Sunday's here

Well, who knew it was going to rain most of the night and into the morning?  Arizona is certainly getting it's share of moisture this winter.  Very unusual.

Church attendance was down just a little, probably due to the rain.  This morning was Communion Sunday and Don's sermon was from 1 Corinthians 11: 23-31, entitled, "Why Do We Observe the Lord's Supper?"

We observe the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus:

        all He did for us on the Cross;

                 to acknowledge His New Covenant;

                         to proclaim His return.

We can not talk about why we observe the Lord's Supper without talking about how we observe the Lord's Supper. (vv 27-31)

We must examine ourselves before the Lord before taking the elements of bread and wine, which represent Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.  Is there un-confessed sin in our life?  Is there un-forgiveness in our hearts?  Pre-communion time is an opportunity to ask God to

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
         And lead me in the everlasting way.  (Psalm 139)

I personally believe that we should remember Jesus Christ before every meal (the breaking of bread).  That's why we say Grace or 'ask the blessing' before a meal... to remember Jesus, what He did for us, and thank Him for His provision for us. 

Again, we are so grateful for your prayers for Don as he stands and preaches two services.  God is so faithful and Don is tired, but he's not completely drained of energy.  In fact, we were invited to lunch by Pat and Keith, so we rode with them to Golden Corral.  Here we all are just before leaving the table:  Evelyn and Gene (across the table from each other), Barb and Bud, my empty chair beside Don, and Pat and Keith across from Don. This is the Nebraska group and we love them.  Well, Evelyn and Gene are from Colorado, but they've known the Nebraska group for many years.  Gene and Bud served in the military together. Keith and Bud are brothers.

Yes, we watched the Super Bowl.  Commercials were disappointing.  The Clydesdales were my favorite.  The half-time was.... too long.  I had rather watch the sports desk re-hash the first half.  That was a really gutsy start to the second half.  The Colts were still in a daze from the half-time entertainment, I guess.  Remained in a daze until the final buzzer.  Congratulations Saints. 

Chaparral and Sherry Saturday

It was a beautiful morning, so Don and I went for a walk in the park.  Larry-Larry and Elaine are re-doing the underpinning around their park model.

They, with the help of friends, made all of these bricks.

These purple petunias are so pretty.

When we got back to the Q, I walked across the street to see Toma.  This chaparral/roadrunner was on their patio table, but flew over the fence into the cactus garden.  Inside Jim and Toma's park model, a huge picture window looks out into the cactus garden, so I sat and took pictures.

Toma said it was a good thing that we weren't in a site on the cactus garden.  I would sit and take pictures all day.

This young man is very healthy.  I loved taking pictures of the quail from inside Toma's house, because it's so hard to get a front view of the quail; they're so skittish.

Here's the female to this pair.  Isn't she pretty?

We decided to drive into Casa Grande and as we were leaving the park, Don spotted three chaparral over by the RV storage lot.

I tried hard, but they would not cooperate with me and line up together for a photo shoot.

Tonight is the Sherry Walker Concert that we have been looking forward to.  As we were walking to the Community Center, we "bumped" into Sherry and her husband, Ray.  She looked so pretty, I just had to take her picture.

Walter came out on stage to make a few announcements and introduced Sherry.

Sherry put on a great concert, singing a really good mix of music from the 40's through the 60's.  Also, a couple of originals that she or friends have written.

She's dressed Western, but she sang popular songs as well as western and country songs.

Great job, Sherry!  We thoroughly enjoyed your concert tonight.

DAILY VERSE
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

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DAILY QUOTE
If we want proof of God’s love for us, then we must look first at the Cross where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God’s love for us.  Jerry Bridges

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DAILY THOUGHT

A Classic Devotional from Charles Grandison Finney
So long as we think of God only as One to be feared, not to be loved, there will be a prejudice against Him as more an enemy than a friend. Yet, God would lead us to serve Him in love and not in bondage. He would draw us forth into the liberty of the sons of God. He loves to see the obedience of the heart. He would inspire love enough to make all our service free and cheerful and full of joy.
If you wish to make others love you, you must give them your love. Show your servants the love of your heart, so will you break their bondage, and make their service one of love. In this way God commends His love towards us in order to win our hearts to Himself, and thus get us ready and fit to dwell forever in His eternal home.
His ultimate aim is to save us from our sins that He may fill us forever with His own joy and peace.
Lord, thank You for loving me. Help me to serve You with joy. Amen.

Sunday's almost here.

Even Now

I've been given/loaned a few novels by Karen Kingsbury, a Christian author.  Today, I finished Even Now.

I read a review and a portion of it follows:  "In the main development, which really won't be a surprise (and that's OK), an 18-year-old soccer player manages to do what police, private investigators, four 60-something adults and two 30-something, supposedly intelligent, adults have failed to do, and all with a few keystrokes on a search engine." 

At first, I agreed, I had thought the same thing and then it occurred to me that I and the reviewer missed a vital point:  God is in control and it was His plan to use that 18-year-old as an "instrument of peace" allowing her, with His help and because she asked Him with faith, to do something older and more experienced professionals could not do.  Think about it.  You might need to read to book to grasp what I'm saying.

Even Now. 

I enjoyed it very much.

Friday sunset

Did you know that we and and In and Out burger place in Casa Grande?  Have you ever had an In and Out burger?  They are really pretty good.  Very good, in fact.  If you get a chance, you should try one.

Tonight, we decided we were having withdrawals from  not playing cards with Wendy and Rick in a long time.  So, we remedied that situation.  We met them at Pizza Hut for a little Friday night pizza and then went to their place to play Spades.  Oh, why did I even mention this?  Now I have to tell you that the girls are STILL in a slump.  Grrrrrr.

Here are a few pics I took enroute to the Pizza Hut.

"I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
For Your mercy is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the clouds."                  (Psalm 108:3-4).

Tremendous Thursday

Our Thursday was another full, good day.

First, Don led the Couples' Bible Study this morning as Gary is still recovering from the flu.  We met at Jan and Bob's lovely home at Toltec.

Jan, our hostess for the morning, in her bright kitchen.

Gary didn't make it, but Cheryl was there.

Jim and Cheryl.  (There are two Cheryls in our group.) Cheryl has missed Bible study for the last two weeks because of back and arm pain.  I don't know how she does it, but she's in pain all the time and the last surgery she had lasted for a short time and then the pain returned.

We are blessed to get to study and fellowship with this super group of couples.

Lunch in Casa Grande at the China Buffet.

Back to the Q.  Oh, yeah, I MUST do laundry today.  Don is out of clean socks!  Etc.

We've been invited to Glenda's for dinner at 5:00 PM.  Glenda lost her husband to cancer this past winter and she's doing her best to adjust to being alone.  This is a blurry picture, but I wanted to show you her kitchen in her park model.  That tiny lady on the right is sweet Glenda.

Margee and Larry brought a gift for Glenda.  She was thrilled about the adorable Valentine bear.

Glenda's park model (home) is so cozy and just perfect for her.

Garth's Shari was working tonight, plus, she also has not been feeling well.  Garth and Shari have known Glenda for years back in Michigan.

The meal, the fellowship, the tour of Glenda's home... all wonderful.  If you're the praying kind, please say a prayer for Cathy, Glenda's daughter who is waiting for the results of a cancer test Monday.  We are all praying that we will not hear that word.

While driving to Jan and Bob's this morning and watching skydivers falling out of the sky, this very dim orb caught my eye not far above the horizon.  It's the moon.  It was really big for a day time moon, or maybe I just don't pay enough attention to day time moons.

DAILY VERSE
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?   1 John 3:17

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DAILY QUOTE
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Mother Teresa

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DAILY THOUGHT

Actions speak louder than words. We all know the common bit of wisdom and few would disagree with the statement. But how many of us still struggle to implement this principle in our lifestyles? How many of us rationalize our lack of love in action on the basis of our fine intentions and words?
Maybe the needs around us are so great that we simply don’t know where to start. But perhaps the biggest reason we don’t help others in love is that we are too focused on our own needs, wants, and comforts.
Is God’s love in you being choked off because it is bottled up? We stem the input when we put a dam in front of the output. How do you reactivate the flow of God’s love in your life? He will do it for you. Your job is simply to meet a need right in front of your eyes.
Dear God, thank You for the opportunities You put before me to share Your love. Amen.

Jehovah-shalom...

The Lord is Peace.

That's was the topic of our Ladies Bible Study this morning.  We examined several verses to learn about peace and its relationship to God... in a nutshell:  God is peace.

Here's a list of the scriptures we looked at:

Judges 6:22-24

Leviticus 26:2-6

Numbers 6:22-27

Jeremiah 29:11

Isaiah 48:18

Isaiah 26:3

Psalm 119:165

Psalm 4:8

Philippians 4:4-7

Philippians 4:8-9

Wow, we covered a lot of territory.  I loved the last two:

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

⁹The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.   Philippians 4:8-9 (New American Standard Bible)

All the words in bold describe God.  We can't go wrong meditating on these things about God, studying His Word... dwell on these things; practice these things.  And the promise: the God of peace will be with you!

The Ladies meet at 9:00 a.m. and the Men meet at 10:00 a.m. in the same room in the activity building.  This is what we saw when we came out of the Bible study room:This is quite a line up and they are all secretly wishing they could remain in the recliners for their Bible Study instead of sitting in the straight back chairs for an hour.  There were sixteen men present for their study time and about twenty ladies in our study time.  Great time in prayer and Bible study.

Jim and Toma are away for a few days, so I went over to feed the birds for Jim... in the cactus garden.  Don took pictures and this is the only decent one... he's such a stinker some time.  The bird feed is in the barrel.

The doves were not shy and gathered quickly to feast on the bird feed.

Quietly, I waited for the quail to join the feast, but only this brave one ventured even remotely close while I watched with the camera.  This is obviously a zoomed picture.

A Cactus Wren.

Afternoon was spent restfully at the Q.  Computer whiz, Jeff, came and installed a wi-fi card in our desk top. 

Phone conversations with Mama Trudy (feeling pretty good today) and Leslie. 

Funny granddaughter story:

Emma (6):  Where you going, Mama?

Leslie (37):  I've been asked to play with a volleyball team tonight.

Emma:  Why you want to play volleyball?  So you can have a young life again?

It's a rude awakening when you realize your child thinks of you as being old.... at 37!!!

There's a fun thing going on on FaceBook.  Everyone is suppose to post a picture of a celebrity they've been told they look like.  It's fun, so bringing it to my blog.

Earlier stages of my life, some said I looked like: repeatedly, and Stephanie Powers (several times) (I once had red hair like Stephanie)  and Geena Davis (once). (you'll have to click on their names to see pictures.)

Later or more recently: or a little more seriously... minus the curl... (Meryl and I definitely share a forehead, but you never see all of mine! 

And a couple of times... Lynn Redgrave.

We can't leave Don out.  Once, another man was quite emphatic that Don looked like

I don't know.  Maybe a little.  My man is better looking.

Wasn't that fun!?!  Who have you been told you look like?

 

 

 

 

Don's been making a yummy Greek salad with marinated artichoke hearts, green olives, etc.  I'm hooked.

Now, I'm reflecting on my morning.  There is a particular lady in Bible study that inspires me, who truly personifies 'count it all joy.'  In fact, her name is Joy and she has had MS for years.  But nothing stops her; Ms does not define her.  She walks with those extended canes in each hand and she can barely raise her little chin from her chest.  She's a tiny thing, but so huge in spirit.  Before we leave here this winter, I will have my picture taken with her, if she will allow it.  I adore her.

That's was our Wednesday.  Hope yours was as wonderful.

I'll let you know.

Frieda and Gary

Tom and Sharon arranged for us all to meet up with Frieda and Gary, friends from our first winter here in Arizona, three winters ago, same as Tom and Sharon.  They bought a place in Mesa and are living there now.

Well, of course, I took a few pictures on the way up to Mesa.

Finally got a shot of a black sheep.  Not a very good picture, but not bad at 55 miles per hour.

Don't you just wonder how old this fireplace is?

Housing on an Indian reservation

Odd looking green in the desert.  But it sure is a sight for dry eyes.

Another view of a church and bell tower.

We met Frieda, Gary, Ellen, Sharon and Tom at the Olive Garden.  It is so good to see them again!

After the Olive Garden, we went to see Frieda and Gary's "new" house.  They got a great deal and are in the process of re-doing the inside.  The outside will be next after Gary rests from doing the inside.

We love their patio.

I loved the way the sun was making the palm leaves shine.

Out back, they have an "orchard" of citrus trees.

A picture of the group.  Sharon forgot to bring a big rock and a chair was too high for she and Frieda to stand on.  Oh, well.

On the way home, more green alfalfa fields.  Looks soft enough to roll in.

We've been invited back to Gary and Frieda's for a home cooked meal.  Frieda is a very good cook.

We'll also meet with Tom, Sharon and Ellen once more before they return to Oregon.  Tom and Sharon have a brand new home, full of boxes needing to be unpacked, waiting for them.

It was a great day of fellowship, laughter and catching up.  We are so blessed to have these wonderful people in our lives.

Books read.

This book was left on our door step by a lady we met here in the park.  I started reading it last week and spent most of today finishing it.  My awareness of a horrific historical even has been raised.

In case you would like to read it, and I recommend it, I will only tell you that it is two stories from two different time periods, interwoven together.  One set in 1942 France and the other began, also, in Paris, 2002. 

Just make sure you have tissues handy.

A Digi-Celebrity!

We have a digi-celeb in the family!  For the whole month of February!

Our Leslie has been chosen as The Treat of the Month for Sweet Shoppe Designs, a digital scrapbooking site.

Congratulations, Leslie.  It's so cool when others "get" what motivates you to document your world and life in such a creative way.

[This is my one thousandth (1,000th) post on Bakers' Blessings!!]