the lot and headed home.  I was well on my way to getting ready for my mini-vacation to Knoxville TN on May 20th & 21st …. 

  We pulled out for Knoxville Friday morning @ 10:30AM .. stopped to eat in Corbin at Sonny’s BBQ … Pam our pastor’s wife said it was a tradition. I ended up being the “designated driver all the way to Knoxville TN. We arrived there about 5PM .. lots of prayer for no rain for the most part helped a lot. …. It did rain the last 90 miles into Knoxville. But God was good and it was just a nice soaking type rain … and driving was good. …. THE CONFERENCE was just too short and we seemed to on our way home before we knew it ….. It was based on a JOURNEY to Joy … there were 10 workshops to choose from and you could attend 3 …. Awesome speakers and workshops, and awesome praise & worship …. I needed the refreshing!! Before I knew it I was back in Carrollton Saturday night and headed back to Madison to return the van …. Lee rode over with me … We arrived back home about 8:30PM Saturday night. …. 

   Today May 25th … we are still waiting for the correct counter top to arrive. I picked out a silver oak panelling to use as a “surround” under my counter & a sliver gray wood looking baseboard to trim in … I am excited about what the totally finished office will look like. …. I am going to wind down this letter for May 2016 … so take care and may God bless you all ……

       

Overwhelmed .... to Overcomer Chapter One

        How do you recover from Overwhelmed to being an Overcomer? ..... Whew .... not an easy task.

    Been several weeks of a barrage of "... and suddenly's" .... You barely catch your breathe from one incident and another one is looming like a giant before you .... hyperventilation becomes a norm ... and you find yourself on high alert and defensive ..... which all summed up equals OVERWHELMED!!  ...... and I don't read the news or watch TV this is just my everyday life .....
 
     Sat in church this morning listening to our Sunday School teacher. Somewhere in the midst of what he was saying and as the Holy Spirit was administering truth to my "bones" I heard this .... OVERWHELMED TO OVERCOMER .... whew .... 3 words .... but powerful ....

     Overwhelmed is like standing at the base of a hugh mountain and looking up at the expanse and the heights of the mountain top and feeling too small, too incapable and too feeble to climb anymore. Weariness pulls at every muscle and emotion, fatigue courses through your body and mind. Discouragement plays with your emotions like a pack of hyena's with a wounded gazelle. You are sinking in the quicksand of "Overwhelmed" ...... Hyperventilation becomes the normal way to breathe, and you almost forget what it's like to breathe deep and slow. Your cry to God becomes a woobly whiney one word emission .... "HELP!" 

This was wrote in December of 2015 .....It is now April 1st 2017 

.... and I sit here laughing at everything .... BECAUSE IT SOUND LIKE NOW!! ... today @ 5:27PM ..... Some people ask me how I do this ?? I ask "Do what?" they look at my life and wonder how I stay "sane" .... I can testify that PRAYER is my number one mainstay and a close walk with Jesus is the rock on which I stand ..... 

     It's been a year and a half ..... In this time ... there are small and major things that have taken place 
This was wrote on April 25th 2016 
     Well it’s been almost 2 months since I wrote back on March 3rd  … Some major events are we had our BIG Tree cut down, it stood almost 6 stories high and covered almost half of our back yard. It was 4 Hackberry trees that had grew together. I am having it cut about 12 ft up from the ground ….. It will create a “umbrella type tree cover eventually. We had to get my stepmom an umbrella for out back now so she don’t have to sit in the sun and smoke her cigs. I was pleasantly surprised at the sturdiness of this wooden umbrella. We just had the tree(s) dropped in our yard, with the noble intent of cutting it up ourselves to save some money .... What we ended up with is a tree shrub, branches & trunks jungle and a MESS!!  Our old treadmill died …. well after careful consideration and a lot of phone calls we found out trying to repair one that old may not be wise. SO ….. we have purchased a “new to us” Treadmill .. from a Fitness Center  It is used and refurbished, It’s call a LifeFit Treadmill. It’s a commercial grade one  … and VERY BIG!! We had to buy a special type of plug in for it …. I haven’t got on it yet but I have 
plans to start …. soon!  
     As an apartment Manager we have our share of the heroin issues @ my apartment complex …. well it has been partially and very very sadly resolved somewhat ….. On April 12th @ 4AM in the morning a young man I will call "J" who is one of my tenant’s son's, had just got out of prison a few weeks before & was already dealing heroin on our property (when he "visited" his mom.) He was hit head on by a tractor trailer well traveling south bound on the Interstate to take his girlfriend to work. She was killed instantly and he was pronounced dead @ 8:30 PM that night. The heartbreaking thing is his mom who is also my tenant is also on heroin …….. and it just breaks my heart to see this tragic story continue this way. One thing for the Grandmother’s sake the accident wasn’t their fault. The driver of the truck fell asleep from what they have learned. It was a mixed bag of emotions for me to say the least …. I  had, had opportunity to meet and talk to "J" a couple of times ….. He was a seemingly “nice" kid with a “VERY BAD HABIT!!” ….. DRUGS !!  
       I didn’t hate him … just what he did … I really cared about his mom & Gma I have sat with them in church off and on …. and I have known the Gma for years ….. so it was like I said a mixed bag of emotions …. hating what "J" did but loving his family and him as a person, I did a lot of praying over the first 72 hours after the crash …. seeking God for an answer in my emotions. …… Some strange answers have arisen that I am still seeking the Lord about …. and still don’t know quite what to make of the answer. I has also given me a different perspective on prayer …..
       I have been reading a book called Minding The Spirit based on Romans 8:5 -7 what a fantastic book …. and what an enlightening book …. about the Holy Spirit. Pastor Tom Springer is the writer His special gifting is teaching about the Holy Spirit & JOY ( a side effect of the Holy Spirit) and I have to say it is awesome !! 
      I have had a change in Maintenance personnel @ my apartment complex. Bub who had been with me since February 2015, last day was April 1st. He was heading to surgery on April 7th … I hired a new person named Mike, he was a newbie to our area & state, hailing from Florida. He actually moved just up the street from my apartments so it makes it convenient for him to get to and from work. He’s really good at Maintenance and use to work for an apartment complex in FL. so he has some of the job descriptions down really good. 
     The guy who owns property down back of us … started having the woods logged … they are cutting cedar out. A tractor trailer loaded with cedar logs comes in & out of our country cow path driveway. We were blessed in that the logging company fixed the top of our driveway so the big truck could get in & out. It use to be up hill and then a steep uphill grade to come out of at the top the road ... now its all a gradual uphill grade and WIDE. We have told them they could cut the large cedar in our driveway too if they want it. It's pretty dead from continual cuttings by the electric company when they trim back trees from the power lines.
     I would love to build a gazebo on the concrete pad that exsists in our backyard, …  But it’s a dream I will have to keep for a while longer.Spent a nice day with my 3 grandkids it was a nice day together …. My oldest grandchild had brought a friend up so they stayed outside and played.  Back @ Christmas time … the youngest grandson who is 2 literally cried the whole time we all were at thier house for Christmas. Lots od socail anxiety issues (People make him cry in general)  He's come a long way in a few months.
      My son thinks he has a bulging disc or two in his back. He is presently going to a chiropractor and a regular doctor too for physical therapy … health insurance makes you go to a regular doctor & physical therapy in order to get an MRI. …. his one leg is numb from the knee down. 
     Lee and I went out and cut on our tree pile for a bit, we figure if we work at it every few nights we can get it done easier then try and exhaust ourselves for a full day. 

   

Emotional Healing .... Some Thoughts chp 4

Is there a true Emotional Healing that can take place? .... 
#1) Like any wound ... you will never be the same there is the scar factor ..... on our physical bodies there are the marks of past wounds, like small diaries from our past that tell a story ... for some the scars are more then small diaries they are major novels with outstanding credentials.

#2) Emotional Wounds you can't always see, nor can you detect if they are there or not in others, only by getting to know someone do they become obvious. Not everyone is aware of Emotional Wounds in others ..... For some life is a series of one wound after another and they become so calloused and so  wounded they can not deal with anyone else who is wounded.

#3) Not everyone wants to see the emotional scars and wounds of others. They want life to flow on, unhindered un-dammed .... free flowing ... as a canoe drifting down a slow moving stream in the summer time ..... They do not want to prepare for the fall's rainy torrents that can happen in a heartbeat in the stream of life .... sadly I have seen people unprepared as their small canoe of life spins wildly out of control in the swollen river of their life and the whole time they are screaming this isn't happening ... I am in control ......

#4) I believe there is a time to enjoy and to drift in the gentle streams of life but to be lulled into a sense that this is reality is a false sense of security that can quickly be dashed to a million pieces. It is but a moment in time to relax and enjoy what you have .... but inside of this comes the responsibility of the "canoe owner" to ensure their "muscles" have proper training to paddle and to hold the canoe steady in the water and to learn to not panic and rock the boat in rough white water currents .....

    You can get beat up fast .... if your boat of life tips over! ...... If you survive, if you don't drown, if you were prepared .... you can make it.

  #5) Emotional Healing .... has a time frame all of it's own .... a surface wound heals in a matter of several days and sometimes in several hours, you hardly can see where the injury occurred. But there are those wounds that are deep, and wide and need special care ... and don't heal fast. A deep physical wound sometimes has to be packed as a healing process to keep the wound open so it doesn't create a false healing on the surface yet be teaming with infection inside .... to heal it up .... it takes skill and time. Other wounds can be healed up faster but a person keeps picking at the scabs on the wounded area and keeps opening it up .....

#6) Everyone has emotional wounds, Some of the sweetest flowers must be crushed to release their beautiful fragrance. .... Others release their sweet aroma after a hard rain, A tree's bark & woody trunk gain beautifully sought after grains from strong winds and blowing storms that rage year after year through the forest. The sequoia nut must fall hundreds of feet then lay dormant on the forest floor and go through a fire before becoming soft enough to produce another sequoia tree. Humans without emotional wounds are often shallow and surface people with no depth. Unable to withstand even the slightest ripple in their life. .......