Good Monday morning, Everyfriend.  There's  Denny’s Grand Slams to accompany your coffee or tea . I wish everyone a nice day!!





In A Ditch

A fellow slid his car off a road and ended up in a ditch. A farmhouse was nearby so the motorist asked the owner if he had a tractor he could borrow to get his truck back on the road.

"Nope, but I got my mule, Blue," said the farmer.

"I doubt a mule is strong enough to pull my truck out."

"You don't know Blue," said the mule's proud owner.

So Blue was hitched to the truck. "Pull, Blue!" The truck didn't move. And the farmer then called out, "Pull, Elmer!" The truck moved a little. Then the farmer yelled, "Pull, Biscuit," and the truck was free.

"Thank you so much," said the truck owner. "But I have a question. You called your mule by three different names. How is that?"

"Simple," said the farmer. "Blue is blind. And if he thought he was the only one pulling, your truck would still be in the ditch!"


LETTING GO OF GUILT
(by Luis Palau)

As Christians we rejoice that our salvation is secure in Christ, and that our sins are forever washed away by His blood. We marvel at God's infinite mercy to forgive us even though we don't deserve it. But often we won't forgive ourselves!

Yes, we know that "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). But from sunrise to sunset we needlessly carry the heavy burden of guilt.

For some reason we feel compelled to carry these heavy burdens, even though God never asked us to carry them. Just the opposite! So as God's servants, we need to learn to let go of our guilt.

Sometimes our burden of guilt is nothing more than false condemnation. When I was a youth, my mother absolutely believed the bottom of the theater would open up and drop me straight into the fire of hell if I ever went to see a movie, regardless of its message. I felt bad even walking by a theater. Now that was false guilt!

Paul Tournier, a respected Swiss psychologist, has said, "False guilt comes as a result of judgments and suggestions of men." People sometimes seek to control or manipulate us by inventing rules or regulations the Bible never mentions. As servants of God, not slaves to man-made decrees, we need to carefully and prayerfully identify such false guilt and let go of it.

On other occasions we carry heavy burdens of guilt because we don't deal with it properly. There are at least three inappropriate responses to true guilt.

First, we can repress our guilt. We try to cover it up and deny its existence. We focus on our insignificant faults instead of acknowledging our real guilt. As a result, we lose our peace and often suffer physically as well.

Second, we can regret our "mistake." But merely saying "I'm sorry" fails to acknowledge the seriousness of our sin and our responsibility.

Third, we can feel remorse for our sin. "I'll never do it again," we promise. Judas felt remorse after betraying Christ (Matthew 27:3-4). But he fell one step short of what the Bible calls repentance.

Repentance is the biblical, correct response to guilt. The moment we committed our life to Christ, our sins--past, present, and future--were forgiven. God's righteousness was satisfied. But now we must maintain fellowship with, dependence on, and obedience to God. This necessitates confessing our sins to our Lord as we become aware of them.

C.S. Lewis said true guilt is an inner alarm system that reveals sin in our lives and shows our loss of fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit uses guilt to prompt us to turn from our sin and back to the Lord.

Once we let go of false guilt and properly deal with our sins, we are free from the burden of guilt. Isaiah 55:6 7 gives us this assurance: "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

Let go of your burdens and turn to God today!

To Ponder:
Is there any unresolved guilt in your life? Over what? What steps, if any, have you taken so far to try to resolve it?

In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus promises His burdens are not heavy. It doesn't make sense, then, to carry a load of guilt. Why not?

To Pursue:
If you're struggling with a vague sense of guilt, turn that over to the Lord.

Ask God to pinpoint any specific, unconfessed sin in your life. As He does, repent of that sin, remembering God gladly forgives and forgets.


"Today is a new day. We are now into a new year. Each moment is a new moment to start over and begin again. God wants to walk with you. He loves you and wants to help you make adjustments. He wants you to realize your potential. Will you let Him help? Will you work with Him to change?"

- Melinda Clements & Chris Long

Good Morning Everyfriend!  And good morning to you, too, JOANIE!  I slept in a bit this morning and the doggies are telling me it's time for breakfast.  They don't know it's already PAST time for breakfast.  I'll go feed them and then I'll be back to see if anyone else showed up. 

Make the day a good one!

Good morning, Janie.  The sweet doggies clocks must be a little off this morning.  Maybe your cold temperature made them want to stay in bed.  Here it is only 43° and for here that is COLD!!

It was 11° here this morning.......FRIGID!  The sun is shining brightly, thank goodness, and I have opened all the shades and blinds on the east side to help warm the house.  Tomorrow the temp. will be better....so they say.

Thanks, Gloria, for the nice comment on the graphic yesterday.

I'm getting a little housebound but only one more day and maybe I can see if the rest of the world still exists.

Add my prayers for Jim, Jane.

Good morning, Phyllis.  Your temp is, indeed, frigid.  Like your area, they are telling us that later in the week we'll warm up--in the 80s.

Good Morning everyone. I wasted my breath apologizing for not posting because I was sick Sunday, No one noticed anyway. I also noticed that several of the regulars were not here this early morning when i was here sick but here.
I hope they are alright. Have a great day everyone.

Lloyd

25º Here and cloudy,

It's still only 12º here ( was 9 when I got up) and the furnace is on double time trying to keep up.  I got an oil delivery yesterday and it ate up all my accumulated credit from the budget plan.  And we still have February and half of January to go.  They are saying we are to have a weekend in the 40s and if that happens I might go to my sister's for the weekend.  I haven't heard anything about Jim over this weekend but they are supposed to see the dr. this morning. 

I slept in my fleece lounging jammies last and I think that's part of the reason I slept better.  I was warm enough.  Everyone stay warm and cozy.  This too shall pass.

Lloyd, I noticed your post.  I've also noticed that when we post something late at night or early in the morning (before Joanie) that people tend to notice but not comment.  Don't worry.  We all love you and we miss you when you're not here. 

Lloyd--I am sorry you are sick.  I did see your post.  Like Janie said, my MO is to read what people posted from the time I left my computer the night before and then post my "stuff".

Janie--It'd be nice if you could go to your sister's for the weekend.  You explained to Lloyd how I operate--not sure about everyone else.  Stay warm, my friend.

Hi everyone.  It is another beautiful, sunny and chilly 34 degree day here.  We will only be in the low 40's this afternoon.  The only thing on the schedule for today is my noon meeting.  Pat may want to go to COSTCO and order new glasses.  She has had the prescription for some time.  We had a big turnout for both Sunday School and Church yesterday.  The church actually exceeded its budget last year and ended up in the black.  I think this is the first Church I have ever attended that has experienced this.

Jackie, I hope this new dog will be the proper fit for you all as it sounds like it needs a good home and you certainly take care of your pets. 

June, how wonderful about Ryan being ordained into the ministry.  Does he have a church calling yet? 

Callie, I think the young folks handle the unexpected better than we do.  Glad she made it safely to NYC and the arrangements could be shifted without additional cost. 

Lloyd, I may not comment to everyone, as my postings are long enough as it is, but I assure you I read each post.  I hope you are feeling better today. 

Good Morning Everyone!

Well Lloyd why didn't you get your flu shot?  Sound like that is what you have, aching all over, what I had wasn't the flu but some other bug which has been making the rounds.  At any rate I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Warm up is suppose to start today and get close to 80 degrees in the next couple of days.  And then the weekend, possible rain and more cold weather.

June, I am happy your weather is not going to get severe.  But do know your wouldn't mind some gentle rain.

We are thinking about have our master bathroom remodeled with a walk in shower, get rid of the tub, going to call and get a price, but know it will just upset me.......they always want more than I think it is worth.  Got an expense of new air conditioning this spring so don't know if I can afford both.  And wife wants new commode and floor in the bathroom......

Got to get busy, so see you kids later.

Good morning, Larry.  I don't think any church I've belonged to ever exceeded its budget and ended up in the black. 

halkel--Good morning.  I wish you good luck getting estimates to renovate that bathroom.  It seems major work like that is always extremely costly.  Your a/c isn't working?

Good morning

I know I am late.slept in till 6:30 which was so nice!!

Delivered a quilt and while in town I picked up a few groceries, PB was on sale for $2.88 and I needed some tilapia. On my way home I stopped and washed my vehicle.

I have a feeling I shall be waltzing with the snow blower later or in the morning as it is snowing now.

Lloyd, hope both you and Nancy feel better........now share your love for each other ...not your germs!!

Hal, we are used to doing all our own work but now I am sure we too would have to hire in and yes the cost would likely scare us. We do  have a set of kitchen taps to go in but with hubby's help I can do that. The year he got his RA he wanted a taller commode and said we would hire someone. I said no.....he would teach me and that is what he did I put it in and had no leaks around the bottom

Joan thank you for breakfast, no idea of what it is but game to try  it.

Still snowing here..

Enjoy your day everyone.

Merry Monday,

Just returned from a quick errand.  Temperature isn't too bad but the wind blowing across the left-over snow was really cold. 

I caught Emily on Facebook last night and messaged "First impression of NYC?".  She replied,  "Too many buildings!"  They were planning to go to the 9-ll Memorial today.

Busy week ahead so I must Be Efficient today.  Hope I remember how to do that. 

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.   Hope those who are ailing feel better.

Good Morning Everyone,  from the clear
and very cold,  rocky coast of Maine.    I am looking forward to it warming up a bit in the next couple of days.   

I am just getting over a head cold that this time seemed to affect my ears...  which made me very nervous.   Since I have limited vision,  my hearing is very important to me.  And having my ears blocked up gave me the Willies...

But it seems like the ears are back to working well and the
congestion seems to be gone.     Phew..  I am glad that that is over with..   

Otherwise all is well..
Wishing that everyone has a good day..
Sandy
 

Ok!  The chili is in the crockpot and it'll be ready for supper later.  I'll put some in the hidey hole for anyone who wants some.  If there is something you don't like or can't eat, it's not in there.  If there's something you like that most people don't put in chili, it's in there.  Enjoy!

Amy--Oh how I admire you and all the things you have the talent to do.

Callie--I agree with Miss Emily--too many buildings.  When we lived in Central NY, I enjoyed an occasional trip to NYC, but I sure wouldn't want to live there. 

Sandy--Sorry about the cold and the blocked up ears.

Janie--I'll check the "hidey hole" about supper time.  I am sure your chili will be just perfect.  Thank you.

Good Morning all from a cloudy wet Hemet. We had a nice rain, and I am hoping for more.

Lloyd, I am so sorry you and your wife have been so ill. God is surely giving you a time to rest that body that you often push too far above it's ability to work so hard. There is a reason for everything, so we have to rest in what God hands us. Right ?

Had a nice picture from McCall, Ida. of two of my great grand children walking in a path of VERY deep snow with five young reindeer following them like puppy dogs. I could not believe my eyes.

I am waiting for my grocery delivery, plus a chat with the head Nurse downstairs to confirm my plans of pill taking. I am up to sixteen pills and one nitro patch now, and a pain pill on request. I really need a "menu" of sorts. whew !!!!!!

My Stanton temperature calls for a high of 64 degrees today. I don't know what it is now, but I have my furnace on low. Found it..53 degrees at the present time.

Larry, thank you for your kind words. Ryan has been Youth Pastor for his Church in Ida. Now he has studied to be a Sr. Pastor. I was raised in the Episcopal Church and my kids are Baptists, so I am not familiar with how things work there. God is in Charge, of that I am certain, no matter what denomination we choose as our own. I feel I am a born and bred Episcopalian, but I now attend Chapel on the grounds here at Rowntree and am very comfortable with the Quaker folks that speak to us each Sunday.

Hal, we only have walk in showers here, and it is adequate. I still miss sinking down in a tub full of nice hot water, but getting up out of said tub got to be a near impossibility...so we adjust. After a time we are forced to renew that which is old so go ahead and spend,and be thankful you can. Getting several estimates is always wise, as long as they all come from reliable businesses.

Bis, I think most Churches run on Faith more than finances.  I would frown at a very wealthy Church building, it seems to be the opposite of what Christ started. I do not believe a Pastor should have to strive to make a living...his living should be equal to his ability to assist his people to a loving community, a community that wants their Church to exist.

Amy, you are young enough and strong enough to handle heavy machinery and objects...I am so happy for you and your abilities. My 92 year old body would not be able to move a commode two inches. My Mom, in her middle years could do most anything too, she even wired electric lamps and irons, plus all the gardening and canning and milking our one cow. Never hired an outside person to do what needed done. She was even our doctor. It was hard to see her needing our help when when reached the late eighties, but the body does age, like anything else in this life.

Sandy, I have trouble with ear blockage all the time. It seems I can hear my own voice as an echo. I learned that lying on my back with my head over the edge of the bed does clear it for a while but it is not a cure. It was something my husbands Dr. recommended for his tintinitis.     

Janie, I had chili for supper last night, but it was not the same as the way I used to make it, but beggars cannot be choosers . I am sure your recipe would hit the spot !

The rain has stopped so I will go take a walk around our gardens and breathe some nice fresh air. See you later........       

June--How nice to get pictures of your great grand in the snow with deer following.  That's sure different than CA.  If you need a pain pill, do you have to make a special call for it?  Enjoy your walk.

JaneS,  do you mind if I put some Southern cornbread (no sugar!) in the hidey hole to go with the Chili?

Callie, cornbread would be nice for some people but I'll have my crackers and grated cheese with mine.  Never did really like cornbread.  I tolerate it!

Callie and Janie--I know many like cornbread.  I never have and will have grated cheese and crackers with my chili.

That's o.k.   Hal may want your cornbread.
Actually, I like to stir crumbled crackers and grated cheese into my bowl of chili - and, sometimes, catsup (ketchup?)
However, I don't like beans in mine so appreciate you leaving them out of my portion, Jane. 

Just had a nice experience with an AT&T rep.  I called with a question about my bill - which she answered (my misinterpretation - not their fault).  Then she said she thought my bill was rather high for a house phone - checked things out - and made some adjustments that will save more than $6.00 on my future bills.      

Callie--If I remember correctly, halkel is fond of cornbread.  I like chili with or without beans.  Gee--nice when a bill goes down--that seldom happens.

Bis,yes, I did have to call for my pain pill when I was in the hospital, and now that I am home I still do. As soon as I talk with our head nurse and get all these medications in an orderly fashion, I will have the pain medicine returned with them. In the meantime I have over the counter meds, like Tylenol, laxitives,and other normal things in my own possession.When I run out of prescripts..or before I run out...I take order down stairs, they get it filled and return it to me, so they are always aware of what I am taking or not taking. I could continue having them do it for me, but I feel it is good brain exercise to keep some responsibilities to myself.

I like cornbread or crackers with my chili and beans and always with grated cheese, and fresh chopped onions. To me that is a complete meal in a bowl.

The sun is breaking through off and on and drying things up. I had a nice walk around the gardens..they are a little dreary right now as the roses...Hundreds of them...had to have their yearly pruning, what how glorious it will look after their winters face lift. There are some purple iris and white lillies in blume, and huge Sterlitzia Regina (wrong spelling) more commonly know at Bird of Paradise bushes..huge..i full bloom. Many of our trees are loosing their leaves and the cedar are shedding needles and cones, but looking very regal and "in charge" of everything less tall than themselves.

I will be glad when my groceries arrive..in the meantime I will keep annoying you with my wordiness...blah..blah...blah.....

My Mom used to say " whistling girls and a crowing hen, always come to a bad end.

I like corn bread and I like crackers and I like cheese.  But you can keep the chili - with or without beans.   

Not much going on in the Interior other than we are warming up again. And now that Farrah has her treats back, she is back to ignoring me and jumping hither and yon in multiple chases and or ambush of imaginary demons.

I'll take chili with or without beans with onions and sometimes over rice. But it has to be steaming!

June--Now you are NOT annoying us while you wait for your groceries.  I love hearing from you.  Thanks for explaining how meds are handled there.

Jeanne Lee--So you eat just the crackers, cornbread and cheese if someone serves you chili?

Angelface--I never thought of having chili over rice.  That's an idea.

Gloria called about half an hour ago.  Her computer won't even boot up.  She called HP and they told her to run the recovery disk, but it still wouldn't boot.  Supposedly they are going to send her a flash drive to run??  She sure had had trouble with that computer.

I dice potatoes into the chili while it's cooking but if you don't like that, there are none in your portion in the hidey hole.

JeanneLee, just eat Callie's cornbread with the crackers and cheese.  Sounds a little dry to me but maybe you could have some chicken noodle soup with it.

Jeanne Lee, the first time I had chili was back in Mn. when my Dad served us some Hormel's canned chili. I hated that hot flavor. We ate LOTS of boiled and baked beans tho. Inexpensive and nourishing. I still like beans in any form, but Ca. is definitely Chili country.

My poor Gloria, she must be ready to throw that computer out the window. It has been nothing but trouble since she got it.

I worked on my laptop a bit yesterday, but Gary still has to install a lot of my normal programs. It was a God send in the care facility though. Just being able to contact all of you made life enjoyable.

Patricia, in reading your reports of Farrah, she has taken over as Queen of your household. Quite a contrast to that poor little thing you adopted and wanted to stay hidden under the bed. Too bad she couldn't talk and tell you of her of her former life.

Bis, I just had another delivery of meds. This time it was two HUGE saline tablets that must be swallowed plus a chewable vitamin C that is "huger" than the saline, but so tough I have to let it melt in my mouth. But I am thankful at how all this "stuff" is making me feel human again.

Had a call from Chris, my grocery delivery person. He is sorry to report he will be running an hour late. Traffic is really a mess, so it is not his fault. I will have a renewed exercise in patience.

Yep, Hal does like his corn bread with chili or about anything else  Chili dogs are a treat, with lots of onions, cheese and steaming hot.  I like chili with or without beans.  I also like crackers smashed up and placed in the chili also like cornbread and milk.  But here lately the cornbread in the milk has been hitting a tender spot in my throat and boy it doesn't want to let go and I go into a coughing spasm I have never experienced before.

Got to go.