Happy Anniversary to Us!

I can hardly believe it when I hear myself say “46 years!” Wow! Yesterday we celebrated our anniversary in our typical fashion: a nice dinner out and a lot of reminiscing.

We realize that our relationship is a direct blessing from God. We thank Him for who He is in our lives.

This was one of our first times to be “together.” Russell and his family attended my 8th grade graduation. I know, disgusting, isn’t it? (I think it’s so cute that his jacket is buttoned crooked.)

For our 46th, the nice gift I received from my husband has been on my “wish list” for a long time: front-loading washer and dryer. I think I’m really going to love them. They were delivered and installed yesterday, but the installers didn’t do a great job with the dryer vent. When I dried the first load, hot air poured into my laundry room, giving the first clue to the disappointing realization that there was a huge rip in the dryer vent pipe. Not good!

Fortunately, my awesome husband and son put their heads—and their tools--together today, to come up with a great solution. It’s now even better than when the house was built six years ago!

 

Happy Anniversary to me!

Lingering Scent

Have you ever walked through the fragrance department in a store such as Macy’s or Saks? If you tend toward headaches caused by strong fragrances (like I do), you probably avoid that area if possible. On the other hand, if the fragrance is fresh and gentle, it can be uplifting. You realize you are in a good mood, but you may not even know the reason. Usually the fragrance is hanging in the air, and your mood may well be affected, positively or negatively, by that lingering scent.

I have recently been reminded that my attitude, my words, my reactions, my responses, can create a mood that is like a lingering fragrance. I have been asking myself what kind of fragrance lingers behind me—is it one that people want to avoid, because it gives them a headache, or is it a scent that lifts the spirit?

Do I want to be known as gentle, or harsh?

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

There are characteristics that I observe in others. I make mental notes: When I see someone who has grace, mercy, compassion, humility, gentleness, genuine caring for others—I think, “I want to be like that person.” When I see someone who is harsh, critical, judgmental, self-centered, proud—I think, “Please let me not be like that.”

By nature, I fear I am the harsh and critical person. I do not want to be like that. I’m such a work-in-progress. Being aware of the goal is hopefully a step toward improving. But I know that only God can give me the characteristics I desire. So, I pray:

Psalm 19:14, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (NIV)

Ephesians 4:29-32, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NIV)

I like to think that I can make a difference in someone’s life. That’s probably a bit idealistic. But, at least, can I make a difference in someone’s day?-- by leaving a lingering fragrance that is sweet and uplifting.

Happy 9th Anniversary, RiverOaks Church!

Nine years ago, on September 8, 2002, a brand new church launched with its first public service. Having met in homes for a year, first as a Church Plant Team of 8, and then as a Core Group of about 30, the first public service was held at a high school in our town.

Planting this church was a vision of our son/pastor Mark Ford and his wife Kristy. It was a vision shared by my husband and myself. Our participation in this ministry, while inspired by our son, became our own personal calling, clear and surely from God.

That first service was attended by 117 people, the vast majority of whom we did not know, and who did not know each other. From that beginning, God grew a church. Very few of those original attendees are still with us (some are), but what started as a huge step of faith has become a healthy and thriving church family, making a difference for Christ.

Through the years, we have had many ups and downs. God continually reaffirmed our mission, and He saw us through all those hard times, and encouraged us during those times when we wondered if we could go on.

We moved out of the high school at the end of that school year. We have met in numerous locations, but for most of our history we have met in a leased building in a great location in town, our current meeting place, while we await God’s timing to build on 11 acres we have purchased.

Today we celebrated the 9th anniversary. It has been good to remember what God has done. Mark mentioned today that he had been just naive enough to be confident, in those days. But what I remember, clearly, is that his confidence came from God, and from his own belief that he was absolutely following an irresistible call—actually more like marching orders, from God.

After the service, we enjoyed a beautifully decorated cake, provided by our very special Youth Pastor.

Several people seemed to enjoy looking through my Scrapbook of “RiverOaks Church: The First Three Years.”

 

 

Our granddaughter Tory and the young man across from her (Jake) were in the third grade when we launched. Our grandson Conner and the young lady across from him (Maggie) were in the first grade. Tory and Jake are now seniors. Conner and Maggie are sophomores.

Pastor Brandon had also secretly suggested that our church folks send words of appreciation that he collected and presented to Mark today in a Treasure Chest. What a blessing and encouragement those words will be to Mark.

 

Thank you, God, for how YOU have shown yourself so absolutely HUGE in the work you have done through RiverOaks Church. The blessing of serving You is beyond what words can describe.

Sibling Sleepover

My sister Janene and her husband David (who happens to be my husband's brother), and my brother Keith and his wife Michele, came to our house for a Sleepover. The original plan called for a picnic at the park for Friday evening. but temperatures in excess of 100 degrees resulted in a re-thinking of that plan! We enjoyed the cool indoors and had a great time with good food provided by all. We managed to get a lot of visiting done between meals, snacks, and coffee!

YAY Me!!

This is a rather fun thing! I have a few blogs that I check periodically for either scrapbooking motivation, cooking ideas, and/or spiritual inspiration. I have recently discovered a site that I enjoy, especially for the recipes and the blog tutorials. On that site, kevinandamanda.com, a couple of days ago, I read her account of her visit to the Nutrilite farms, where she met the new spokesman for Nutrilite, Kurt Warner. She had this picture made with him:

After her account of the visit, she posted that the autographed football would go to someone who commented on her post (to be drawn at random). I commented (one out of about 250 who did). Yesterday, I received this email from Amanda:

Hi Barbara! You are the winner of the Kurt Warner signed football!
Please send me your mailing address to claim your prize.
Congratulations!

I quickly returned to the original blog post and found this (in case I needed further affirmation):

Oh by the way! See that football I’m holding up there in the photo with Kurt Warner? The one where I’m sweating and wearing yoga pants and workout clothes? I got it signed by Kurt and brought it back as a souvenir for a special Kevin and Amanda reader. Cause I love you guys. If you or someone you know would love this football, just leave me a note in the comments section of this post before midnight tonight. I’ll draw a winner on Thursday and announce it here on this post on Friday. See you then!

The winner of the Kurt Warner football is #203 Barbara Ford. Congrats Barbara! I’ve sent you an email.

I never win anything. I’m not the hugest football fan in the world, but I AM a huge Kurt Warner fan, so I’m plum tickled that I won this. I’m feeling very cool, as a matter of fact.

YAY ME!!!

Feeling Praise-ful

My Prayer Journal (gift from son’s family) has become a favorite place to record some of my thoughts and prayers. I wrote this today:

Today was a good day. I was so stressed about a situation, and though I had turned it over to God, I kept taking it back. Give God the stress, take it back, repeat cycle. That’s what I do so many times. I’m such a work in progress. But He was again patient with me, patted the top of my head and took care of it, as He always does. Now I’m just left with the feeling that I want to praise my awesome God.

While reading one of my books this evening, I came across these praises, and although they are given as suggestions for difficult circumstances, they are good prayers of praise for me today, recognizing that God is in control.

From Lysa TerKeurst, from Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl:

God, circumstances change, but I praise you because you never do.

God, I praise you for never leaving me.

God, I praise you for being trustworthy.

God, I praise you that you are with me in this moment, and you stand in my tomorrow as well.

*God, I praise you for being the wisdom I can lean on when I have none of my own.

God, I praise you for your love and your compassion that never fails.

*This is my favorite. It seems so many times I find myself asking God to help me know what to do in a situation where I truly do not have the answer myself. I am thankful that I do not have to know everything, and that I know the One who DOES have all the answers.

Today is just one of those days when my heart is full, of praise for my Lord and Savior.

RiverOaks 9th Annual Bapti-Q

Over 200 folks attended the 9th annual ROC Bapti-Q. This has become a favorite event since our launch as a brand new church in September 2002. During our nine years in existence, we have baptized 163 people, a number only significant because it symbolizes changed lives. Named by our pastor in 2003, this event, held at a nearby Christian ranch, combines a fun family BBQ and activities such as swimming and sand volleyball, with the celebration of baptism. Sunday evening 15 people were baptized, to publicly profess their personal decisions to follow Christ.

 

 

MORE is LESS

There’s a popular “saying” right now: “Less is more.” But, the thought that has come to my mind recently is that, in an important arena of life, actually, MORE IS LESS.

In our culture and in this time, there are more and more methods of communication available to us. But it seems to me that the more ways we have to communicate, the less meaningful communication is taking place. In the early days of my growing up years, other than face-to-face communication, we had the US mail.

When my husband was in Viet Nam 1968-1969, we had one way to communicate: letters. We poured out our hearts to each other, with handwritten letters (of course, I had a portable typewriter, but no one would’ve even thought to “write” a personal letter, especially a love letter, on a typewriter).

In those days, many of us (myself included) did not even have telephones (too expensive). When I first got married, I communicated with my family via letters (real ones, mailed through the US postal system). When I did get a telephone, I couldn’t use it for very much communication with my family, because they were long-distance, and I couldn’t afford to pay for calls. I SENT personal letters to my family, usually one per week. And wonder of wonders, I RECEIVED letters from all of them (parents, in-laws, siblings) as well. We knew what was going on in each others’ lives; we knew each others’ thoughts and feelings. We talked about the stuff of life—all in letters.

Fast forward about 45 years…

Now available are these methods of communication, among others:

US Mail (still)

Home phone (usually free long distance)

Fax

Email

Cell phone (with conference calling)

Texting

Blogging

Instant messaging

Facebook (with facebook IM, facebook email)

Virtual face-to-face with webcams

But, with all these ways to communicate, I truly believe there is less and less REAL communication taking place. I’m talking about stuff-of-life communication--NOT “checking in” from Starbucks, or posting someone else’s quote of the day, or making general status reports that are the same for all your “friends” whether they are close family members or acquaintances whom you don’t even remember meeting.

Next time you are out, look around. You will see numerous examples of “couples” who are sitting next to each other, or across the table from each other, who are EACH using a smart phone (texting, or playing games, or whatever). They may be interacting with someone else, electronically. But where is the meaningful communication?

No wonder so many relationships are in trouble—not just marriages, but also parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, and others. People don’t know how to communicate any more (generally speaking, of course). Why? Because they don’t practice. You may think of yourself as a great communicator because you post numerous times per day and have lots of “friends” and send and receive many texts per day. But, does your mother know how you FEEL today? Do you know how SHE feels today? Do your siblings know what you think about the important things of life? Have you had a meaningful conversation over a nice dinner out, with your spouse, lately? Do you remember the common courtesy of turning off your cell phone during dinner?

These days, words are flying. Primarily, they are flying electronically. There is no shortage of language being used. Multiple methods of communication are used each day by each of us. Think back over your day. Was your “communication” an investment in relationships? Or was it meaningless, for the most part?

I’m not suggesting that we revert to snail-mail letters as the only way to communicate (although I will say that e-cards and facebook wishes are no substitute for Hallmark cards)! Heaven knows, I’m as “big” on technical stuff as anyone—I have an iPhone, iPad, laptop, wireless keyboard, a blog, and I’ve been a queen of email since it first existed. But I do think that we could all be more aware of using communication tools more effectively (quality is still more important than quantity), and of remembering (and encouraging our children/grandchildren to remember) that the art of personal and real communication must not be lost.

Of course, there are those who stay up with the latest technology and still manage to keep up real and meaningful interpersonal-relationship-type communication. I certainly hope and pray that I am one of those. But I believe I am observing a widespread problem.

Oh, yes, there are more and more ways to communicate. But those methods are being used with less and less real meaning, in my view. It’s a loss to our culture, I’m afraid. Sadly, I believe, in the case of communication these days, more is absolutely less.

Special Day with Mother

Just put together a quick digital scrapbooking page about spending a special day with my mother. She's doing well after her total shoulder replacement surgery, but it's a lot harder-going than she expected. Our adventure at Wal Mart included my almost having to "fight" to get an electric cart, which was an absolute necessity for her. They were in short supply, and in great demand. I won!

Making a Difference in Nicaragua

Our son and granddaughter just returned from a fulfilling mission trip to Nicaragua. The journaling on the page gives details, but these are the kinds of things difficult to document on a scrapbook page!

Smash Journal Entry--Two (or Four) Cup Day

I am having such fun with my Smash Journal. I love having a place I can just randomly "discuss" and "illustrate" whatever is on my mind at the time--things I would not include in my ongoing scrapbooks. My Cricut makes it even more fun, giving me tons of images to choose from, to embellish my journaling!

On Mission

This week, a large chunk of my heart is in Nicaragua, where our son and granddaughter are on a mission trip. They will be helping to build a house for a family there, while sharing the Good News. Our son preached there this morning and will be leading devotional times for team members each evening during their week there. This is 18-year-old Tory’s first time out of the country, and with her heart already leaning towards mission work in her future, she expects this to be an especially meaningful week. As a grandmother, I have a bittersweet feeling about this experience in Tory’s life, but for sure, I have a special focus for my daily prayers for Mark and Tory this week.

SonSurf Beach Bash VBS

Our church is a "church plant," first launched to the public in September 2002. For some of our years, we have been "mobile," meeting in school buildings. We do have our own leased building now. Last year I directed our very first VBS, with 50 children and 25 workers. This was our second year, with 71 children and 30 workers. It was awesome!! Thursday is the special day where we emphasize why Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again. Our pastor (my son) shares what the Bible has to say and then gives the children the opportunity to speak with him (and me) individually, if they want to know more about becoming a child of God. As a result, ten children gave their hearts to Jesus. The entire week was an incredible blessing--and SO MUCH FUN!!

Smash Journal: A Randomness Unlike Me

While I get many “pats on the back” for my organization and structured way of doing things, my self-assessment reveals that there just might be a need for a tiny bit of reckless abandon and randomness to sneak in, every now and then. Maybe that’s why the first time I saw the little promotional video about the Smash Journal from K&Company, I was smitten. I do not need another “project” (duh), but this “arena” for randomly placing things just because I want to at that moment—I like that, and I don’t think of it as a project, and as my Smash Journal goes, I’m the one who counts!! (I’m liking this!)

At first it was hard for me to get started—being random does not come naturally for me. That’s why it’s good for me, I think. I have “stuck and smashed” things in a few pages now, and I have decorated the cover (it comes plain kraft-colored, and the journal I chose—Modern—has a black binding).

I am determined NOT to keep this little thing chronological or sequential. That’s almost impossible for me. But, the two pages I show here were completed 7/9 and 6/29, in that not-order. Yay for me!

For my crafting friends, here’s what I did for the cover: I inked the edges with Ranger Broken China. I cut the letters on my Cricut (Sesame Street font, blackboard), using grungeboard. I then inked the letters with Adirondack black pigment ink. I adhered the letters with Glossy Accents. The & and my initials are stamps. I used cut-outs from the Yummy Cartridge on my Cricut Imagine. The little tree and the saying are from stamps I got at Archiver’s. I colored the little tree stamp with Faber-Castell stamping markers, prior to stamping. The word “grow” is from some chipboard sayings I bought in the pre-Cricut days.

Sometimes there just needs to be something just for fun. That’s my randomness-unlike-me Smash Journal!

UPDATE: I didn’t like the way the ladybug was so disproportionate, so I replaced it with a cute little “Summer” word, cut from Imagine Enjoy the Seasons.

Just Trees

We had a terrible windstorm through our property this afternoon. The winds were straight-line winds, but did a lot of damage. We lost several trees. Some were downed in the cul de sac and in the entry to our drive. Our son and grandson came out and helped Russell with cutting up and stacking the brush so that the street and driveway were passable. These are pictures I took of the damage close to our driveway and cul de sac; several other trees are down on our five acres. The two rootwads represent trees that were totally uprooted by this wind. The larger rootwad is larger than our Mule (golf cart size). The tree was huge.

We are thankful it was just trees and not the house, or us. However, we are sorry to see so much damage to our woods that we love.

 

Our Persistent Guest

We have a Summer Tanager who has taken up residence near our deck. As they are prone to do, he is flying into our windows, hitting them with his beak. We think he sees his reflection and thinks he must attack his competitor.

Here is an image of a Summer Tanager from the web:

And here are a couple of pics I took of our guest, on our deck railing:

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We keep thinking he will wear himself out and give up. But he is convinced that he must fight off that other persistent male!

Faster and Faster

…does time fly! I mean, really. Seriously. It is exponentially faster, almost by the day.

My grandson is 16!! How can someone be 16 who was only born yesterday? He is such a very special young man, gifted with special talents and most of all a special heart, a heart for family, and more importantly, a heart for God. Surely my Conner must be very much like David (“a man after God’s own heart”). He has already dedicated himself to follow God’s calling into ministry. He talks about “the path” that he is on with God.

His birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated his birthday with a nice lunch. It’s just fun and heart-warming to be with him AND his sister Tory. (Okay, so the three of us have a “mutual admiration society” and that’s okay. I wouldn’t have it any other way).

Birthday blessings to my very special young man!

What a blessing to be Conner’s Mamo!

Our Camp Site: A Digital Scrapbook Page

We have our camper parked at an annual site near Mark Twain Lake so that when we do have time to get away, we don't have to spend a lot of time getting the camper ready and pulling it. The owner encourages us to make it like home, so we planted a flower garden. It is relaxing and cheering to spend time there. I took these pictures with my iPhone and put together a digital scrapbook page very quickly.

Scrapping Joplin Relief Effort

As is my pattern, I wanted to use my new Cricut Imagine IMMEDIATELY for a layout. Our son had just returned from helping out a couple of days in Joplin (after devastating tornado), so I put together a quick page using the new machine and the two photos I have of his time there.

I used the cartridge that came with the machine, Imagine More, to cut the green side border and the bottom border. I used my Expression with Elegant Edges cartridge to cut the brown border. The Imagine Yummy cartridge (my favorite) is the source of the flourish. The title letters were cut on my Expression with StoryBook cartridge.

For this page, my goal was simplicity in design, so that the meaning of the event itself would be center-stage.

Mr. MarkGregor’s Garden

 

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Our son Mark has beautiful box gardens this year. He shared some of the produce with us, and I used his Romaine, cilantro, jalapenos, and onions in a fresh and delicious summer salad.

Black Bean Salad

• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• ½ c diced red onion (better with Vidalia)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• Cilantro (calls for 1 tsp, I use much more, fresh)
• Optional: fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded

        Dressing

• ¼ c olive oil
• 4 T red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt/pepper to taste

Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves and tortilla chips, garnished with lime and avocado wedges.

Having Fun with Cricut Imagine

Having such fun with my new Cricut Imagine, that lets me print AND cut, with the existing Cricut cartridges and/or the new Imagine cartridges.

Here I enjoyed using the printed patterns from the new Imagine Nursery Tails cartridge, on layers of an image from the regular Kate's abc's cartridge.

I used a pop dot for the purse flap, chalked the edges with liquid chalk pens, and added some bling. I cut this at 4". What fun!

How can this be?

I was born 64 years ago today. That doesn’t sound so bad.

I am, as of today, 64 years old. That sounds bad. That sounds terrible. That feels terrible. To be 64 years old, an age that at one time, I thought was old. Okay, I thought it was VERY old. That was when I was 40, maybe.

So, it sounds terrible, and it feels terrible to have to realize I am 64. But, truth is, I don’t feel terrible. I am shocked (to realize my age), but I feel quite wonderful, thank you very much.
Do I experience any of the “pains” of being 64—of “aging" – oh, yes. Many things are different today than when I was 40, some good, some so NOT. Some day I may write a book on “Aging Gracefully.” I said SOME DAY, meaning, after I figure out how to do it. In that book, I would begin with a list (a long list) of all the things that change with time. Don’t even get me started on that list, today! But that hypothetical book would need to end with how to handle those changes gracefully. Nope. Not there yet.

No, I don’t have it figured out yet—I haven’t arrived at that “place” of being content to sit and smile with all my unspoken wisdom gained by successfully conquering this aging thing. Maybe that will be the topic of my blog on May 23, 2021, when I’m 74. Maybe.

But for now, I will sit and smile as I think about these things, on the day I turn *gasp* 64:

I have 64 years worth of blessings for which to be thankful. And I am.

Thank you, Lord for:
~giving me 64 years on this earth, a place not my final home, but a place I have enjoyed visiting for this many years so far!
~giving me the understanding and the heart that allowed me, as a child, to accept the gift of salvation, offered by You through the sacrifice of your Only Son, to pay the price for my sin;
~blessing me with parents who loved me, a father who was willing to admit his weaknesses and become your servant for most of my growing-up years (oh, yes, I do thank God for allowing me to be a Preacher’s Kid!), a mother who taught me how to be a wife and mother;
~blessing me with siblings who are my best friends and who are always there for me, and with whom I love to spend time and share life;
~blessing me with the gift of music, for my own enjoyment, a gift that can never be taken away; and for allowing me to use that gift in His service for so many years;
~blessing me with the love of my life, my husband who has been my only love since I was 12 (really!) and who continues to take care of me and love me as an “aging” woman, even more than he cared for and loved me as a young (very young!) woman (that is so amazing to me!);
~blessing me with the gift of teaching, and allowing me to share that gift with so many students who have come through my life through all these years;
~blessing me with the two most wonderful children any mother could have, each with his/her own characteristics that endear them to me and make me so thankful that God allowed me to bring them into the world and “mother” them for 39 and 40 years, so far!
~blessing me with four very special grandchildren, each of whom shows me God’s greatness, each time I see them, or even think about them; being a grandmother may truly be the greatest blessing any woman can experience, and one that, by the way, requires the passage of time!
~blessing me with good health and the strength to make wise choices that have contributed to my health and well-being;
~reminding me that while I am certainly getting older, You are not finished molding and making me to be more like you; help me to be that “sweet old woman” that I desire to be…

Well, I find that my list almost has no end. I could go on and on with the list of my blessings. Now, what does that say about those 64 years? It says that they have been wonderful years. It says that if BEING 64 YEARS OLD means having had these wonderful blessings, I’ll take it. I’ll not only take it, I’ll thank God for it.

So, yes, Happy Birthday to Me. It IS a happy birthday, but all because of God and the relationship I have with his Son, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for my birthday, and for using it to remind me of all YOU have done for me, so undeserving.

Siblings and Friends

It's just very special when your siblings are also your best friends, and that is the case with my brother Keith, my sister Janene, and myself. The older we get, the more we treasure our times together.

Conner's Pops Concert

Among the songs that Conner participated in were "Eye of the Tiger" and "Celebration."

Alyssa's Spring Concert

Alyssa is in three select choirs in Ozark High School. At the spring concert, the Women's Choir and the Chorale (which includes all members of the Varsity Singers, her third choir) performed, and it was an incredibly awesome concert. We were pleased to be able to be there. Alyssa's family attending: Mamo and Grandad (Russell and me), Mom (Sharida), brother (Dawson), Dad (James), and Grandma (Sharon). Alyssa is very serious about her music and is thinking about majoring in music education in college (currently finishing her junior year).

Such a Blessed Mom

Dawson, Me, Sharida, Alyssa Conner, Mark, Me, ToryCards are always so special for me.

 

Yes, that’s me. Such a blessed mom. Every Mother’s Day I get to see and/or hear from both my children (and their families). This year was special because during this weekend, I was able to be with both my children and their families.

Friday night we drove to southwest Missouri to attend our granddaughter’s vocal concert (blog post/pictures coming shortly). Saturday morning we met for breakfast and some rare “visiting” time.

All Sundays are special for me, because I get to be in my son’s church and be blessed by his music and preaching. Today’s sermon made me feel especially honored as he said some wonderful things about his mom, as a part of a fantastic sermon about Super Moms in the Bible. During the message, he read the poem that my daughter wrote for me, on my 50th birthday. Tears flowed (and not just from me).

Dinner at our son’s home, to honor his wife and mom, was so fun—moms not allowed to lift a finger. How awesome is that! He grilled delicious fresh tilapia. Cardinals game topped off a special day.

Yes, I am so blessed.