Bible Study and Happy Birthday, Mary!!

Thursday Couples' Bible Study was at Jim and Cheryl Witherspoon's this morning and we invited Norm and Lori to go with us.  We were all rejoicing that Cheryl is feeling better.  Bible study is always good with this group and Cheryl makes great desserts!!! If you know me, you know that I'm not that shallow, but she truly did make a wonderful zucchini cake with cinnamon and chocolate chunks.  Truly outstanding.

I just love it when folks have bird feeders!  I have no idea what these birds are, but they sure were pretty.

She has a bird seed in her beak!

Cheryl thinks this is a woodpecker of some kind.  He sure has the beak for it.

Cheryl and Jim sent us home with a sack of fresh lemons and they are really good.

Tonight we celebrated Mary Stinemetz's birthday with her and hubbs, Elmer.

And Elmer's sister, Barb and her hubbs, Bud Steiner, playing Mexican Train dominoes.

Happy Birthday, Mary!!  Mary and Elmer have sold their park model and will be going back home to Kansas the first of March.  We sure are going to miss them.

Bud and Barb.  They're going to miss Mary and Elmer, too, as their park model is next door.

Thanks, Mary, for inviting us to share your birthday with you and YEAH GIRLS!!! (You know what that means!)

It was a blessed Thursday.

Ohhhhh, it is so nice here!

What a glorious day today has been.  Understand, it has not been without it's portion of heartache and emotion, but we find joy and we have peace and love abounds.

Ladies Bible study was just such a really good time together sharing and learning.  I look forward to our time together every Wednesday.  Thelma came and we all embraced her and prayed for her.  She needed a moment of emotional release and there is such a wonderful atmosphere of love and trust with the ladies. These days are not easy for Jim and Thelma, but their faith is so strong and they love the Lord and people so much... they enrich and inspire us.

We were amazed to see Jim show up for men's Bible study.  He had asked me to take pictures of the men's group and he has asked Don to teach the class now that he has trouble breathing.

While Don was in Bible study, I ran a few errands and took a few pictures while I was out.

I have no idea what was being sprayed as there is nothing growing in this field, yet, but he sure seemed to be having fun.  Cute little plane, huh?

A dead tree, sort of.  And you just said, "Duh-uh."

I pulled off the highway, stopped and introduced my lens to a couple of sheep.  A quite of few of the ewes have been sheared recently, rather poorly.

A handsome fellow.

So sad looking without her "outfit."  The one on the left is trying to hide, I'm sure of it.

Awwww, what a cute little face.  I mean, really, look at the shearing marks on the sheep on the left.  She tucked her head just as I snapped this shot, too embarrassed to be photographed, probably.

Just so sad.  She must feel half naked.  Also, this flock of sheep has just about exhausted the supply of alfalfa here.  They will no doubt be moving to another field soon.

Mama, also a little embarrassed, and her two lambs.  Seems one has been 'hoggin'' most of the meals.  Other than size, they could pass for twins. [weak humor] THEY ARE TWINS. THINK ABOUT IT A FEW MINUTES AND YOU WILL KNOW HOW I KNOW THEY BOTH BELONG TO THIS EWE.

The remainder of the day was spent visiting with Glenda Bookey on her park model front porch, rocking and chatting.... girl talk, some light, some heavy.  We got 'busted' in the middle of our visit.  Don walked up and joined us for a few minutes.  Glenda has a great porch.  (Will take pictures another time.)  I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with her.

As I walked back to the Q, I stopped and chatted with several others.  Everyone seemed to be outside enjoying the beautiful day.  Don said the pool was full of sun bathers when he went to get the mail.

That wonderful man I'm married to prepared yet another gourmet meal this evening: marinated (secret) and grilled round steak, oven-fried seasoned fingerling potatoes and zucchini, fresh sauteed mushrooms (secret), salad, wheat rolls.  Some would say the only thing missing was a good glass of wine, but since I know nothing about wines, our glasses of water was the perfect liquid companion to this perfect meal.

I had a good, long conversation with daughter LaNae tonight.  She's been working long hours, including weekends, but is changing shifts, so will have to work only one weekend a month.  It was so good to talk to her.  With the time difference and her work schedule, we get so little free time to chat.

Okay, was anyone else shocked about the last girl chosen to make the twenty-four contestants of American Idol?

Dishes are washed, floor is mopped, coffee maker is ready, this post is almost finished and I can't get on the Internet!

Quickly, I got on!! See you tomorrow!!

Arizona City friends

By email and phone we had reconnected with Arizona friends, John and Margie Cartwright and they invited us to their Wednesday Bible study at their house with a couple of friends of theirs.  They were waiting out on the front patio for us. Since last winter, John has added a hot tub to their Arizona City home. And just last week, he added these tiles for the chiminea.  He's always got a project going. An intimate group of four couples spent an hour in God's word and had a wonderful time of sharing.  Afterwards, we all went to Chris's for lunch. Here's John and Jim giving their orders to the waitress. Margie, Cheryl (Jim's wife) and Cheryl (Gary's wife). Gary and Cheryl. We had such a wonderful time together, that they moved their Bible study day to Thursday so we can come...  Don has men's Bible study here in the park each Wednesday morning.

When we arrived back at Sunscape we went to visit Mary, who we had heard had fallen on Sunday at the Golden Corral.  When we got to her house, she was very uncomfortable as she had cracked her tailbone when she sat down on the floor. (her chair slid away from her when she sat down... ouch)  She needed a "doughnut" cushion in a bad way, so Don and I went back to Casa Grande to get her a cushion.  For a little background:  Mary has been a widow for six years; she lives alone and she's on oxygen, which means that she mostly gets around on a scooter or golf cart.  Don and I came home and decided to sit out on the patio and enjoy the beautiful weather.  In just a few minutes, here comes sweet Mary on her scooter AND her "doughnut" cushion, with her oxygen, to give me this  pretty cross that she made: Slim and Pat stopped by on their bicycles while Mary was here and visited a while.  After they all left, Pat came back and invited us to go to dinner with them.  So we jumped into their van and went to Barney's buffet style restaurant for dinner.  They are great folks and we have made plans to play cards with them at another time.

Tonight, we watched OU Sooner's almost get beat by Texas A&M in basketball. 

Marvelous Monday

We had a great time studying the name of God, El Elyon, God Most High, this morning.  There were seventeen ladies present. On the the way home after Bible study, friend Donna stopped me to meet her friends, Merrill and Beth.  Well, actually, Beth came to Bible study, so the real reason Donna wanted me to stop was to show me the creativeness of Merrill.  These are gourd eggs. The painted ones are beautiful, but I somehow favor the more natural wood-burned ones. Don and I had lunch with Tim Pruit today at the Mission Royale golf course restaurant. [Of interest only to my family, I would like to document that Tim was the pastor of the Baptist Church at Spring Lake, Texas, where my Aunt Nella Faye went to high school.  Tim and Lori said their are still people living there who are Aunt Nella's age and went to school when she did.] We discussed the possibility of a free clinic here in Casa Grande and Tim is going to put his "feelers" out.  If it's God's timing for a free clinic to be opened here, we pray that God will allow Christian Resort Ministries, Int'l to be a part of it. Tim wanted us to eat there so we could try their sweet potato fries.  I got a tomato basil club wrap and Tim was right... the sweet fries were wonderful.... the whole meal was delicious and our waitress, Linda, was great. Golfers were out enjoying the beautiful day and warm sunshine.

Adonai

Adonai was the Name of God that we studied last night (Wed. 8/27/08) at our Bible Study.

Recognizing Adonai indicates a persons calling upon and surrendering to the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ.  "I recognize The LORD as my Master, my Owner, my Boss, the One I want to obey."

Scriptures that speak of Adonai (LORD):

Genesis 15:1-2

1 Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.

[We see here that Abram, even though he's questioning, he still is dedicated to obedience as seen by the use of God's name: "LORD."]

Matthew 7:21

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

[Not only does God state the intent of the heart here, but He indicates the intentions by what they call him: "Lord, Lord."  Not translated as Adonai.  They were not motivated by their desire to be obedient to God.  The same is true for the following verses.]

Luke 6:46-49

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.

48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Exodus 4:10

10 But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O LORD, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

11 Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

13 But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” [Notice:  When Moses realized what God was requiring of him, the name he uses changes from LORD, to Lord... no longer dedicated to obeying.]

14 Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. 17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

[We discussed why the LORD became angry with Moses... because Moses did not trust the LORD enough to be completely and totally obedient.  We can't help but wonder what blessings Moses forfeited by not trusting the LORD to speak through him.

We also learned that the name LORD (translated Adonai) is only used by an individual who is intent on obeying God.  Otherwise, if the individual is not dedicated to obeying God, the name Lord is used.  Do you see the difference in the use of capitalization.]

LORD, I am your servant, You are my Master.

"Adonai, we surrender to YOUR Sovereign will."

I'm sure there is are many wonderful sermon series or Bible Studies on just this name of God... Adonai. 

I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.  The first song is entitled "Adonai" and is sung by Paul Wilbur who is tremendously talented Messianic Jewish worship leader.  I have more of his music in my playlist.

OLD TESTAMENT NAMES OF GOD
a poem by Gertrude Jefferies 

Almighty God, Creator,
Elhoim is His name.
Jehovah-Jireh, My Provider
He will never change.

El Shaddai, All Sufficient One
El Roi, The God Who Sees
Adonai, My precious Lord
Jehovah-Shalom is My Peace.

Jehovah-Saboth Lord of Hosts
El Elyon, God Most High
He's ruler of the universe,
God of the earth and sky.

The Lord Jehovah, Self Existent One
The Eternal Great I Am
Jehovah Rapha, God Who Heals
my spirit and natural man.

Jehovah-Mekaddishkem
The God who Sanctifies
Jehovah-Raal, My Shepherd God
To green pastures He does guide.

I live beneath the banner
Of great Jehovah- Nissi
And blest Jehovah-Tsidkenu
With Righteousness, He clothes me.

 

Quail Run Olympics begins

Before I get started reporting today's happenings, let me tell you what I forgot about yesterday. While I was getting ready for the day, Don was riding my bicycle around the block. That's right, you read right... Don was riding my bicycle. He got back to the "house" at the same time as I was getting ready to walk out the door. There he was trying to muster up the energy to climb the steps into the house, breathing rather heavy and rubbing his back side. You can imagine my concern: "What's the matter, Hon?" inhale "I" exhale "rode" inhale "the" exhale "bi" inhale "cycle." exhale Me: "What?!" Now, for everyone who has seen Don today... hmmmm.

I really do love to see him feeling better and I know it's so hard not to do things you feel like doing. It's easy to forget there are usually consequences for those choices. I gave him a hard time, but in all honesty, his lack of energy today is probably his blood pressure going to the low end. It's so hard to get the meds adjusted.

Today, the Quail Run Olympics started. While waiting for Ladies Bible study to begin, I walked around taking pictures of the different events going. The men and ladies were tossing horseshoes. Our neighbor, Bob Quinn, was an official for this event. The shuffleboard teams were engrossed. These are two games that I am going to experience before we leave here. I am clueless about shuffleboard and how it is scored. I know, I know.... Google it. Here's Kathy Weyer exhibiting great athletic form. Today was the last day of our ten week Beth Moore study, "To Live Is Christ." We have all thoroughly enjoyed it and have grown spiritually. We had about one half the class present today and they took me to Duffer's for lunch after class. LaVon, JoAnne & Alaina Nancy & Elaine. Elaine has done remarkably since her fall out of their RV. She even played nine holes of golf yesterday, walking the whole nine holes. Nancy is all tan from her week down at Rocky Point in Mexico. Jane & Nancy. Jane and hubby Ron are leaving in a few days for a tour of Israel. She is so excited about it and we are looking forward to her report and pictures when they return. Since the Olympics started here, we have very quickly learned that Nancy is VERY good at ping pong. When she showed up with her ping pong paddle in a zippered case, we knew the rest of us were in trouble. I played my first game this afternoon. Here's Margie, beating me. The truth is, I just didn't want to go into the winner's bracket with NANCY. Seriously, she's even beating most of the men that have been brave enough to play her. Go Nancy! This evening, we went over to Eloy A & M Pizza and ate dinner with Dave, Darlene, Carol & Steve. What absolutely delightful friends we are making here.

I almost forgot! The funny story for today: Snookie wasn't so lucky. She drew Nancy as her first game opponent. Unfortunately, I didn't see the game, but Snookie knocked on our door when she got back from her game. When I got to the door, there was the saddest face... "She KICKED my butt!!!" I laughed and asked, "Did she take you to school?" Snookie: "She took me right passed school and straight to the wood shed!" I'm still laughing. She's a hoot. I think she was serious about the butt kickin'.