Sealed With A Prayer

I have been so blessed by the members of the First Baptist Church in Eleanor, WV.  Since Tim's death, several persons and a Sunday school class have sent cards to me, reminding me that they are praying for me.  I recently got one that was marked with "sealed with a prayer" on the back.  How wonderful to know that others who love the Lord are praying for me!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

When Tim resigned the pastorate at the Buffalo Baptist Church, we were making visits to other churches in the area when he did not have a church lined up to preach in.  First Baptist in Eleanor, WV was one of those churches.  We visited there a couple of times.  Tim and the pastor were friends.  They didn't agree on everything, but they agreed to disagree.  Romans 12:18 instructs us, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

And the people there have shown their love of God by their actions towards another of God's children.....me.  1 John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."

James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  I have been "visited" many times over the last year + since becoming a widow.  Thank you, First Baptist Church of Eleanor, WV!  And thanks in particular goes to:  Vicki Hicks, Linda Harris, Joyce Stotts, Brent and Brenda Clendenin, John and Karen McClung, Judy and Dale Allen, the Peacemakers Sunday School Class, and there may be others.  These are names signed on the cards I have kept.  If I have missed someone, I apologize!  Thank you all for your many, many prayers on my behalf!

Now that I am married again, I think it is time for them to shower their love and prayers on another one of God's children.  Perhaps another widow or widower.  They are growing in number everyday and I don't want to be selfish.  It has been said that it is not a good thing to be a man in the Hillcrest Baptist Church.  All of our men have died, who were married and members, except for 3.  There are 4 or 5 others who attend but are not members.  And there is Mark, who lost his wife several years ago, but now he has me!  I believe there are 8 women in total at the Hillcrest Baptist Church who have lost their husbands; two of us being married again.

Thank You, Lord, for your guiding hand on my life!  Thank You for those faithful to send cards at the First Baptist Church in Eleanor, WV.  Thank You for bringing Mark into my life.  Thank You for You!

Feeling Old?

Age.  /āj/

noun

noun: age; plural noun: ages

1.

the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed.

"he died from a heart attack at the age of 51"

synonyms:

number of years, length of life;

a particular stage in someone's life.

"children of primary school age"

the latter part of life or existence; old age.

"with age this gland can become sluggish"

(I love these.....) synonyms:

elderliness, old age, oldness, senescence, dotage, seniority, maturity;

2.

a distinct period of history.

"an age of technological growth"

synonyms:

era, epoch, period, time, eon "the Elizabethan age"

GEOLOGY

a division of time that is a subdivision of an epoch, corresponding to a stage in chronostratigraphy.

ARCHAIC

a lifetime taken as a measure of time; a generation.

"Nestor is said to have lived three ages when he was ninety years old"

INFORMAL

a very long time.

"I haven't seen her for ages"

synonyms:

a long time, days/months/years on end, an eternity, an eon; More

verb

verb: age; 3rd person present: ages; past tense: aged; past participle: aged; gerund or present participle: ageing; gerund or present participle: aging

1.

grow old or older, especially visibly and obviously so.

"you haven't aged a lot"

cause to grow, feel, or appear older.

"he even tried aging the painting with a spoonful of coffee"

(especially with reference to an alcoholic drink) mature or allow to mature.

"the wine ages in open vats or casks"

synonyms:

grow/become/get old, mature, (cause to) decline, weather, fade; More

determine how old (something) is.

"we didn't have a clue how to age these animals"

When I look at pictures of my first grandchild, I realize he is no longer a baby.  He is an adult!  A young adult, but an adult just the same.  That's when I feel my "elderliness, old age, oldness" kick in.  How can it be that I was telling my oldest daughter (yesterday??) that I was too young to be a grandma!  And now he is a Senior!  Oh, my!  Where have the years gone?

Our pastor back in the early 80's, Brother Robert Ginn, taught from the book of Revelation.  I made the comment to Tim that I didn't think Jessica, our oldest (momma to the "young adult") would be old enough to begin school before the Lord would return.  And here we are, 30+ years later, and Michael is getting ready to graduate from High School.  Some days I really feel old!

It is hard to imagine living 969 years like Methuselah did!  Further more, I don't believe I would want to live that long in this wicked world!  But, just like every single person who has ever lived, my days are numbered.  I cannot do anything to add to those days; the number only God knows.

Jessica took these pictures to count as Michael's Senior pictures.  I think they turned out great!  I'm not sure if she is finished or will be taking more at a later time.

LOVE this one!

Handsome guy!

My prayer for you, my dear grandson, is that you love the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In ALL of your ways I pray you will trust the Lord and let Him lead your steps.  I pray you will keep Him in the center of your life!  I love you!  I'm thankful God gave me the opportunity to be your grandma!


Friday, Ilene and I did some running around and ate lunch at Olive Garden.  I so enjoy being in her company!

Aren't those trees gorgeous?!

I took this picture through the windshield.  Can you see the tree that is lying horizontally into the other tree?

Saturday, Elisabeth and family came up so Ryan could get some target practice in before he heads to WV with his dad to do some deer hunting next week.  So while the boys shot their guns, the girls went shopping.  We went to 3 or 4 Goodwills and a Mega Thrift and Hamericks.  But before we separated to do our "things" we went to lunch at Real Q here in Wallburg. 

Trying to figure out how to do a selfie by using my hand to signal the phone when to take the picture.  Let's just say, I still need to work on that!

Abby stayed behind with the boys.  We had a great time!  The sun was beautiful all day, but it was cold!

We had Mark's "adopted" grandson, Noah staying with us Friday night through Sunday evening.  Today we went to lunch at Ilene's.  Ilene's granddaughter, Katelyn and her fiancee, Joey stopped by.  They ended up playing Monopoly Deal (card game version of Monopoly) with Noah and Mark.  Ilene and I just talked and visited together.  We spent all afternoon with her, took her to church and then dropped Noah off at home on the way to drop Ilene off at home.  We ordered Chinese for dinner.

This will be a busy week.
Monday is Mallard Ridge services.
Tuesday is the widows' meeting in Statesville.
Wednesday church is called off.
Friday through Sunday is Revival.
Saturday morning the church is going to Golden Chorale for breakfast.

Would love to have you attend our Revival services if you are able!

Praying you have a wonderful week!

Time For Catch-Up

Well, I've sure fallen behind on my posting of late!  Even had a friend contact me to be sure I was OK since I had not posted since the middle of October!  We've been busy working on house stuff.  I'm thinking I'm tired of that job, LOL!  BUT, we've still got lots to do, even though we are certainly in a LOT better shape than we started with 3 months ago!  One day at a time!

However, all work and no play makes Vicky a very dull girl!  So, we have been on the bike and I've spent a little bit of time with Ilene and.....well, why don't I just show you some pictures and you will get the basics of the story!

Tuesday, October 16
I installed sliding shelves in the bottom kitchen cabinet where my pots and pans are.  The first one took the longest with the learning curve.  The others were pretty easy to get done.  Ilene wants me to install some for her one of these days.

Wednesday, October 17
I took Ilene to have her second cataract surgery done on her left eye.  Things are looking good to her now!  :D

It was such a pretty day, Mark and I ate out on the deck.  Then we rode the bike to church since we were not picking Ilene up.  She stayed home so her eye could rest.  (I'm sure BOTH eyes rested well!)

Thursday, October 18
I started working on cleaning the floor, windows and baseboards in the living room.  So, I shoved everything to one side of the room.

After Mark got home, we took a walk in the woods.  Then he took his shower and we rode the bike to eat out.

Friday, October 19
Zaxby's for lunch while running errands.

Saturday, October 20
We decided to eat breakfast out.  We were going to Lowe's for more wire fencing panels for the dog pen.  We ended up at the Town Centre diner in Wallburg after riding to High Point and finding all the restaurants packed!

This flag flies in Winston near the Hanes Mall.  It is the biggest flag I think I have ever seen!

Sunday, October 21
A church selfie.

After church Ilene, Dorothy, Mark and I were going out to lunch.  Mark missed the turn to the restaurant, so he went to the next street to do a turn around.  He pulled into the street and then backed up to get turned around!  That was a mistake as a young girl had turned into the same street, but stopped when she realized Mark was backing up.  He did not see her and backed into her.  She was really upset because her car was only 2 weeks old!  It actually did more damage to my Daisy than to her car, but I'm sure hers cost my insurance more to fix!

A ding to the edge of the hood to the left of the car symbol.  And some scratches to the bumper in the red above the bottom grill.

Poor Daisy!

I'm happy to report that Daisy is all fixed and back to normal!

We still went to lunch after the fender bender.  Zaxby's.

Mark figured out how to get my camera to have selfies turned the right way.  Notice the picture above has the wording on the wall behind us all backwards, but not in this one.

Tuesday, October 23
Another walk in the woods.  The leaves are changing!

Sometimes we take the dogs so they can get some exercise, especially hyper Piper, the doberman.  However, we were going to cut down some trees, so they did not get to go with us.

This begins the tree cutting of a tree that was leaning against a tree on the other side of the trail.  I believe it was cracked about waist high up from the ground.  Rather than worry about it coming down and maybe hurting someone, Mark cut it down.  He has several other trees that need to be cut down, especially since the rains of the hurricanes.  When this tree came down, there were other casualties that Mark had to cut up, too.

Fallen

The splintering

Sharpening the blade to make the chopping easier.

One casualty that was already dead anyway, standing partially to the right of the fallen tree.

The top of the tree still had some green to it.  Left top of the picture is where I was stacking up the cut wood.

I piled all of this greenery up in a pile, too.

Thursday, October 25
Dressed up and heading to revival services at Damascus Baptist Church in Statesville.

Friday, October 26
Church family gathering at Stone Creek restaurant.  Friends from other churches join us as they can.  Lori McNew and her beau, Jack, were visiting from Savannah, so they joined us.

Lori and me

Carolyn, me and Lori

Saturday, October 27
We decided to try breakfast at the Wallburg Diner again.  It was crowded, but there was a table.  We asked Mark's friend, that lived in the house next door while Mark was growing up, to sit with us.

We went back to Statesville for revival.  I loved the clouds we saw as we drove.  Joy went with us.

Sunday, October 28
Since it was a beautiful day, we took a trip to Hanging Rock State Park in the afternoon between church.

Monday, October 29
Joy and Sharon have been collecting smaller boxes for me for boxing up Tim's books and things from the church office.  That process began today.  It was hard.  It was hard to know I was boxing up his life's work.  Everything in the office represents his life.  From the books he studied and read, the Bibles he made notes in, the CD copies of his sermons, the notebooks that hold his sermon outlines, the pictures of his family, the certificates showing his doctorate, his license to preach, his certificate of ordination, his collection of barometers, his collection of items that represent his studies and presentations on creation.......everything too numerous to enumerate!  It made me sad and I can't think about it very long without tearing up again!

The picture of Chimney Rock he added a verse to and had enlarged and printed from a trip we took there when we first came to NC.

A book he was reading left on the shelf above his desk.

  I packed up as many boxes as I had, but I didn't get done by a long shot!

Tuesday, October 30
Time to wash the doggy blankets and clean-up towels.  Have you ever seen an outside laundry before?  There is one in Wallburg.  But, it is pretty expensive. $6 to wash and $2 at least to dry. But, you know it usually takes longer to dry!  You don't have to have laundry detergent.  You don't even have to have cash.  It uses your credit card.  But, I also got ripped off as the dryer quit working!  GRRR!  I ended up having to take them to Welcome to dry at a rate of $0.25/6 minutes, which is crazy!  Makes me so thankful I have a washer and dryer to use at home!  But, I don't want the dog hair in my washer and dryer at home, so I have to sacrifice somewhere!

Certainly wasn't much sudsing action going on!

Wednesday, October 31
I went to the parsonage to re-pack my craft boxes.  They were too heavy for me to move.  I packed them with the thought that the kids would all be together to help me move.  But, things turned out quite differently than I anticipated.  So, I'm basically moving the boxes by myself during the day while Mark is at work.  I will leave the furniture to him and his son.

Remember the ugly tree at the back door to the parsonage that finally fell enough for Calvin to finish pulling it down?  Well, the tree is coming back to life in the "bushes" below!  Weird!

Repacking boxes into totes.  I had more stuff up in the seats.

It was a nice day, so we took a walk with the dogs after Mark got home from work and before church.

That wicked-looking, dead vine reminds me of Satan in the Garden of Eden for some reason.

This tree had no branches to grow on the side that faces the woods, only on the side of the tree that is open to the field next to the woods.

Some pretty fall foliage.

Hyper Piper checking things out.

Thursday, November 1
I needed to drop my car off at the body shop by 8 a.m., so Ilene came to the house and followed me over there (actually, she beat me there, LOL).  Then we went to Cagney's for a tenderloin biscuit for breakfast.  From there we did some thrifting at a couple of Goodwills and a Salvation Army.  She spied this dining room table and chairs.  Mark and I have been looking at dining sets.  I sent him this picture and he said I could buy it!  CHA-CHING!!  SAVED several HUNDREDS of $$!!  The main selling point were the huge leaves and the very sturdy chairs!  Plus, The pedestal is beautiful!  With both leaves in, the table measures about 88" long by 48" wide.  We could easily add another chair to each side, too!

Fall has arrived!

Mark's daughter, Jenifer, needed someone to watch her kids, so she brought them to the house.  We went for a walk in the woods.

This is 3 trees in one!  And it is very tall!  I tilted the camera, but still couldn't get it all in.

Kayden and Jaxon

Saturday, November 3
We went to the Fall Festival fund-raiser at Liz's kids' Christian school in Rockwell.  It was a chilly ride home, but a nice ride there with the sunshine!

Liz and Brad were working, Hannah and Ryan were hanging out with their friends, so Mark and I followed Abby around as she played at the different stations and collected candy and prizes.  She not only made 3 ringers, but the top one actually got 2 in 1!

She wanted to go out to the playground for awhile.  It was comfortable as long as the breeze was not blowing!

Sweet Abby

Mark went to the shop in the morning before we went to Rockwell.  While he was gone, I moved the china cabinet over between the windows by sliding it.  Then when Mark got home, he helped me put the table together with the leaves.  I have it shoved up against the wall for now until we can get the computer desk moved out.  One step at a time!

And, there you have it! If you are still reading, thank you for your interest in the comings and goings of my journey through this wonderful life God is allowing me to live!  There are so many unexpected turns, each one leading to blessings I have no reason to expect, other than because of the fact that He loves me with an everlasting, unconditional love!  Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me!  I love You because You first loved me!  I will NEVER understand why, but I am so glad You do!

As we head into this Thanksgiving, remember to give Him praise for every blessing you have!  And, thank Him for the circumstances you don't/can't understand!  They have been given to you for His purpose, your good and His glory!