I'm a Cherry Popsicle

You Are a Cherry Flavored Popsicle

You are sweet and friendly. For you, summer is all about doing your favorite things. You are a nostalgic person. You love old fashioned things like ice cream trucks. You savor everything. Every taste of summer, the feeling of the sun, the smell of the beach... Of all the types, you love summer the most.

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

Prayer Request

My Dad is in the hospital. He is in very poor health with asthma, diabetes and COPD. Recently he has developed some heart problems. Please pray for my Dad today.

Sometimes menopause is hilarious

Night sweats, insomnia, and hot flashes are annoying but not unbearable. The only part of menopause that really gets in my craw is the forgetfulness. I have a pretty good memory and this business of forgetting common English words drives me up a tree.

Unless it's funny.

I took my Hero to work this morning. He drives a straight truck for Dohrn Transfer, a regional trucking firm. We were a little early so we were sitting in the parking lot talking for just a minute before we needed to part for the day. We were sitting in the parking lot of Dohrn Transfer. (I just wanted to make sure you got that part.)

As one of the cabs pass us on the street in front of the parking lot, I (remember menopause) blurted out, "Hey, look! There's a Dohrn truck!"

He just stared at me. Then he laughed.

Simple Woman Daybook, July 28, 2008

FOR TODAY July 28, 2008...

Outside My Window... it is a bright partly cloudy sky, 67°.

I am thinking... what is that? thinking? I used to do that before menopause.

I am thankful for... my unchanging God.

From the kitchen... I have to dig out the kitchen to figure this one out. This weekend was just not a clean house weekend. Ugh.

I am wearing... a khaki skirt and a tan shirt with red flowers.

I am creating... I made myself a new black skirt to wear to work. I was very pleased because I did it without a pattern and it turned our really nice.

I am reading... I'm about to start reading some of the Early American Lit selections for my class this fall.

I am hoping... to lose some more weight this week.

I am hearing... the news.

Around the house... I'm praying really hard that we can replace my kitchen floor soon! It is U-G-L-Y.

One of my favorite things... my grandson's giggle.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
This is a really uneventful week as far as I can tell. General chores and work in the afternoons.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Iowa corn in July

Silly me

My Hero and I rode home from work together the other day, which meant I could take pictures… random pictures of the ride.

Nine years ago

She thought she had a tummy flu. She laid down to take a nap and woke up to see Jesus — but not us.

I still go to grab the phone and call her and tell her something funny or ask a question and just as my hand reaches out, I remember.

And I'm mad. She's not here. She's with Jesus and I'm not. I miss her.

Easy Fudge

Okay, so they would never sell this stuff at tourist traps, but it's pretty good for fudge in a hurry:

Easy Fudge

3 c. Chocolate chips
1 can Sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 c. Chopped nuts

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in a generously buttered 8-inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm.

And in no time, you have a chocolate fix!!!

That's not many

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 48 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Out of 304,000,000 people, less than 50 is not very many!

This has stuck in my mind

and the thought keeps making me laugh.

I heard one of those, "When we were kids . . ." things and it said, "When we were kids, no one had to look for their keys … they were in the ignition!"

The really funny part is, it's true. When I was in middle school, there was an advertising campaign to get people to take the keys out of the car! How funny is that?

Church signs

I haven't talked about church planting in a long time. One of the important things that usually takes a lot of creativity is a church sign. Signs are expensive!! But, you want a quality sign that says to the community "Hey, Here we are!!!! We're here to stay!"

When we first came to Iowa, this is what the old church sign looked like:


This sign does not say, "We really want you here!"

So I got busy with an overhead projector, some plywood and paint and painted this one:


Better, huh?

Simple Woman Daybook, July 21, 2008

FOR TODAY July 21, 2008...

Outside My Window... it is still raining and storming.

I am thinking... that my brain is tired. I didn't get very much sleep last night so I'm kinda foggy today.

I am thankful for... my Hero. He really is a good man.

From the kitchen... Buffalo wings, celery and carrot sticks this evening.

I am wearing... my favorite knit blue skirt and a yellow blouse.

I am creating... I need to make myself a couple of skirts.

I am reading... between books right now.

I am hoping... some annoyances work themselves out.

I am hearing... rain.

Around the house... I really don't know. I have the usual cleaning to do, but no real projects!

One of my favorite things... puppy breath.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
One of my kids is coming to visit for a day on Wednesday, other than that, just the usual.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Pops and his boy!

A wise woman

"It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling."

Proverbs 20:3

A wise woman will cease from meddling.

Think about it

“Remember, sinner, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ (though that is the instrument)—it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not to thy hope, but to Christ, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Christ, the author and finisher of thy faith.”

“I could wish that every time the clock struck it said: 'By grace are ye saved.'"

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Cluck!

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

I've Been Tagged!

Okay! Okay! I've been tagged! I feel like I'm in one of those eXtreme tag games on the playground when I was in elementary school and there are several people being IT! (Why don't kids play tag anymore? That game made you run!) I was tagged by Starla and Sarah Joy. And here are the rules to the meme.

1. Link to the person who tagged me.

2. Mention the rules.

3. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.

4. Tag 6 other bloggers linking to them.

5. Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.

And here I go!!!

1. I can't jump. No kidding, no matter how hard I try I am earthbound.

2. I rode my pogo stick everywhere for a couple of years when I was 10 and 11 years old. I think I loved it because of the whole "I can't jump" thing. I could pogo up and down stairs. I would even pogo to the convenience store and carry home my purchases because I could pogo with no hands.

3. My Hero and I have had a 27-year battle over the shower curtain. I like it closed and he likes it open. (I think he watched Psycho once too often as a child.)

4. I'm only 5'1" tall. Which makes that whole "I can't jump" thing even worse because I can't reach things high in the cupboard.

5. I've been to 37 states and 8 countries (counting the USA).

6. I've been a Mac user since 1989.

And here are my 6 bloggers that I tagged.

1. Leah
2. Deby

3. Teri

4. Carolyn

5. Gretchen

6. Nikki

I was

40 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
38 years old on the first day of Y2K
36 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
34 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
33 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
32 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
29 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
28 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
25 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
23 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
22 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space
20 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
18 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began
15 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
13 years old when President Nixon left office
11 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot
8 years old at the time the first man stepped on the moon
7 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated
4 years old during the Watts riot
2 years old at the time President Kennedy was assassinated

Let's See, if I click on this one . . .

Win a Quilt!

On to the contest details . . .

Enter by leaving a comment to this post anytime before Midnight, Tuesday, July 22, 2008 US Date and Time.

Only enter once cause that is all that counts.

There are ways to enhance your chances of winning so check out Old Red Barn Co for all the details. I really want to win, but if I don't maybe you will!

Hearts Together

My grandson was in his mommy's bed waiting for her to come home and my Hero and I were straightening up the living room. The boy must have heard us moving his trains, because he called out for me.

My Hero said, "I'll see what he needs" and went to check. He opened the door and asked the boy what he needed.

The boy answered (with much attitude) "I was not talking to you!"

Being the wonderful grandfather that he is, my Hero promptly made it very clear that the attitude was completely unacceptable.

When he was finished correcting the boy, I instructed the little guy to say, "I'm sorry Pops, may I please speak to Nana now?" Which he did in a very courteous voice.

The boy wanted to make sure I was putting his trains in the right place. (Bossy Britches!) And after I assured him that I had it under control, I said, "You really need to go apologize to Pops because you hurt his heart the way you talked to him."

He responded (rather astutely for a 4-year-old), "I don't know if I can, Nana, cuz my heart is mad to his."

I said, "Why don't you go try to see him and say sorry and hug him and see if it helps your heart."

So, he walked into the living room and climbed up in my Hero's lap and gave him a big hug and just sat with his head on Pop's shoulder for a minute. When he turned around to get down, I asked him, "Did it work? Did it help?"

And he smiled his beautiful smile and said, "I'm all better because our hearts were together!!"

How precious is that?

(My Hero looked at me after I took the boy back to Mommy's room and said, "I think that's why we hug one another . . . it puts our hearts together, literally.")

"…That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love…"

Colossians 2:2

These Statistics Stunned Me

One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives. Many people in the U.S. do not even graduate from high school.

58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.

42% of college graduates never read another book.

80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.

70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57% of new books are not read to completion.

Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.

Go here for a lot more!

"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine."

1 Timothy 4:13

Simple Woman Daybook — July 14, 2008

FOR TODAY July 14, 2008...

Outside My Window... it is an unbelievably beautiful day. It is mostly sunny with a crisp blue sky and 67°F (This is July, people!!!!).

I am thinking... that since I am off work today I need to get some things accomplished around this house. I have some computer work to do, and I want to get the house all clean at the same time before my work week starts tomorrow.

I am thankful for... my Saviour. Sometimes the idea that Jesus love me just overwhelms me.

From the kitchen... We are having country-style pork ribs tonight. And I have discovered the wonder of frozen bread dough!! Five loaves is less than $2.50. I just set a loaf out to rise in the morning, bake it in the evening, and every day we have "homemade" fresh bread — Five loaves for about the price of one loaf of store bought bread.

I am wearing... a denim skirt and a bright yellow shirt — and my tennis shoes. The thing I miss the most because I am working (only part-time, 4 hours a day) is my tennis shoes. Those silly dress shoes get old fast.

I am creating... still working on the church web sit. I also need to finish the August Bible reading schedule for the church.

I am reading... photography books, magazines and blogs.

I am hoping... they figure out what is wrong with my granddaughter soon. She will be six weeks old tomorrow and she is in the hospital because she can't keep food down.

I am hearing... talk radio, Dr. Laura.

Around the house... the kitchen needs some attention, and the outside breezeway really needs cleaned. All the rain we have been having has left it a mess!

One of my favorite things... My Hero's smile.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
I am working for a temp agency and I have a 4-6 week assignment working 3-7 at a medical clinic. I just started so I'm still getting my schedule together. I don't have many other plans this week.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Daydreaming!

This is one of my all-time favorites

Many of you may not remember the days before cable and satellite and 100's of channels, but when I was young, we had one station that came in clear and one that came in fuzzy. On the clear station on Saturday afternoons, the Gospel Jubilee with the Happy Goodman Family came on. From the time I was 7 or 8 until I was a young teenager and we got cable, every Saturday at 4 pm I sat down on the floor in front of the TV for an hour and watched and sang with Vestal.

This was recorded not long after her husband, Howard Goodman, went home to be with the Lord and I can't watch it without smiling and crying at the same time.



Just a side note, the piano player is my third cousin. We never met, but he is included in the family book that another cousin is compiling.

I need ideas

My brother just discovered a box of letters that my parents wrote back and forth while they were engaged and after they were married while Dad was in Germany and Mom was here saving money to join him.

I need to know how to preserve these things. I have no clue. I know there are archival quality things out there, but I need suggestions, please!

Something to Ponder

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Something happened to me after I turned 40

If you had known me before 2001, I was a different person. I was shy and very insecure. I don't know why. I struggled with it for years. If I was in a store and couldn't find what I needed, I would leave without finding it rather than ask. It was pretty pathetic.

Then I turned 40. I don't know if something just snapped into place or what, but it seems that overnight, I lost that feeling of panic when talking to others. I'm not afraid to ask for things anymore. Not long ago, I was in a grocery store and spoke to a total stranger. As we walked away, my daughter Wendy asked me, "Who are you and what did you do with my mother?" In my 30's, I would never have taken a position as a temp. That would have been torture for me. Yet, now I did it and I loved it.

I like the new me more. I just wished that I had figured this out years ago.

A Simple Recipe Idea

Chuck Roast was on sale this week, but I didn't want your typical "Sunday Roast." I thought about it and this is what I did:

Rub the roast with salt, pepper, garlic, & chili powder. (I didn't have any cumin or I'd have used that, too.)

Put it in a covered pan, and bake at 225°F for 4-5 hours. (It was fall apart tender.)

Shred it up with a fork, and eat it on a tortilla with your preferred toppings. We had black beans, sour cream, & shredded pepper jack cheese.

It was so good!

I start my new job tomorrow!

Last week, I submitted my resume to this company. Yesterday, I interviewed and tested. Tomorrow I start working. Did I tell you my head is spinning? I think I like it though. Remember when you were a kid and spun round and round until you got so dizzy you fell down? And then you did it again? What?! You didn't do that? Okay, must be just me. But that was fun.

Sometimes, when life seems to spin out of control, I just close my eyes and enjoy the ride. I know I am safe in the hands of my Saviour. Even when I fall down, I get up and do it again.

Simple Woman Daybook — July 7, 2008

FOR TODAY July 7, 2008...

Outside My Window... it is cloudy with storms threatening.

I am thinking... that I need to prepare for my job interview this afternoon.

I am thankful for... my family. I enjoyed spending time with them over the holiday.

From the kitchen... Nana's cupboards are bare. I need to take inventory and buy groceries.

I am wearing... my regular Monday dress, lol! I will be changing clothes in a moment.

I am creating... I just finished some culottes for myself and I haven't started anything new.

I am going... on that job interview this afternoon.

I am reading... I'm between books. I was just scanning the bookshelf last evening looking for something new to read.

I am hoping... to take my grandson to the museum Friday evening.

I am hearing... talk radio.

Around the house... I have a few plants I need to get in the ground after the rain stops.

One of my favorite things... Jelly Belly jellybeans.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
This will probably depend upon my interview today.
(Can you tell that one appointment is consuming my mind right now?)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
Mimosa tree I saw while visiting my sister.

Whatever (in the good way)

We spent six hours in a car with a four-year-old and not only survived, but enjoyed the trip! Of course, this four-year-old is near perfect because he is our grandson but that's another post. For part of the trip we listened to Patch the Pirate's adventure Coldheartica. While listening to the song "Whatever" I began thinking about that word and it's current cultural meaning.

Teenagers, children, even toddlers and some so-called-adults use the word "Whatever" to shut down a conversation when they aren't getting their way. It is a word that has come to mean "begrudging compliance" used "to dismiss the previous statement and express indifference."

However, when said to God with a surrendered spirit, whatever is a good thing. Actually, it's the only thing we ought to say.

"Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you."

2 Chronicles 30:8

"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness."

Romans 6:13-19

Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

I'll be gone

Until at least Sunday, I will be traveling with my Hero. We are going to see family and friends over the holiday.

But, I'll be back!

I heard someone say this

And it stuck in my mind:

"If the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it."

There's a lot to think about there, huh?

Some things are just hard to photograph

Like fireflies (or lightning bugs). I love watching the fireflies right at dusk, so last night I ran out with my camera hoping to capture the magic. Eighty-five clicks of the shutter later, all I have are these two little yellow spots.

I have to work on this.

Sunday School Songs

I am blessed. For millions — really millions — of reasons, I am blessed. One of the most notable blessings of my life though has been Sunday School. My Air Force father was stationed in West Texas when I was almost three and we moved there from Germany where I was born. My mother immediately found a church where we could go to Sunday School. Shortly after we began attending, I turned three and was promoted to the 3-year-old class.

And I began learning the songs. Through almost all of the trials of my life, only second to Scripture, my solace has been found in the songs I began learning so very long ago.

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.
My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.
Strength for today
Is mine all the way
And all that I need for tomorrow.
My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,
All I have to do is follow.

Through one of the darkest times of my life the words, "Strength for today is mine all the way" comforted me moment by moment.

Mine, mine, mine, mine
Jesus is mine!
Mine when I'm weary,
Mine when I'm cheery!
Mine, mine, mine, mine,
Jesus is mine!
Jesus is always mine!

Singing those words make me so excited I almost want to jump up and down! (Except that would not be pretty … trust me.)

And of course, the truth that is the basis of my faith:

Jesus love me,
This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.

Sing to your little ones and you touch their lives for all their lives.