Taking Chances?

I spent most of today with Ilene.  She wrecked her van this weekend, so I invited her to go grocery shopping and shopping for gifts for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoe boxes with me today.  First we enjoyed breakfast at IHOP.

This is what we both had.  I haven't had French toast in forever!

After breakfast, we headed to Dollar Tree.  We must have been there an hour or more.  But, we got everything we needed for our shoe boxes.  And, I'm pretty sure, Ilene got twice as much as she needed to fill her boxes.

Next, we headed to Food Lion to get our groceries.  We took those home to her house first.  Put them away and then I loaded up some more stuff of mine from her house.  She had gotten a call while we were away about the rental car the insurance company is providing for her until her van is fixed, so I told her we would take my groceries home, put them away and head to Thomasville to pick up the vehicle.  But when she called Enterprise to find out about the car, they told her it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.  So, I took her back home.

Then I went to the church so I could put up a new sign; one I got from a church near the house here, the Wallburg Baptist Church.  It says, "If the devil offers you a treat, it is a trick!"  A good one for this season.

While at the parsonage, I packed up some more books and brought them to the house to store in my shed.  Some of them are kids books, however, that I will bring in the house.

Mark grilled the chicken I bought today; skinless, boneless breasts that I cut into tenderloin-sized pieces.   All 6 breasts were grilled for use in our salads for dinner and other meals through the week.  It was delicious on the salad!  It was so beautiful outside today that we ate on the deck.

During dinner Mark mentioned taking the Indian out for a spin since it had been sitting for awhile without being run.  So after dinner we donned our riding gear and took a trip.  When we came back, Marked figured out how to change the suspension on our new Goldwing.  Then he wanted to take it for a test run to see if he could tell any difference.  I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference but he could tell in how the bike handled.  When we headed back towards the house he asked if I wanted to ride longer.  I said, "Sure!"  But as we passed the house we noticed the lights of the Equinox were on.  I had my keys in my pocket, so I assumed I had moved to somehow cause the button to unlock the car.  We turned around up the road so we could check it out.  After we pulled in the driveway, Mark was maneuvering the bike around so it was headed back out to the street when he lost control of it and the bike fell over.  He landed on my shin and then strained some muscles trying to upright the bike again, but the bike is OK.  And, come to find out, it was Mark's key to the car unlocking the Equinox every time I locked it again.  So I took his key and put it into the house.  Then we went back out for a short ride.

I told Mark I was glad we layed the bike down in our yard instead of out on the highway!  At one point during the last short ride, I had the thought, "the more rides we take, the more of a "chance" there is that we will have a wreck."  But, immediately the Lord reminded me that He is in control of chance.  He has our lives in His hands.  He is sovereignly ruling and reigning over His plan for each and everyone of us.  I'm glad He is in charge!  That way I don't have to worry and fret about the "chances" I take!

Here are some pictures I took during our riding tonight.

Lake Thom A Lex

Lake Thom A Lex

See our shadow?

A ride under the moon

Nite!  Praying you have a great week!

Count Your Blessings

The Lord has a way of reminding us to stop and count our blessings.  One good, old-time hymn says it this way, "Count your MANY blessings, name the ONE by ONE.  And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!"  Unfortunately, in living life, I am bad about remembering to take the time to do this!  I take my life for granted every day!  I'm sure I am not alone.

I got a sweet note on Facebook today from a friend, David Wolfe, who said, "Happy belated birthday, Vicki.  May God bless you in this wonderful new journey you have begun.  You always look so happy."  My response to him was, "Thank you, David!  I am happy in the journey, but there are still bittersweet times of sadness in the memories of the good times, if you know what I mean.  And God is good all the time!  I can thank Him that I am still able to have the memories!"

That was a "count your blessings" moment.  While the memories are there, I don't often enough thank the Lord for them.  Some of them make me sad while others make me happy.  Some cause the tears to flow while others make me smile; maybe even laugh!  Those individual events were all a part of this journey the Lord has for me.

And, why should it "surprise you" what the Lord has done?  I need to make it a habit of asking myself this question.  And maybe, just maybe one day I won't be surprised!  He loves me!  He only wants the best for me because of His great love for me!  And, in His loving kindness He not only sends rain on the just, but on the unjust!  "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!"  I am so thankful for His watchful eye!

Thank You, Lord, for Your MANY, MANY blessings on me!  Blessings I don't give You credit for on a daily basis as I ought!  Thank You for the difficult, rough-road parts of the journey because they remind me that I must trust You.  Thank You for the smooth, happy parts of the journey because they remind me that You love me.  Thank You for sickness because it reminds me that my days are in Your hands.  Remind me to not take my life for granted!  Thank You most of all for sending Your Son to die for an unworthy sinner like me!

Count Your Blessings

by Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Since we are planning our first long trip on the bike this weekend.....to Ohio.....where the temperatures are going to be 10 degrees cooler than here.....with rain forecast as we head back on Sunday.....we took the new bike to the shop to get new tires and a 45 point check to be sure (Lord willing) nothing goes wrong on the trip.  We picked the bike up tonight.  Then we went to another bike shop to buy some more gear for myself.  Rain gear, riding boots, and "freeze out" gear (long johns for bikers, lol!).  We also got Mark some new gloves.  So, we should be all set for the trip!  I'm still trying to decide what dress for church I can take that I can ball up for the trip, LOL!

After going to the bike shop, we went to Ruby Tuesday for my birthday meal.  I got a coupon for a free salad bar entree or free burger up to $11.  Mark did the salad bar and I got the pork chop, of course!  My taste buds must be off, however, because I didn't enjoy it like I usually do.  I did switch it up a bit and got the baked sweet potato rather than the garlic mashed potatoes.  I ate the sweet potato and the green beans and a few bites of the pork chop.  Mark had filled up on the salad bar and an appetizer order of pretzels, so he ate a few bites of the pork chop and we brought half of it home.

After we got home, we took a spin on the bike to see how wet we would get, since it started raining on our way home.  But, it stopped raining after just a short while and the roads were not even wet a couple miles away.  But, the ride was nice, anyway!

Looking forward to our trip this weekend!

YUM!

Mark said I've been slack on my selfies of late!  :D

Happenings

It has been longer than I thought since I made a post.  So, let's catch up some.  I'll start from today and go backwards.  That way, if you get tired of reading, you can decide how far back you want to know my history! 

Today, Monday, October 8th
Today I turned 63 years "young."  I got that from a reliable source.....thanks, Brother Tom Ross!  :D
I'd like to say it was a good day, and it was, because the Lord allowed me to be alive, but I've had a headache for 2 days.  It was better than yesterday, however.  And I still spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom.

On the bright side......beauty in the clouds this evening on the way to Mallard Ridge Assisted Living.

Mark had the devotion tonight from Psalm 51. He talked about the joy of salvation, losing it and getting it back.  He did a good job!

Yesterday, Sunday, October 7th
I missed church all day today.  I woke up with a TERRIBLE headache!  The kind that throbs when you breathe!  Plus, I was sick on my stomach about half of the day and spent lots of time in the bathroom.  I literally was in bed all day.  I sat on the couch, feeling some better, after Mark got back from church in the evening.  But, I was ready for bed when the time came.  And I had no trouble going to sleep!  Thank You, Lord!

Saturday, October 6th
One of the ladies from church and I went to Boonville (west about 45 min. from here) because they were having a community-wide yard sale.  We had a great time of fun, food and fellowship!  We bought very little, but still had a wonderful time.  We visited some of the shops while we were there.  One shop had a neat idea of using old ties to re-seat chairs.  And, after I took a picture of the chairs to help me remember how to do it, I actually found a chair that I am going to use for Tim's ties.  Stay tuned for the outcome.  Here's the ladderback chairs we saw that gave me the idea.  This reminds me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears' chairs for momma, pappa and baby bear.  I can't wait to see how my chair turns out!

Friday, October 5th
We took a trip to Reidsville (north of us) to take some items to Mark's aunts (his mom's sisters) that belonged to his mom.  Plus, I had made a batch of chili, so we took some to them.  We rode on our new-to-us Goldwing motorcycle (more about that later).  It looked more and more like we were going to get wet, but we were blessed to be missed by the rain!  It was a more enjoyable ride back because the work traffic had dissipated!

The chili started out as a small batch, but I ended up making an entire batch because I had enough meat in it for such.  It was really good!

Here's the chili recipe if you want to try it:
Wendy's Chili (RecipeView.com)
Ingredients:
2 lb. ground beef
29 oz. tomato sauce
29 oz. kidney beans, with liquid
29 oz. pinto beans, with liquid
1 cup (medium onion) diced onion
1/2 cup green chili (2 diced chilies)**
1/4 cup (1 stalk) diced celery
3 medium tomatoes chopped**
2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water

**(My variations:  I used two 14 oz. cans chopped tomatoes and one can of tomatoes with green chilies)

Directions:
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat; drain off grease.  Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces (I smashed up the beef in a large pan of water and boiled the beef, stirring it often enough to keep the beef fine.  Then I strained the water off in a big colander.)

In a large pot, combine the beef plus all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat.  Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 - 3 hours.

Note:  Try topping this with some freshly grated cheddar cheese and chopped onion.

Those clouds look unhappy!  Thank the Lord, the ones that had rain in them were away to our left!  We stayed dry!

Here's about the extent of my Fall decorating.  I have a couple of pots of mums hanging at the edge of the house and a few decorations in the house, but not a whole lot.

Thursday, October 4th
My brain has forgotten everything from this day (because I have no pictures to remind me!).

Wednesday, October 3rd
I moved stuff out of the spare room so I could begin cleaning the floor and baseboards so I could set up the bed that Mark and I brought into the house from one of the storage buildings out back.  I got frustrated when I realized the bed was too big for the room with it's scroll-type work at the head and foot, which takes up a lot of room!  The bed would fit, but you wouldn't be able to walk around it!

Picture showing the headboard leaning up against the wall and the side rail to see how it was going to fit in the room.

There's the footboard leaning up against the closet.  With the scroll work, there would be no room to walk around the bed.  Bummer!

We got gift cards from Bed, Bath and Beyond, so I went there in search of a light for hanging over the kitchen table, bathroom rugs and whatever else looked interesting.  I also saw these that I thought might be of use under the bathroom sink, but I didn't have any measurements to know whether I should buy them, so I took a picture so I would have the measurements to go by.  I still haven't measured under the sink.  I did find a rug and some kitchen items, but no light to hang above the table.  I did find one at Lowe's.  I also did some grocery shopping for the fellowship dinner at church tonight.

Tuesday, October 2nd
This afternoon, Mark and I went to his son's house to get my hair dyed.  He is going to cosmotology school like his mom.  He put the dye on my hair for me.  Then I rinsed it out, put on the conditioner and then washed that out and washed and dried and styled my hair while Mark was at the men's meeting at church.

Monday, October 1st
Mark and I picked up the bike we purchased from a man.  The man sold it because of his age and size compared to the bike and he really didn't ride it any more.  It is a 2007 Honda Goldwing and has just over 51,000 miles on it.  It is beautiful!

We took it out for a test ride.

The "couch" where I sit is so much more comfortable!

We are planning to take a trip to see Jessica and family this weekend.  It will be our first LONG trip, 6 hours without stops!  It will be interesting to see how I get church clothes packed up in this vehicle!  Not to mention clothes for 2 days and extra gear for all kinds of weather (rain and cooler temperatures are in the forecast!)

OK, that's as far back as I'm going to go, except that I'm going to post a picture of the dining room/kitchen floor for Kim.  Have a great week!

I added the leftover tile to the floor of the kitchen cabinets.

Dining room floor

Adding a sealer to the grout in the kitchen.  Already done in the dining room.