Praying For Joni

Today, I want to share a very special person with you. Her name is Joni. If you don't know about her or her incredible testimony, please go to Joni and Friends.org Today she underwent surgery for breast cancer. I hope you will take a moment to pray for her and her husband, Ken.

In other news, today was a busy, busy day for me. I taught two students in north Houston. Then I drove directly downtown - right across from Rice University - to teach two girls that are visiting from Czechoslovakia. What a charming area of Houston. The streets are lined with Live Oak trees and they brought back wonderful memories of Ocean Springs (our home for 24 years before Katrina moved us to Texas!).

While I was driving home, I got a text from a student that wanted a lesson ASAP, so I fit in one more class before calling it a day. This lesson was for a 7 year old boy. His daddy is serving in Egypt and the little boy was so proud to show me post cards of pyramids and a "REAL Egyptian coin"!

I've been asked to work with the Czech girls everyday this week, so I will miss my water aerobics and Bible study group. The girls are 14 and 15 and their aunt who they are visiting is really making this an awesome trip for the girls. Next week they go to Destin,Florida. After that she hopes to take them to Mexico! Today I taught them a new word - well, several new words - but the one they liked the best was "humid". They are learning a lot about that word while visiting Houston...the humidity capital of the universe!!!

Crock Pot

Three guesses what I bought this weekend! I've been without a crock pot since Katrina, so I found one on sale. I'm hoping it will be easier to have meals ready for Bill. Gone are the days of just eating what ever we feel like. I'm learning that our new lifestyle calls for a great deal of discipline in many areas.

So last night I took the new crock pot on a test drive. My first surprise was when Bill and I removed all the packaging and found a baby crock pot inside the big mama crock pot! I felt very fortunate to have picked out a pregnant pot! After I washed everything, I threw in a chuck roast. This morning we woke up to a delicious smell wafting throughout the house.

Tony just left and we miss him already. We had a fun visit together...didn't do much of anything except just sittin' around and talkin'. It was great!

Right now Elise and I are watching the old musical, "Annie Get Your Gun" and then we will get some pool exercise. Then off to church to hear a message on Habakkuk.

An Awesome Surprise!

THIS IS TONY

Last night the doorbell rang. It was our son Tony! What an awesome surprise! Tony lives in Mobile, Alabama and attends USA where he is a music major. It's just wonderful to have him home for the next few days.

Sore Back, Sore Knee

This is so embarrassing! I'm sitting here in the recliner with heat on my back and ice on my knee. I'll shift the hot and cold around when I finish this post. Why am I so battered and bruised? Because I tried to get into a bathing suit. Go ahead...laugh...I'll wait.

I tried on a bathing suit that was, oh, maybe ten sizes too small! Common sense would have told me it was too small. Common sense should have prevented me from even attempting. Common sense should have screamed at me, telling me to stop when I couldn't pull it to my knees. But no! Feeling particularly feisty and unstoppable, I was determined to wedge my body into that suit! Note to self: Pick more noble battles!

So, here I sit, with throbbing back and knee. Placing myself on the altar of fashion was not too bright!

And in other news, I have another new student. That's two in two days! And I just got a call from a women to possibly teach English to her nieces that will be in our country for three weeks. Sounds interesting.

And lest you think I only did "dumb" things today, I want you to know I also attended a diabetes class at the hospital today with Bill. He has a device on that will monitor his glucose readings every five minutes for the next four days. We learned a lot .

Time to refresh the ice...(sigh).

The Great Fish

Had another wonderful study on Jonah today. We spent a whole hour on only two verses. For such a little book, it sure packs a wallop!

Mention Jonah, and what's the first thing that comes to mind? Whale. Am I right? The Bible only calls it a "great fish". Today, many people want to focus only on the fish. They think the whole story is nonsense because "who in their right mind would think a fish would swallow a man, the man stays alive in the fish and the fish vomits him out"? Billy Graham was once asked how he could believe something so far-fetched. He said, "I believe the Bible to be God's word. If God says it happened, it happened. I would even believe the story even if it said that Jonah swallowed the fish."

Well, hours can be spent debating fact or fiction. What is true, however, is that the fish is NOT the main focus of this book. God is. The fish is only mentioned in two verses: Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:10. That's it...only two verses. And those were the two verses that we studied. Only two verses, but I sure learned a lot in just those two! And I thought about a lot of things as well.

I tried to imagine being tossed overboard. Into the sea! I can barely stand the thought! I remember when I would ski at our cottage. If I happened to fall, I would have to wait for what felt like an eternity for the boat to turn around and toss me the rope so I could get back up. If my skis happened to come off my feet, I would put them on as quickly as possible. I had this horrible feeling that some unknown sea creature was eye-balling my feet for a tasty snack. I guess I thought if I had my skis on, I was protected.

If I felt that way in the middle of a lake, I imagine Jonah must have REALLY felt like he was a goner! I mean, he was in the sea...no land in sight! And then a huge fish comes! What looks like destruction was actually his deliverance. Hmm...another life lesson. Not everything that looks horrible, is horrible.

Another neat thing I learned is that the fish verses are like a sandwich. There's a verse in chapter one and a verse in chapter two...those verses are like the slices of bread for a sandwich. The verses in between are Jonah's prayer to God. Those prayer verses are like the meat on the sandwich. And just like with a sandwich, the meat is the most important part. So in essence, this big fish thing in the book of Jonah shouldn't be the main focus. The book is much more about God's sovereignty over ALL things and also about God's covenantal love and faithfulness.

Today I got another student to teach...yeah! And I went to water aerobics AND Bill's sugar levels are finally coming down...hooray for that! Tomorrow we go to class with the nutritionist at the hospital. Day by day we learn a little bit more on how to handle things. I'm so thankful Bill is so patient and taking it in stride! Ok, time for this lady to call it a day.

A Great Way To Begin A Workout!

Elise surprised me when she came into my room this morning. It was time to go to water aerobics and I didn't think she would get up on time (being Saturday AND she was out late the night before)...but there she was...a little sleepy, but ready to take on the day. So, "carpe diem" we did! We got into her car and drove to the pool. All of our cute little Seniors were waiting for us and happy to see us. Elise started her descent into the water , when suddenly she shot around, screaming, "Oh MYLANTA!!!" All the other ladies started to run towards the steps, too! Finally I figured out that there was a snake in the pool with us. The handsome lifeguard that we all have a crush on found a net and let the snake go off on his/her merry way...away from the pool. Our hero!!!!

What a perfect way to start our workout and get our heart beat up! I also thought it was rather symbolic because today marks the 35th anniversary of the movie, "JAWS"! Scenes from our water aerobics class could have appeared in that movie...that little snake cleared the pool just like Jaws made the beach-goers clear the water.

Now it's time for me to decide what to make for our church potluck tomorrow. Every month we have a theme and in honor of Father's Day, our lunch will feature "Foods My Dad Likes". I know what I would have fixed, but now I have to learn new favorites for Bill that fit into our new diabetic lifestyle. I think I'll make a REALLY good salad.We've been having some trouble getting his glucose down...his numbers continue to remain too high. But slowly on we are feeling more confident about how to test his blood, what/when to eat, etc. Well, time for me to look up some good diabetic treats on the web!

June 17 - A Very Special Day, Indeed!

Twenty-seven years ago, Bill and I were married! We had fun taking a trip down memory lane, trying to remember as many details of the day as we could. At one time we had a tradition of looking at the VHS tape of the ceremony. Katrina put an end to that. Our tape, our wedding album, my dress...they are all floating around in the Gulf of Mexico. Yikes! I just had a mental picture of my wedding dress covered with all that BP oil!

A few weeks after Katrina, a neighbor came over with this picture and asked if we recognized the couple. The storm had placed our picture in their backyard and they thought that we would like having it returned. So here is our only memento of our wedding:

I kinda' like this picture. It's rich with symbolism!

I thought Bill and I were ancient when we got married...but we actually look kind of young.

Yes, we've weathered many of life's storms together, but God has been faithful!

And here we are today!

May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in You.

Psalm 33:22

Jokes, Anyone???

I've been reading about diabetes so I can be of help to Bill as we face this new adventure together. This is something I read today: Laughing lowers glucose levels!

Anyone out there care to share some good jokes with us?

Can You Help Me???

Can you help me? I am VERY computer naive. I know just enough to be dangerous~ LOL Anyway, I have had an inordinate about of people visiting this little blog from people world-wide. And what baffles me is that they all visit the same sight....the one entitled "More Unexpected Family Time" where I wrote about a colonoscopy. Can anyone out there tell me WHY this is happening? I don't know how people are hearing about this blog and why they keep visiting the same blog post. Am I on some weird site that tells people about this blog? Or is my poor blog being used for some type of strange activity??? If anyone can advise me about what in the world (and I do mean WORLD!!!!) is going on, PLEASE TELL ME!!!

Today we had some more unexpected family time. As many of you know, Bill has had a very erratic work schedule of late. While we are thankful for work when it is available, we really are in need of a job with consistent hours. Actually, my prayer is that Bill would be able to retire soon, that I would have a job that would be enough to cover our living expenses, and that we could sell our home and move back to Michigan. For many years, Bill resisted moving to Michigan, but of late he has finally had a change of heart. (Another answer to prayer! I NEVER thought he would want to move to Michigan...and believe me when I say I have suggested it often!) But I digress...Bill has days off right now so I thought I had better try to get him into the doctor before he gets called back to work. He just hasn't felt good lately. He has been so tired. He falls asleep at the drop of a pin....falls asleep in church, falls asleep while soccer is on, falls asleep if he just sits down for a few minutes. He has also been very thirsty and losing weight. Today was his doctor's appointment and he was told he has diabetes. We will find out more about this in the next few days, but right now he is on a pill - no shots - and will talk to the nutritionist at the hospital to understand how to keep his sugar levels stable and what to eat and not eat.

If you could, please pray for us as we work through this unexpected life change. Bill NEVER complains, so I'm sure he will face this new adventure valiantly. And if you live in Michigan, can you look for a condo for us and a job for me? THANKS!!!!!

Music!

Day Two for water aerobics and today we had...MUSIC!!! I wish you could all be silent witnesses to our exercise experience. It's hysterical! But at the same time, we are a very special group of diverse women at various ages and stages of our lives, all trying our best to keep fit. What made it so funny today was the music. Yesterday I told you about our 78 year old instructor who sang to us because her CD player didn't work. Well, today it worked and we all huffed and puffed to the music. What made it so surreal is the fact that here I was in a pool in Houston, Texas, with women in their 70's, dancing away to the lyrics of "Dirty White Boy"! If someone had told me 5 years ago that I would be writing that last sentence, I would have found it VERY difficult to believe!

It's miraculous, isn't it, the way that God directs the path of our lives??? Reminds me of one of my favorite verses in Jeremiah: "I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD."

Take a minute today and think of the things you have experienced that you would have never chosen for yourself. Can you see how God has turned it into something beautiful? Or is it something that creates distance between yourself and God?

For too many years I've wrestled with God. Far too often I've distrusted and questioned and blamed. But slowly, over the years, as I've grown closer in my relationship to God, I've become more confident in His love for me. I trust Him more. And what is so amazing to me is that this slow transformation has taken place because of pain and trial and gunky stuff that I would NEVER have selected for my life if I was the one in control.

Yup, God has plans for us! And more and more I'm thankful for those plans.

Water Aerobics

Poor Elise! Today I dragged her to her first water aerobics class. I told her how fantastic it would be and prattled on and on about how much fun it was to exercise in the water.

I read in the neighborhood paper about a free water aerobics class offered every morning at 10a.m. I instantly added this activity to my legendary "Summer To-Do List". I can only fit it in on Friday and Saturday mornings, so today was Day One!

Elise and I were the first to arrive, so we gingerly made our way into the pool and tried to get used to the water. Next came our cute little instructor, wheeling in all her equipment. As she set up her sound system, a few more women made their way into the pool.

That's when something became glaringly obvious. Not only we were the first to arrive, we were also the youngest people in the pool...by a l o n g shot!!! The next thing that went wrong was the sound system. It didn't work. No problem...our cute little instructor SANG!!! Now, if you've ever been to a water aerobics class, you know how crucial the music is to the class. It's a very highly charged music that keeps a definite beat...very fast and lively! Well, can you picture us in a class of 70 somethings and the instructor (who is a youthful 78!) starts singing a song for us to jog and turn and twist and jump to??? Go ahead and try it out for yourself...I'll wait for you. Start singing a little diddy like "Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill" and then do jumping jacks. Sorry, but it didn't quite put a pep in my step...how was it for you?

Elise and I giggled our way through the class, managed to get a fairly decent workout, and also got plenty of sun...we're both quite pink tonight and I think we'll sleep well. And tomorrow we'll do it all over again!

Random Stuff

Today was Bible Study. I only get to attend this study during the summer because of my work schedule. Participating in this study has been on the top of my "Summer To-Do List" for some time now...but then things started to disintegrate.

For the past few days, our computer has been acting weird! First, it started to refuse to print things. Then, it refused to access the Internet. This made it impossible for me to get to the notes I needed for the study. Next, I over slept. Had to forgo getting pretty...I had just enough time to wrestle up some clothes. So off I went to Bible Study...unprepared, AND ugly!!!! Then it started to rain. Hmmm..maybe a sign! Maybe ALL these things were signs...signs that I should just turn the car around and stay at home. Then came the BIG sign...I was late and I missed the turn for the church. Had to turn around on a busy street, facing an onslaught of Houston traffic. I REALLY thought I better just give up. I mean, who wants a late, ugly, unprepared woman coming to their Bible Study????

God, that's Who!!! I'm so thankful I went. Learned a lot!!! Good to fellowship with these ladies that I don't get to spend much time with. (Ewww...bad grammar!) Studying Jonah. Loved this question: "If God is sovereign, and in control of all things, and had made it very clear that Jonah was to go to Nineveh, then WHY was there a boat ready and waiting at the dock, leaving for Tarshish?"

What's YOUR answer??? It reminded me of all the times I make bad decisions based on the thought, "Well, this must be a sign!!!" Reminded today that circumstances NEVER trump what God has made clear in His Word!

Next thing I did today was began to read this book. I'm going to join an on-line study group to discuss what we read. Lysa is the founder of the She Speaks convention that I attended last summer.

And ended my day with a laugh.



A friend of ours from Mississippi put this picture on Facebook and said this is what they had to eat on the Coast since the oil spill has robbed them of their much-loved seafood!

That's it...random thoughts for June 8!

Missed Call

Coach Wooden

I think this past week more people were caught talking about sports than usual. Sports affectionado or not, everyone seemed to be moved by Umpire Jim Joyce's botched call and the grace and character that followed. Both the pitcher and the umpire gave us all a lasting lesson on how to handle life when it gets really unfair. I learned this past week that there have only been 20 perfectly pitched games - this would have been game 21 - but it didn't happen - all because of a missed call. I don't remember any of the other guys that pitched a perfect game. (Well, with the exception of Sandy Koufax - any kid that collected baseball cards in the 60's knows that one!) But I have a feeling this missed call will go down into infamy because of the excellent life lesson it taught all of us that witnessed it ( and what it will teach to future children as coaches tell and retell this inspiring story). Someday, we will probably forget the name Armando Galarraga - it will probably show up as a question on Jeopardy about five years from now - but I don't think we will forget how he humbly accepted the umpires call and how he took it like a man.

And speaking of "missed calls", I already miss Coach Wooden. What a guy he was, eh? I've seen many pictures of him in the news lately as the sport's world remembers this great man that passed away on Friday, but I chose the one above because that's how I remember him best - with a rolled up program in his hand. Did you know that he also had a "missed call" and it made all the difference in his career?

He was waiting for a call from the University of Minnesota to be their head basketball coach. The call never came. The call from UCLA, however, did come through and Wooden, thinking Minnesota didn't want him, accepted the offer from UCLA. The next day, the offer came in from Minnesota. Apparently the lines were down because of a bad snow storm and that is what caused the delay. How different college basketball would have been if Coach Wooden would have received the all from Minnesota first!

I am in no way a HUGE sports fan - just a little one - but this past week was a good week for sports. It showed us its good side!

Oh, and one more thing...when Coach Wooden was interviewed for his 92nd birthday, he was asked what he wanted to hear from God when he arrived at the pearly gates. Coach's response?

"Well done!" I think he got his wish, don't you?

Rest in peace, Coach Wooden. And thank you for all that you taught us - on and off the court.

.

Doughnuts!!!

National Doughnut Day...Yeah!!!!

A special day for doughnuts! Who knew? Probably my dad...he never met a doughnut he didn't love!! Whenever he would come for a visit, it wouldn't take long before he was off to the doughnut store with David and Elise. And we did have one of the world's BEST little donut shops in the world! If you are ever in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, you must go to Tatonut and savor donuts made from potatoes! That's right...potatoes! They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

What's your favorite donut? Whatever your day holds for you, I do hope you can take a minute to enjoy one of these delectable taste treats! Happy Friday everyone!

Two Cute Emails

Two Emails Too Cute Not To Share!!!

A Quiz for people that know everything
There are only nine questions.

This is a quiz for people who know everything!
I found out in a hurry that I didn't.
These are not trick questions..
They are straight questions with straight answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4.. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar.
Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'

Answers To Quiz:





1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends: Boxing.

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward: Niagara Falls .
(The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons: Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside: Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle.
The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

6. Three English words beginning with "dw": Dwarf, dwell and dwindle...

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar: Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe,question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh: Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S': Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts..

Received this next email "cutie" from a friend in Europe. Needless to say, he is not too enthralled with the EU (European Union). He can't stand that the countries in the EU all have the same currency...and that's just the beginning of his complaints! Anyway, here is a cute email from Europe on ways we can improve the English language so that it is easier for everyone to read, write, and speak.



Urgent Announcement by EU

The news is that the European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in plan that would be known as "Euro-English."

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favor of the "k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan haveone less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replased with the "f'. This will make words like "fotograf' 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent"e"s in the language is disgraseful, and they should go away.

By the 4th year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "V'.

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

After zis fifz yer, ve wil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. ZE DREM VIL FINALl KUM TRU!! And zen ve vil take over ze vorld!!

Let's Hear It For June!!!!

June has finally arrived! In the heart of every child and also every teacher, there is an innate feeling of "YIPPPEEEE!!!" at the mere mention of "June"! June just seems to mean, "Yeah! I made it through another school year! Let summer begin!!" So, summer has officially begun for me! I am in the process of making a big "To Do" list so that I will be able to stay on track with productivity and not waste my precious days of "freedom!

Today was my "Let's Just Do Whatever" day.  I allowed myself a shopping outing today...the rest of the summer I really want to steer clear of any malls.  My goal is to not buy any new article of clothing from now until August.  For some of you, that might be easy...for me it's sort of like training a mosquito not to bite - I just don't know if it is even possible!  But I'm going to try!!!

In August, I hope to be in a new size because, yes!, I'm also resurrecting the diet and exercise program of last summer. I did well last summer, but slacked of during the school year. But I have two new gaols that I'm shooting for...my high school reunion is at the end of August and my sisters and mom and I are going on a cruise in October. So, I figure, IF I lose weight, I can celebrate a tiny bit by looking for sale clothes in August that I can take on the cruise AND to the reunion!

Tomorrow, I'll share a few more of my summer goals. Meanwhile, happy June everyone!!!!