Reflections...

There are times when we all need to just sit down and count our blessings.

The problems in our lives try to overtake us and keep us preoccupied...

Causing us to miss the important things in life.


And when we try to reflect on the positives it seems that we only look for the "big blesssings".

The things that appear to be of substance...

On the outside that is.

We look at the stuff that could possibly impress our friends...

People at the mall or at work.


We look to money way too often and depend on it for our happiness far too much.


Missing what is truly important.


The loudness of a quiet, hot summer evening...

Cicadas singing in the trees.

We should be thankful that we can hear them.


The cool green leaves of a stout oak that provides us with shade from a dutiful sun.


The joy of water.

It feels so much wetter in August, don't you think?


I'm thankful for my lawn chair...

And my backyard.


It's one of my most favorite places...

And provides me with a respite from the outside world.


It's a place of solitude that provides ample room for soulful reflection.


What a blessing it is to me.


Be still...

Be quiet...

So that you can truly hear.


Find a quiet spot...

Close your eyes...


And listen to the 23rd Psalm like you've never heard it before.





It will bring tears of gratitude to your eyes.



later...

Spring Rains...

We've had some very, very nice rains here lately.



Soft, gentle, and steady...



Perfect for God's delicate creations.



How intricate His handiwork is.



To think that He has put so much thought in the tiniest of details.



Beauty intertwined with function.



Food for the heart and soul.



And to think that he made us with such attention to detail.

Thank you Lord for the rain.

Thank you for Your Bountiful Blessings.

E-mail Request for Help...

From time to time I have posted requests that I have received via e-mail.

I receive e-mails for prayer requests to actual physical needs...

Each and every one of them are important.


And I always try to help however I am able to.


Tonight I have received a special e-mail request from Shepherd's of Love Ministries.


I thought that I would post the information here.


We are a community.

And a kind and giving community at that.


I won't post the telephone numbers from the e-mail here, but I will provide the address in case you want to get in touch with Teresa or want to send funds to help this man.

Dear Shepherds of Love friends,

We have a special need and would like you to consider helping us raise $1835.00 to restore hot water for our Viet Nam Vet.

Here is the situation: Our client has been without hot water and heat for a year. He has gas pipe leaks under his home and the gas company pulled the meter. He lived last year without heat and his cooking stove. He lives on $900.00 a month, has a $300 house payment, utilities and 25 medications to purchase through the VA. He has Agent Orange disease and Colon cancer.

Shepherds of Love sent our personal plumber there to check out the problems and present us with a solution. My husband Max who is in construction management has discussed this with the plumbing company and he will personally oversee the repairs.

Needs are: All leaks need to be repaired under the house, the hot water tank has been setting in water in the basement and must be replaced and relocated in the kitchen. He needs faucet replacements on the old bath tub in order to use the bathing equipment provided through the VA.

Financial Needs to restore gas:
Gas Permit/repair all leaks, relocate & replace hot water tank/vents etc/install handicap faucets in tub/ Total Cost: $1835.00

We have $600.00 pledged leaving a need of $1235.00.

You guys know that I trust this organization and that I personally send financial support to their ministry.

Here's their information if you want to send money to help with this large project:

Shepherds of Love Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 5043
Edmond, Oklahoma 73083-5043

A Prayer for the Lost...

Another act of homegrown terrorism has once again left our nation in a state of disbelief. It wasn't that long ago, just this past fall, when we were asking ourselves many of the same questions we're faced with today. The questions we asked when the innocent blood of children was spilled at an Amish school. It would seem that Americans would still be reeling from that horrific tragedy.

But the world had moved on. There were clever advertisements on the television to watch, shopping at the mall, and soccer games and jobs to go to.

Of all the questions that we had asked then, did any of us come up with an answer? It doesn't appear that we have.

And while we debated, for a short while, about the affects of stricter gun laws did any of us reach out to those who touch our lives? Those who are hurting, silently, in solitude?

Today we can now discuss the ills of our immigration laws. Now that we can blame a "non-American" for the Virginia Tech tragedy.

A question that I find myself asking more than any other is where have we gone wrong in showing those who are suffering how to find their purpose?

For it seems that those who are in despair, to such a degree as to commit a mass murder and suicide, cannot find their purpose in life.

Did we remove mankind's purpose when we took prayer out of the schools?

Did we eliminate humanity's vision by removing the images that reflect God from our public spaces?

And since it may not seem right by many to pray in public, it makes me wonder if we have quit praying altogether.

Have we successfully crippled our society and placed ourselves in a wheelchair that carries the brand name of "Political Correctness"?

Those who are lost and can't seem to find their way appear to be disconnected from those who surround them.

Where have we gone wrong?

It seems that maybe we have allowed ourselves to become spiritually ill. We are unable to overcome our societal diseases due to the lack of inoculation; protection that comes with faith and prayer.

For if we do not take care of our souls, and are actively watchful for the souls of others, how will we ever stop this pandemic of death?

The young man, Seung-Hui Cho, seems to have been living a life of inner turmoil and seething self-hate. How could he have been so isolated and alone in a society that seeks to satisfy "me... myself... and I"?

Was he unable to assimilate while looking for a deeper meaning to life itself?


Perhaps his actions were a well-rehearsed video game.


Or was it the training that he received from our modern age and the agendas that are pushed by the media. The communications that pound us daily. Words that tell us that babies are worthless fetuses, Christianity is wrong, do what feels good, and that there is no such thing as right and wrong.


Many will speculate and try to understand the meanings of the written words, "Ismail Ax", on his arm and will probably fail to see the obvious. Are those words in reference to Abraham's sacrifice, or to a city without a country?

We could reach for lofty hypotheses, but more than likely the answer will lie in the English student's writings. Perhaps the words are a personification of himself in an assignment that he turned in. A private, yet at the same time, public cry for help.

How could he have remained friendless?


It is hard for a society filled with self-love to love the un-lovely.


And while the parents of those 32 students who were senselessly killed make burial plans, we as a nation continue to die a slow spiritual death.


Who will make our burial preparations?

A Godless government agency?


At times it seems that we reek of putrefaction.


Are we willing to cease all life support efforts?

Are we willing to sign a DNR order?

Or are we willing to believe in, and pray for, a resurrection?


Are we willing to give up our will for God's will in our lives?


Granted, tomorrow some one's father will die of a heart attack...

A mother will be killed by a drunk driver...

And a child will die of cancer...


Murderers have been with us since the beginning of time...


But before these precious lives leave our tactile world can we say that we touched them?

That we prayed for them?

Were we there for them when they needed us?


Are we assured that they will be in their rightful place in Heaven?


Can we say that they had a purpose and that they lived it fully during what precious time that they had?


Can I say that I have?


later...

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.

8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands. ~ Psalm 138:7-8 (NIV)

Pet Food Recall... The Latest Information...

This blog is not an information blog. However, in light of the recent panic concerning the health of millions of pets I have included this post for those who are interested as well as for those who have concerns about their pet's food.

In the links below you will find the latest information concerning the Menu Foods Income Fund pet food recall. The links are listed in chronological order as the events of the recall unfolded with the first link being the very first post.



Pet Food Recall...

Still Looking for Answers on the 2007 Pet Food Recall...

Menu Foods Pet Food Recall Update

Menu Foods Posts FAQ's Page...

A Prayer for Healing...

Dad starts his first day of chemotherapy tomorrow, and it is a fearful journey.

Lord, I ask you to take care of my father.

To give him physical strength and healing.



Please give him peace.


Lord, I ask you to take care of my mother.

To help her during this time of difficulty.


Please give them the faith in you that they need.

Give them peace.

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Acts 3:16

An E-mailed Prayer Request...

I have been busy working on my schoolwork.

I was fixing to shut down my computer, but stopped to check my e-mail just one more time before I went to bed.

A newly arrived prayer request was in my inbox.

It's for a young boy named Parker who is in Baptist Hospital and is very ill.

He is a friend and fellow Boy Scout of a couple young boys that I know.

He has the same name as my son.

The prayer request includes a link to a blog that is being updated for the family.

There has been a request for blood donations as well.


Please pray for him.

If you live close by, stop by the Oklahoma Blood Institute and donate blood. You don't have to be a perfect blood-type match as the OSBI has a program in which all the donated blood helps to defray the blood processing costs to the family.

You guys have a blessed week-end.

later...