Dr. Stan Vetter, my family doctor for the past 30 years, died this morning. Cancer. I'll miss him. My prayers are with his family and friends today.

The deed is done. He has been persecuted, beaten, taunted, abandoned, crucified......for ME!!!

Today is Veteran's Day. I am thankful for the brave men and women who serve today and who have served in the past to protect and defend us.

When you buy books - particularly children's books, which I have several hundred of - do you throw away the covers or keep them? I have always taken them off because the kids cannot turn the book with the cover on anyway. However, I kept some of the covers. Now I'm cleaning out their closet and wonder if there's any point to actually keeping them. Or should I just throw them away? Any opinions? I guess I was thinking the worth of the book would be more if the jacket were kept. But I never get rid of them and even if I did, no one would pay anywhere near as much as we pay for them. Children's books are highly expensive!!!!

September 11th. Every time I hear that date, every time I see that date on a calendar, every time I type that date, I think of that day in 2001 when our American peace was threatened. I will take this day to remember those who lost their lives. And to thank our troops and others who serve for our protection.....And to pray and ask God for His comfort for the families who have lost loved ones and for those who serve in our military and are far from home today and every day.

I am having one of the back windows repaired in my car (it has to have a new regulator/motor or something).
This morning, the body shop called and offered to come to my office (maybe about 3 miles away) and pick up my car and I said great. So they have picked it up, will repair it, and I assume bring it back to me.
Question - should I tip the person who picks it up and delivers it back (hopefully it will be the same person because I didn't tip him when he picked it up). If so, any idea how much?

Every spring, God sends me flowers! Thank you, God. I am so enjoying my dogwoods and azaleas:)

This was my devotion on my Daily Calendar today (by Dr. Charles Stanley). I liked it so much, I decided to share.

The fruit of the Sprit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Galations 5: 22-23.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is first and foremost love. All of the other qualities associated with having the Holy Spirit flow from the presence of God's love in you. Joy is love enjoying all of the goodness of God...Peace is love resting on the promises of God...Longsuffering is love waiting for God to reveal to you and in you what He desires to reveal. Kindness is love reacting to those around you. Goodness is love choosing to do what is right...in God's eyes.

The Day our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins. Thank you, Lord, for my salvation.

 Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

I should have posted this before now. Anyone local who would like to attend, we are having our Revival at Pine Grove Baptist Church this week. Tonight is the last night, though. I really thought I had posted earlier, but apparently I hadn't. I'm inviting any local who would like to attend. The evangelist is Rick Coram. God has certainly been speaking through him and touching the lives of those who have attended. He spoke on angels Monday night, and on hell Tuesday night, and on Christian service (by serving in the church and by giving) last night. Tonight will be equally moving, I'm sure.
It starts at 7:00 PM. We've been out every night by 8:30 to 9:00.

Well. You know, I don't think of myself as a big sinner. That's probably a sin in and of itself. Everyone sins.
Last night, though, I watched a Charles Stanley message I had taped on the sin of "slothfulness". In other words, laziness. That one I definitely commit. I am lazy. I need to ask God's help on that one and change it.
He has a new book out on Landmines in a Christian's life. These sermons are from that book, I guess. I've watched the one on slothfulness, the one on compromise. The others I haven't watched yet. But I will. My point is this. We may not commit obvious sins such as stealing, murder, adultery. But we all commit sins. Gossip (that's another one of mine), lying (all of us lie; even little white lies count). And you know. Maybe we even steal if you think about it. How many of us don't give our bosses all our best at work? Do we play solitaire on the computer sometimes, use the Internet for personal use too often (my boss has said we can do that some, but I'm talking about a lot), bring home stamps or office supplies without paying for them?
Let doubt, fear, and worry consume us? That's another one of my big ones. Overeat. That's one of my big ones too. Gracious. I am a BIG sinner after all. Forgive me, Lord, and help me to do better.
I'm going to get my slothful self up now and go clean my house!!

Dedicated to all you wonderful ladies out there....Never realized the problems involved with a bathroom visit....

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance."

In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance."

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. "Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get."

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that
covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this."

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

This HAD to be written by a woman! No one else could describe it so accurately!

Send this to all women that need a good laugh AND, don't forget to have a mammogram!!!!!! It could save your life!

God was in our church service this morning BIGTIME. There were very few dry eyes in the place. Corey preached on prayer - but more on corporate prayer - meaning when the church or a body of believers - or two or three gathered in His name - comes together in the name of Jesus to pray. It was so moving. Prayer is such a powerful gift from God. Even the songs before the service were so touching - In The Garden for one. How Great Thou Art for another. We were in a worshipful mood before the sermon began, and it just continued on and on.

I came home. Cletus, our beagle, is panting a lot. I know he's so hot. So I have hooked up the sprinkler for them to get under and took them fresh water and a dog biscuit. But what are they doing. Cletus and Daisy both are not going anywhere near that sprinkler. They went way around to avoid it to come up to me for the dog biscuit. Darn it. I'm trying to help them..
I will be so glad when it at least gets back in the 90's. I never thought I'd hear myself say that.

Quiet Heroes
by Max Lucado

Quiet heroes dot the landscape of our society. They don’t wear ribbons or kiss trophies; they wear spit-up and kiss boo-boos. They don’t make the headlines, but they do sew the hemlines and check the outlines and stand on the sidelines. You won’t find their names on the Nobel Prize short list, but you will find their names on the homeroom, carpool, and Bible teacher lists.

They are parents, both by blood and deed, name and calendar. Heroes. News programs don’t call them. But that’s okay. Because their kids do … They call them Mom. They call them Dad. And these moms and dads, more valuable than all the executives and lawmakers west of the Mississippi, quietly hold the world together.

Be numbered among them. Read books to your kids. Play ball while you can and they want you to. Make it your aim to watch every game they play, read every story they write, hear every recital in which they perform.

Children spell love with four letters: T-I-M-E. Not just quality time, but hang time, downtime, anytime, all the time. Your children are not your hobby; they are your calling.

Your spouse is not your trophy but your treasure.

Don’t pay the price David paid. Look ahead to his final hours. To see the ultimate cost of a neglected family, look at the way our hero dies.

David is hours from the grave. A chill has set in that blankets can’t remove. Servants decide he needs a person to warm him, someone to hold him tight as he takes his final breaths.

Do they turn to one of his wives? No. Do they call on one of his children? No. They seek “for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel … and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her” (1 Kings 1:3–4).

I suspect that David would have traded all his conquered crowns for the tender arms of a wife. But it was too late. He died in the care of a stranger, because he made strangers out of his family.

But it’s not too late for you.

Make your wife the object of your highest devotion. Make your husband the recipient of your deepest passion. Love the one who wears your ring.

And cherish the children who share your name.

Succeed at home first.

From Facing Your Giants

I got my new Bible, Dr. Charles Stanley's Life Principles Bible, yesterday. I am excited. It looks like it will be a great aid in studying God's Word. If anyone is interested, you can get it from Dr. Stanley's site, www.intouch.org.

The little boy wasn't getting good marks in school.

One day he quite surprised the teacher.

He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I don't want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don't get better grades somebody is going to get a spanking!"