I remember when, in elementary school, (mine was near downtown Minneapolis) we used to bring our dimes (only) to school and slip them into a small cardboard folder.  When it was full, we would receive another.  I think it was all for the war effort of WW2. Or just after the war??
Those were the times when money, even lowly coins, were important... our military needed these monies.  Oh sure, we had paper drives and soda bottle drives, turned in our damaged pots and tires, etc.  But they all required a bit of 'elbow grease', worked up a sweat to collect and pull wagons full to the school grounds or wherever the collection station was.
But, to slip a dime into the folder...to hold something in our hands that was valuable...something that could represent a paper bag of penny candy or a music magazine with the words of all the popular songs...to give ME pleasure...Well, I guess it gave me pleasure to do my small part to help the military overseas, fighting to keep me safe.  It seems patriotism encouraged even children differently then.
I had one uncle in the Army and one uncle in the Coast Guard...the least I could do was bring my dimes and place them in the folder.

Here's something to make you smile...can't you just see that fat-tummy, smiling bear say,

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them"

A. A. Milne, Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh

Isaiah 6

I was reading Isaiah 6 this morning and though God is speaking here of Judah, it sounds so much like what's happening in the Middle East today. 
 I read:
v. 11....“How long, O Lord?” (until the people obey God)

And he said:

“Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant,

and houses without people,

and the land is a desolate waste,

v. 12 and the Lord removes people far away,

and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land."

(I added the blue)

The upheaval in all those countries surrounding Israel is no mistake, not coincidental...It is the Lord Who plans and commands it.  When they make Jehovah their God, He will treat them well as His children.

It's just pure grace that I was born in this free country; it is truly 'the land of the beautiful', in spite of our grumbling about it at times.  I thank Him for my life in Him here today.

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Home.aspx

Do you hope so??

Often I say, "Oh, I hope so!" or, "Is that what you hope for?" 
We hope for the mundane:  I hope the coffee is hot.  I hope the sun shines today.  I hope my gr-kids turn out alright.  I hope my money stretches....
I've been watching the flowers pop into bloom the last couple of weeks.  A few years ago I planted a Camelia bush but it didn't bloom until this year...couldn't even remember what color it was supposed to be.  It's RED!!  (photo I took below).  The last few years the ornamental peach and pear trees were in bloom and we had another hard freeze that turned the blossoms a disgusting brown...they looked like Satan touched each one and laughed.
So, this spring I hoped that wouldn't happen...and my hope was realized...it didn't.  They bloom today; the jonquils and forsythia are also bright against the still sleeping grass.  What I hoped for did occur...flowers that bloom in the spring.

Today I share a V.I.P. 'hope-for'~~~"Looking for that blessed hope and the appearing of the great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ." 
He is my hope and I'm hoping for the day He will return.  I can count on that promise:  HE WILL RETURN !
That verse is followed by another gem-the gospel: ~~~~"Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity..."   Titus 2:13,14
Yay!  Thank you, Jesus........you are my reason for hope.

What are you hoping for today??

Were you invited to the Royal Wedding?

(oooops, you could call this a 'monthly blog', since I post only that often...sorry!)

I think I heard that Prince William and Kate's wedding will be the end of April.  I didn't receive an invitation, but it's early...I'm hoping.  Wouldn't that be grand?
Anyway, I'll be celebrating here.  I have a dressy blouse and a white pair of pants, look like new;  I will bake or buy a cupcake with tons of frosting (white, no sprinkles) and I'll lift my cup and toast the happy couple (coffee, of course).

This makes me consider the wedding Jesus attended in Cana...the sight of His first miracle.  He turned six huge clay pots filled with water into 162 gallons of the finest wine...instantly....without calling out "Abra-ka-dabra".  It seemed like an after-thought, so incidental was it, but we know it was planned.  The God who created grapes and planted them in the first garden on earth, who showed Adam  how to harvest and make them into fine wines...produced a vintage beverage in an instant.
He was the unseen Guest at the weddings of Abraham (a friend of God) and David (the apple of God's eye), and Joseph (His earthly father).  Oh, He has attended so many weddings He could be called the Grand Wedding Planner, I think.
Well, let me know if you receive your invitation....

Four daunting figures in black....

I'm recovering from a month-long attack...not the flu, not a real head cold...doctor said yesterday it's now STREP infection.  Swell!  Everybody needs this 'junk' every 10 yrs. or so, just so one appreciates what good health was like.  I'm pretty contagious today...So, if I wander...or blather, please excuse me.
Just now, four adults, three women and one older man, knocked on our door, then left our yard.  They were all four dressed in BLACK...from shoes to hats, carrying their brand of 'scripture'.  JW's...
They all piled in the car at the curb and sat for a few minutes.  I didn't pull out my binoculars, but it looked like they were praying...for me?...to whom do they pray?  MY GOD says we shall have NO other gods than He; I don't believe their god is the same as my God...so who received their prayers?  Did they just waste their time ...flatter their god...complete their good deed for the day????
Usually, I'm challenged when JW's knock on my door...I love to share the gospel with them, show them the joy I have in Jesus.  They could have used a big dose of joy.  They were downcast, black-garbed joyless figures...walking with their heads hanging...they truly looked defeated as they drove away.

Proverbs 15:23   A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—  and how good is a timely word!

"...mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest of 'em all?"

Please excuse my absence from blogging...don't have a really good reason to be away...

I was reading Job 42:15 this morning, and noted this:
Job had three daughters...they were the MOST beautiful in the country...and they were rich!  They had their own inheritance, which was unusual for daughters in those days.  Wow!  Can't you just see old Job (says he lived to be 140 yrs. old; twice what most men lived) holding down his pride about the girls??

I don't follow the celebs in the U.S., but sometimes I hear the name of the three Kardashian sisters...how beautiful and famous they are today.  The Most beautiful in the land?  And rich!  And sought after!
I thought about if I was their parent...fielding the phone calls, TV offers, boys at the door at all hours...the trips to Target for make-up, to the Mall for fashions, teaching them each to drive as teens.....and although I have four lovely daughters, we didn't have to deal with talent scouts, paparazi, endorsements, etc.
Can you imagine??
And what about their Mom??  She had 20 - TWENTY kids in all over the years!  Poor thing must have been 'plum wore out'...
It was an asset to have lovely daughters in Job's day...she might bring a good price.  But, today an asset to some might become a headache to others (me).  My God made me and I'm thankful He didn't make me to be the Mom to a celeb.
Praise the Most-Wise God...His Name is YAHWEH.

copied from  http://silenceoftheclams.com/blog/2009/05/adventures-in-babysitting/

Tear down the symbols of hate...

In 1987, then President Ronald Regan announced publicly in his speech before Brandenburg Gate:
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

As I thought about that, I was thinking, "World, tear down this CROSS !"  I know it was necessary for my Savior to die upon that cross...it was God's plan and His plans are perfect.  But, for me, for those who live for Christ alone, I no longer want to think of that cruel instrument.  It did its work for me already...I flinch to see it or think of it now.  Thankful for it, yes, but in my mind, I'd like to see someone tear down this cross! But, that's a foolish thought...there are millions who still need to realize the One Sacrifice they must have in this life, the One required by a just God, hangs upon that cross.
So, it still stands for them...and I thank God today that I once faced it, embraced it, but now meet Him in pleasant places each day.

Today is Thanksgiving Day...I could recite every minute of the day, all the things I'm am so thankful for....all of them gifts from God.  Even the very words and breath it takes to recite them, is a gift from Him.
I wanted to share this with you...please respond .....and enjoy the day we honor Him and give Thanks.

Peter Robinson wrote RR's speech:
Peter Robinson, an author and former White House speechwriter, is a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 1983 Robinson joined President Ronald Reagan's staff, serving almost five years as speechwriter and special assistant to the President, an experience he recounts in his 2003 book, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. Robinson provided the chief executive with more than 300 speeches, including the 1987 Berlin Wall address.
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/summer/berlin.html