Zechariah 13:9

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Zechariah 13:9

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

A Window into My Past

Years pass by, we grow older, memories are made, but forced into the back of our minds due to the busyness of life.
However, every now and then those tucked in memories unfold and we reminiscence.

Back to my high school years....

In my senior year, I attended classes in the morning and then was dismissed to work at a job.  The job of my choice for a few months was a nurses aid at The Laurel Nursing Center.  I assisted in patient care, which included feeding, walking, changing and bathing the patients.  I enjoyed the work, but was offered a position in a Chiropractic office closer home.

I was hired in January, 1984 (still a senior in high school) to work at the front desk
answering phones
scheduling appointments
filling out insurance papers
developing xrays
typing typing typing

 Over the next few years, I traveled with them to seminars - once to the Fontainebleau Resort in Maimi, and a few times to Georgia to sit under the training of Dr. Harris.  I also got married in those years, but continued to work until November of 1988, a few months before our first baby was due to arrive.

I loved being a stay at home mom, but I did miss the Dr. and his wife, who taught me a lot, and the patients, who many had become good friends.  We stayed in touch for a short while, but as I said before, years pass by, life gets busy and we lose touch with friends that are out of our circles.

This coming November, it will be 26 years since I walked into the office as an employee and the time has arrived for the Dr. to retire.  My mom and I attended his retirement party last evening.
It was so good to see faces from my past, to walk through the office and reminiscence about the fun, busy times of yesteryear, a time that I am very grateful for!

The following was from a newsletter.



May God abundantly bless the Dr.'s retirement years! 



Windows into the past.......

Until next time...........




Monday, September 22, 2014

She's 3, He's 16, She's 24, He's 27

I forgot to post Morgan's 3rd birthday, which was July 29th.
Here she is with her big sister!


 She wanted a Macaroni & Cheese Cake, so that is what she got!
She has a very creative mommy!  :)



What a fun blessing Morgan is to our family!
Love her so much!

I also forgot Gordon's 27th birthday in July and Kelsey's 24th birthday in Sept..  Probably because we didn't have a party for either of them for some reason or maybe just the fact that I am getting old and forgot to take pictures! :(
We are very proud and love both of them very much!



And then we have George, who turned 16 on the 16th of this month.
 A few of his friends came in the afternoon after our co-op and stayed for supper.



We surprised him at his youth group, though! Yes!  So fun!
 Here, Korinne, the youth leader, made him stand on his chair to tell us about his birthday.  :)


16!
Can't believe it!

May this new stage of life, the stage where you learn to legally drive on the road, George, bring many fun and safe times for you!
We love you , too!  :)

Until next time..........



Just Drive!

  Dave & I were once passengers in a vehicle driven by a someone else.  The dear driver loved to talk, which became a huge distraction to him and to all other passengers.  I found it is very stressful to be a back seat driver!!  I wondered if we would arrive home safely or if our children would receive a grim phone call instead.
By the time we returned home, Dave had a pounding headache and I was so tense and stressed all I wanted to do was scream - literally! 
 But, being the kind, sweet mother that I am, I would NEVER think of screaming at anyone, oh no!  Never!
I instead was grouchy, miserable and short with everyone - that is what kind, sweet mama's are allowed to do, you know - take out frustrations and tension on innocent bystanders, while the real culprit is innocently and peacefully eating his supper somewhere.

What it made me realize, though, is that my hubby is not so bad a driver after all!
For you see, it is well known in our family that dad is not the best driver at times, for he is what we call,
"A Farmer Driver."
Farmer Drivers sit in the driver's seat, but their mind and eyes are on the lush pasture, the fatted cow, or tasseled corn field that is zooming by the side windows. 
 The farmer's wife has no idea what is even out the side windows, for her eyes are glued on the road ahead, she becomes light headed from holding her breathe, and when the destination is reached, the ability to be sweet was left among the tasseled corn. (slightly exaggerated  :) but you got the point!)
Farmer & Wife have reached a pact.  
If he feels the need to be curious about how successful the passing farmers are,
 Wife turns chauffeur (and that is not exaggerated!).

Besides Farmer Drivers, there are other kinds of drivers.
Drivers who think that the road was paved just for them - Conceited Drivers.
If they are on the road, you are expected to just deal with whatever you have to do to avoid hitting them.
Such as, whipping it off the side of the road, which has a drop-off, causing the bottom of the van to put a huge gash in the macadam.  The noise of macadam pieces flying around and around in the belts under my hood made me think that van had major problems and was deemed un-drivable by this frustratednowI'mgoingtobelate driver.

I am sure you can think of many other kinds of drivers, including the oblivious one in the passing lane going 10mph slower than everyone else, forcing everyone else to pass them on the right.  Or the hot tempered driver who makes you understand why God sent the flood!
 Of course, the addicted driver is pretty popular today - not always sure if their addiction is alchol or texting - they drive the same.
We can chuckle at the humorous picture that I painted in your mind, but really! it is more maddening than it is funny!

Driving a vehicle is a very serious responsibility!
The lives of passengers in your car and the lives of everyone else on the road (and sometimes off the road) are held in the hands that are suppose to be gripping the steering wheel.  Speaking of gripping the wheel - it is not possible to do so if you are drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper while attempting to drive!
Doesn't work!
It's only a matter of time for these drivers.
Unfortunately, the innocent also suffers from the irresponsibility of these manic drivers.

When you and I are sitting in the driver's seat of any moving vehicle,
whether it be big or small, slow or fast, old or new, our main responsibility is to
 just drive.



Be observant!  
Be Cautious!
Look ahead!  
Look behind (using mirrors, of course)! 
Be in control!  
Be respectful!  
Pull over to eat, text, put on makeup!
Keep your mind on driving!

Having a driver's license with that wonderful, flattering photo means we passed learner's permit test and the driver's test at the DMV, but how do we drive when we aren't trying to impress the cop?
Did our skills go down hill?
I sadly think so!

Until next time.........