Neat poem on the Lord's Prayer

I read about this poem by an unknown author in John MacArthur's book on prayer "Alone with God" and found it thought-provoking:
I cannot say “our” if I live only for myself in a spiritual, water-tight compartment.
I cannot say “Father” if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child.
I cannot say “who art in heaven” if I am laying up no treasure there.
I cannot say “hallowed be Thy name” if I am not striving for holiness.
I cannot say “Thy kingdom come” if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day.
I cannot say “Thy will be done” if I am disobedient to His Word.
I cannot say “on earth as it is in heaven” if I will not serve Him here and now.
I cannot say “give us…our daily bread” if I am dishonest or an “under-the-counter” shopper.
I cannot say “forgive us our debts” if I harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say “lead us not into temptation” if I deliberately place myself in its path.
I cannot say “deliver us from evil” if I do not put on the whole armor of God.
I cannot say “Thine is the kingdom” if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject.
I cannot say “the power” if I fear what men may do.
I cannot say “the glory” if I am seeking honor only for myself.
I cannot say “forever” if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.

Still snowing in Cincy!

Well we have broken the record....so far over 21 inches during February, setting a record - they haven't had this much snow since 1914!!

Since I grew up in Michigan City, Indiana and then later moved to Buffalo, New York, I'm not too impressed with 21 inches...but I am enjoying it. So much nicer to look at then dead, brown grass!

Just praying for enough of a break this coming weekend for me to get to Hamburg, New York. My sister is having surgery this Wednesday and I'm going up next week to help out.

Of course I'm trying to get all the end of the month stuff done ahead of time for work - but made great progress today.. so I think I'll be ready. I'm also starting my seeds under lights...so I have my garden in mind...really spring isn't that far away!

Jury Duty

Well, just when I thought January was coming along pretty smoothly....JURY DUTY! I really thought I'd call on Friday and find out that I had been passed over. But I have to report at 8:30 Monday morning at the county courthouse (45 minutes away from home)!
I will go through orientation and then be interviewed. So there is still a chance that I won't have to serve, but I will probably be tied up all Monday. So I went into work today to work ahead and plan to do the deposit right after church tomorrow.
Looks like it's going to be an even busier week than I thought. Hopefully I'll be done by Thursday morning, or I'll need to get a sub for my class.

Oh January!

Still in the midst of my busiest week of my busiest month! But God is graciously providing me with strength, health and little by little my tasks are getting done. Had a wonderful bible study today at church...it's our first day back since Dec 3rd!!! It was great to hear how everyone's holidays were and what God has been teaching them. As usual, God has been quite busy in everyone's lives and there were great testimonies shared around the table today! Our "Knowing God" chapter this week was 13 - The Grace of God. What a wonderful study to start 2010! Let me leave you with this verse from Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." How amazing that our Judge has become our Savior!

Busy Friday

Good news: I kept the bipap mask on all night...not sure yet if I slept more or not. I woke alot having to make adjustments to the mask. Hopefully my special pillow will arrive soon and help cut down on the # of times I need to adjust the mask.

I am getting ready to print out all the contribution statements for the church today. Monie got all the envelopes ready for me yesterday....so we should be able to get them out soon. Still waiting for our Treasurer to sign the cover letter.

Have a great weekend!

The bipap has arrived

And the home health aide trained me on using it....we'll see if it helps tonight! I am hoping for deeper sleep and more energy. Good day, tried a new whole grain bread recipe and it turned out great in the new breadmaker! Also worked on re-organizing my bible study notebook and read several great articles online about quiet times. Next I'm planning to finish my study guide for the Knowing God Bible study which starts up again next week.

We had a great class last night on "Understanding Poverty" Here is a passage from Isaiah that really struck me: "if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday." Is 58:10

Notice that it says "spend" ... which really speaks to a sacrifice of time. We talked about the importance of building relationships with the poor and not just throwing money at the problem. Building relationships can be messy and time consuming....but it doesn't say we are to "dabble" on behalf of the poor....but SPEND YOURSELVES. Quite convicting.

Back to the Gym

Well, it took quite alot of self-talk but I finally made it back to the gym today. I do feel more energized by going, so hopefully remembering that feeling will keep me going back. I also tried out my new schedule for Tuesdays....getting up at 5 AM! So far I've really enjoyed being able to accomplish so much before the day gets away. We are having a nice sunny day....which is a treat after several weeks of clouds. We still have snow, so it's nice and sparkly out!

I'm going to get all the Christmas wraps and ribbons organized today. I have some new containers to put everything in. I love storage containers!!!! After that I need to finish my study guide for the bible study I'm teaching. It's going to be a fun day doing many of the things I love...including trying out a new bread in the breadmaker. I stopped at Whole Foods after the gym and got some different kinds of flour to make a 7 grain bread.

Well, gotta get off the computer and on to organizing!

Sunday Dinner

We had Michael's belated birthday meal today...and the Tiramisu turned out excellent!
I guess I won't have to try all 395 recipes on recipezaar to find a good one, since this one tastes just like Bravo's!

This afternoon I decided to organize all my crochet and knitting projects. I am going to use my ball winder to wind all the yarn I own - that will make them easier to store...more compact. I found out that I am in the middle of 10 different projects and I had promised to make the guys new slippers. So I've made a list of all the projects and will work to complete them before gardening weather. Of course I need to start planning the garden too. So many things to do and so little time! I've decided that I'll have to take a break from Farmville during the week and just play on weekends because it is such a time "eater".


We had the neatest "weather event" this morning. In the night we had fog and it is so cold that it made a really neat looking frost on everything. It looked like someone had sprayed flocking on all the pinetrees and bushes. At church Jean told me that it is called hoarfrost...it made everything look awesome this morning.

Goodbye Christmas Decorations!

Today's the day I'm taking down the tree. Monkey bread and banana bread are baking in the oven and the house smells so cozy! I also need to make Michael's tiramisu birthday dessert for tomorrow....we had to postpone his birthday dinner for a week because I came down with a secondary infection from my Christmas virus!!! Quite a different holiday this year.

It is lightly snowing but the sun is shining...a nice day to pack away the decorations...I shouldn't feel too sad on such a pretty day. Well, I need to get at it...Happy Saturday everyone!

Snow in Cincinnati

Well we've had two days of snow and the sun came out today - everything just sparkled! It is so beautiful! I enjoy looking at it and today driving in it wasn't bad at all.

I'm full into my January rush at work, but had a great day today. Got all of the bank accounts balanced and now I can Close December and begin to prepare all the contribution statements that need to be mailed out. I think I'll be able to get everything done on time, if I can keep having productive days like today. It really helps now that I have a private office at work - no distractions or interruptions. But it does get kind of lonesome at times! Also all of my files are in the office with me and handy to get to. They used to be in three different locations in the building.

I always wait until after Michael's birthday (January 3) and Epiphany (Jan 6) to take down the Christmas decorations, so tomorrow seems like a good day to tackle that. My indoor herb garden is growing so quickly, I already need to harvest some of the herbs! I am really enjoying my Aerogarden!

New Year

Well it's a new year and another chance to try to keep this blog up to date. With Facebook helping me keep in touch with everyone, it seems like I have even less motivation to "blog"...but FB isn't a good vehicle to express more than a snippet of a thought. Wanted to share a great quote I read today:

"It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything, but not the kernel." ~Arne Garborg

A good thought to ponder at the beginning of 2010! Hopefully we will put our energies into the things that truly matter and will advance the Kingdom of God this year.
I am reading a great book called "When Helping Hurts" by Corbett & Fikkert and taking a seminar at our church on Understanding Poverty. We had our first meeting last night and a very good opening discussion. If you have an interest in helping the church help the poor help themselves ... check out www.chalmers.org or pick up this book - it will challenge you!

Customer Service Success Story!

Hurrah! I just got a call from Backyard Gear and my missing part is in the mail! So happy to be able to use my Garden Center! My advice for anyone trying to get in touch with a service department - KEEP TRYING! It pays off to be persistent!
Tooth update: The dentist drilled a hole in the tooth and is letting it "drain" - sounds icky but the pain is letting up! Friday he will finish the root canal and close up the tooth. I can't wait to chew something! Liquid diets get really old fast. However since I have a "weigh-in" next week with my diabetes nurse practitioner - I guess it came at a good time. Surely I've lost some weight!
Thank goodness for Planet Smoothie and their low-carb smoothies!

Customer Service

Well my beautiful Garden Center arrived and John put it together for me, only to find out that we have two right hand doors and no left! I've called the company and of course can only get voice mail. I've emailed them and have no response. So frustrating!
I was so excited about this, it has a sink and all kinds of great organizing space.
I am going to set it up between the greenhouse and my little tool shed...it'll be great for potting and washing out the pots after I transplant. I'm thinking about buying a grill cover to put over it.
It would be so nice if I can only get that door!!
Dentist this afternoon and I'm hoping to get back to normal...these tooth problems have really messed up my week. And now we're going into the 2nd week with them!
Dentures are looking really good!

Root canals

Suffering with a toothache all weekend, called dentist on Monday only to find he was on vacation! But I did get referred to a doctor who saw me on Tuesday and has a root canal scheduled for this morning. That was the quickest I've ever gotten taken care of! I wonder how this health care stuff is going to affect our waiting time? And how will it affect dentists? Right now my dental plan stinks....I only have $1000 coverage per year and once I max that out - nothing, everything else comes out of my pocket. Wish I would have known years ago that I would need to have so much dental work done, I would have put away some money for it. At least we have access to dentists...many countries don't. I can't imagine the pain they have to endure.
Even in our own country, places like Appalachia do not have easy access to dentists. So instead of complaining, I should be thankful.

Little things mean alot

We received the sweetest card from our vet today. His words were comforting, reassuring and gave us much peace. What a kind thing to do for us!
And a phone call from a friend, the one who originally found Shadow and gave him to us...she shared some special memories that she had of Shadow when he first came to her house. Emails and facebook comments keep coming in and help to heal our hurting hearts as we receive many understanding and comforting comments from friends far away.
A scripture that was shared with us was Romans 8:19-21:
"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
A reminder that the whole creation will be restored one day.

Life goes on

We couldn't sleep much last night...so many memories going through our minds. This morning Ranger scratched at our door...usually Shadow did this every morning. We opened the door and Ranger jumped up on the bed and gave us lots of love and attention. We really soaked it in! Here's a picture of Muffin and Ranger keeping us company on the bed.















It's been a difficult day, with alot of soul-searching questions of "Should we have noticed a problem with Shadow sooner"? "Could things have been different?"
But we have to rest in God's sovereignty....He is sovereign over all of His creation, all of His creatures. Doesn't Matthew 10:29 tell us Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father."

Mourning Shadow's Death

If you aren't a pet owner, this post will probably seem silly to you...but I am grieving tonight the loss of one of my three cats. He was the first cat I've had since I was a little girl. We adopted him 8 years ago when he had wandered into a friend's garage. She already had 2 cats, and they didn't get along well with this new one, so I agreed to take him. We named him Shadow...a beautiful grey long haired cat. He was so striking that I couldn't believe he was a stray. His fur was silken and he was very proud...I would call him "King Cat" because he always acted as if he were royalty. So loving at times of his choosing, but aloof and independent too.


He was so smart, if we were asleep and he wanted to go out, he would stand on the dresser and push the bottles of my perfume off, one by one to get our attention. Or he would go over to the answering machine and press the button to make it beep until we got up and let him outside.


I know it will take some time for the sadness I feel to subside...he was a good friend. When we would pull into the driveway, he'd roll over on his back and stretch out...showing us he was happy we were home. In the wintertime, he always would keep our feet warm in bed.





I miss him...Sleep peacefully tonight Shadow without pain!

Quick Friday Update

Here's a great thought: "We should choose life goals that are centered in God: to know Him better, to love Him with all our being, to do His will at any cost, to glorify Him and to please Him" From Ruth Myers' 31 Days of Praise. For any of you that want to discuss this book...a group of us are reading through it again during August and meeting a couple of times to discuss. Jodean came up with the idea and I think it's a good one, since we don't have bible study this month. I've been using the book everyday for the last 3 months...it is a great addition to your quiet time.

Pray for me as I set my goals for the fall this weekend...that they would be centered in God. I'll be teaching "Knowing God" by JI Packer as one of the women's bible study offerings. Pray that my preparation would be God-centered also.

Off to snap beans and then work! Happy Friday!

Consolidating

I've decided that I need to consolidate all my blogs into one - since I barely have time for it! This will mean that those of you who only want to read about my hobbies, will have to wade through to find which ones talk about that. I'll try to indicate in the subject line what I'm writing about - but sometimes it might be all my interests, thoughts and day to day stuff jumbled together. This winter I may have time to figure something better out.

So I've taken Kathy's Kogitations and Mommoboy's Hobbies "off the air"
I am still going to have a website - probably Kathy's Korner. And for now I'll mention prayer requests on this blog. Trying to streamline my life! Getting ready for my busiest months at work, harvest time in the garden, canning, and I'll be teaching women's bible study beginning Sept 10th - so I'll need to streamline everything.

My little saying I found is even more apropos now: "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think,all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see." - John Burrough

Kind of rainy here today, but I need to try to get my walk in and then check on the garden. If the rain holds off - a cloudy day is actually a good time to garden! I know I need to pick beans, corn and tomatoes. But if it rains, I have a bunch of housework to do too! Well, here is what I want to leave you with today from Psalm 86:11
"Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name."

In this day of fast-paced EVERYTHING - it is more important than ever to guard our hearts from being divided. My prayer for all of us today is that we would keep God first in all we do.

Vacations, family and getting back to a routine

We had a very nice vacation in Hamburg, NY last week, visiting my mom, Jacque and NOW Lisa & children have moved there! Making my visiting very fun, as I get to see all my nephews and my niece in one place. Lisa's new house is adorable and I think she'll like settling in there.

We had rainy weather most of the time, so I didn't get to enjoy Jacque's pool much. My nephew Cole taught me how to play guitar hero! And Georgia flew up from Texas, so it was like a mini-family reunion! Great to see everyone and catch up on each other's lives.

Now I'm trying to get back into a routine and not feel overwhelmed with all there is to accomplish during August! I need to finish writing the study guide for the bible study I am teaching in September on J.I. Packer's book "Knowing God". The garden is demanding alot of attention and August is my month for all the annual doctor appointments. Plus it is the last month of the fiscal year at church, so I'm busy wrapping things up and getting ready with the new budget. Note to self: One thing at a time!! Let me leave you with this thought
You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You're blessed when you follow his directions,
doing your best to find him.
That's right—you don't go off on your own;
you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
keeping to the course you set;
Then I'd never have any regrets
in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I'm going to do what you tell me to do;
don't ever walk off and leave me.
That's Psalm 119:1-8 from The Message translation. I find that the more I have to do, the more time I need to spend with God - in prayer and in His Word. Then things fall into place. So during this busy time, pray for me to be diligent in getting up early and being consistent with my time with God.