2020 Anniversary Vacation - The Plan Vs. Reality

Way back in February I started thinking about this year's anniversary.  We will celebrate our 29th anniversary on Monday, May 25th.  We decided we wanted to go back to The Cliffs at Princeville on the beautiful island of Kauai.  I booked unit 6201.   A lovely unit right on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

The Cliffs at Princeville from our 2018 vacation

Oh February, how I miss you!  February, before we were saying, "COVID-19, Coronavirus, Safe at Home, Quarantine, and Self Isolation."  February, before we were wearing masks and social distancing.  February, when we were still dreaming of travel destinations and believing they would be a reality in the near future.  Sadly, our reservation was cancelled.  Thankfully, all our money was refunded.  Yes, I miss February!

So what is our "vacation" reality this year?  Obviously, it's a "staycation."  But we won't be lounging by the pool.  Oh no, not this household!  COVID-19 has meant zero travel, for business or pleasure.  This will continue until at least the end of June.  After more than seven years of multiple trips to Hawaii each year, this has been really different for us.  The one big change has been the list of things Les has wanted to work on around the house that he is home long enough to get to.

So far, he has sold his gym equipment that he no longer used.  That equipment was talking up a ton of space!  Once it was gone, he ordered a bike rack and cabinets.  We then decided to add a new garage door opener.  We have a three car garage with two doors.  The two door has always had an opener.  After much trial and tribulation, the single door now has an opener as well.  We are using it when we want to ride our bikes or head out for a run.  It's so much easier than rolling them around our cars, out the side garage door, then out the gate!  And there is so much more room!

Yes, there are 5 bikes for 2 people!  Not strange at all...

This week Les is taking the entire week off work.  His "vacation" project is our front yard.  He is building a decorative planter wall.  This includes digging trenches, pouring concrete foundation, laying blocks and much, much more.  I'll post pictures of the finished project.

Nearly 300 blocks were delivered today!

Concrete mix

I'm helping as much as I can.  My biggest contribution will be making sure Les is well fed.  I have three, yes three! new recipes that I'm trying this week.  I'll TRY to have the recipes up on Friday.

Repost: I Think I Need a Computer

This is something I posted way back in 2009, I received it from my Dad and loved it.  
 

If Abbott and Costello were still around today their famous sketch "Who's on first?" might have turned out something like this....

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT . . .

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look in the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write Proposals, track expenses and run my business. What have you got?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, lets just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. OK, forget that. Can I watch movies on the Internet?

ABBOTT: Yes, you want Real One.

COSTELLO: Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon. What I watch is none of your business. Just tell me what I need!

ABBOTT: Real One.

COSTELLO: If it's a long movie I also want to see reel 2, 3 & 4. Can I watch them?

ABBOTT: Of course.

COSTELLO: Great! With what?

ABBOTT: Real One.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm at my computer and I want to watch a movie. What do I do?

ABBOTT: You click the blue "1".

COSTELLO: I click the blue one what?

ABBOTT: The blue "1".

COSTELLO: Is that different from the blue w?

ABBOTT: The blue "1" is Real One and the blue "W" is Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: But there's three words in "office for windows"!

ABBOTT: No, just one. But it's the most popular Word in the world.

COSTELLO: It is?

ABBOTT: Yes, but to be fair, there aren't many other Words left. It pretty much wiped out all the other Words out there.

COSTELLO: And that word is real one?

ABBOTT: Real One has nothing to do with Word. Real One isn't even part of Office.

COSTELLO: STOP! Don't start that again. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

*
A FEW DAYS LATER . .

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START"..........

Guard Your Tongue (Mom's Bible Theme #2)

I had planned to write about prayer as the second theme from Mom's Bible.  I even started working on it this morning.  A trip to the grocery store changed direction for me...

For the first time since all this COVID-19 madness began, I got everything that was on my grocery list.  I commented about that to my checker.  She was a young lady and we chatted the entire time she was ringing up my purchases.  As I took my receipt from her, she said, "Thank you, I wish everyone was like you."  Her comment made me both happy and sad.

I've read numerous stories about workers being harassed by customers because of the situation we find ourselves in.  Grocery store workers have been targeted repeatedly, surely there is more toilet paper in the back of the store that is being hidden!  An ice cream shop opened for one day and the owner ended up closing it back up.  Customers were cruel and impatient, leaving his best employee in tears. 

I know I am not always kind.  My words have hurt others more than once.  I've also been hurt by words, more times than I want to remember.  Words are powerful.  Underlined in Mom's Bible is Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."  She also underlined Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."  Next to that verse she wrote, "Be careful little mouth..."

As the youngest of four, it was not uncommon in our household for somebody to say something that made someone else mad or hurt their feelings.  When the episode escalated to the point of the hurt party running to Mom, her words to the offender were often: 

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

While I was looking through my blog for other thoughts on words, I found an old post entitled, "When to Listen and When to Tune Out."  I included a quote from Mom (not found in her Bible, but found in my memory) "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see."

Ephesians 4:29-32 (also underlined in Mom's Bible) says:
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Here are some of the gems in Mom's Bible about words:

More people have been hurt by a careless tongue than by a sharp sword.

If I can't speak well of others then I need to remain silent.

When you speak, always remember that God is one of your hearers.

Speak and act in harmony with your prayers.

It is in the home we are treated the best and grumble the most.

Our words matter.  When we walk away from someone, what we have said sticks with them.  Will they said, "I wish everyone was like you," or "I hope I never have to talk to them again" ?

Happy Mother's Day!

I wish I could hug all you moms today!  There are so many of you who mean so much to me.  I hope your day is wonderful!

Here's to the moms in my life:

Mom McElhaney

Grandma Luella

Grandma Ruby

Great Grandma Lancaster

 Grandma Loeffler

Grandma McElhaney

My sister, Kim

My sisters-in-law, Diana

Lisa

and Monica

Sis. White

Sis. McGriffin

Moms, you are loved and appreciated.  We celebrate you today and everyday!

Encourage Yourself (Mom's Bible Theme #1)

As I already mentioned, I'm going to be writing about six themes I found in my Mom's Bible.  I had to start with Encourage Yourself because that is what I see the most in these pages.  The other topics could all be labeled "Encourage Yourself To..." i.e. Encourage Yourself to Pray, Encourage Yourself to Be Content, etc.

How do you encourage yourself?

We find David encouraging himself in 1 Samuel chapter 30.  This chapter starts with distressing news.  "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way."  Verse 6 says, "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God."

After reading this verse, I searched the book of Psalms.  I hoped to find a Psalm that was a direct reference to this story.  Many Psalms have the heading "A Psalm of David."  Many of David's Psalms also contain an additional heading such as Psalm 3, "A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son."  There were no direct Psalms that spoke of this incident.

However, I did find a list of Psalms that are attributed to David (here.)  There are many Psalms that were written BEFORE the story in 1 Samuel chapter 30.  David already had Psalms that he could turn to to find encouragement.  Psalm 54 is one of those Psalms.  The heading says,"To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?"  This was a story that happened in 1 Samuel chapter 23.  It's a short Psalm that says this:

Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. 

In 2015 I wrote a post called, "The One Thing Everyone Needs."  This is the one thing you can always fall back on when life is difficult.  I went on to write, "The ONE Thing we all need is God's Word.  I decided to list some of the one things that come to my mind when facing various situations in life, because life is constantly changing we need more than one verse to get us through.  I am not looking them up or giving references, they won't be perfect quotations, because I want to list things that are deeply rooted."  The first verse I wrote was "David encouraged himself in the Lord."

Here are some of the things written in Mom's Bible that she wrote to encourage herself:

• The goodness of God never fails
• God promised a safe landing, but not a calm passage
• Living close to God in days of blessing will enable the soul to have assurance and faith when trouble comes
• Our blessings far outnumber our misfortunes
• You are God’s property and God is going to take care of you
• Repeat to yourself and store in memory some good thought every day. Look for something beautiful every day, no matter where you are. Do something kind and helpful for someone every day. 

And finally,
Guard the portals of your mind. Don't let evil thoughts creep in.
Remember the happy days, the best part of living.
We can control our minds if we keep the bad thoughts out.

Themes from Mom's Bible

It's nearly Mother's Day and I've been thinking about my Mom a lot.  More than 30 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer.  I have her Bible that she carried during that time.  I've written about it many, many times on this blog.  It was the third post I published, appropriately called "Mom's Bible."

There are so many incredible nuggets found in the pages of her Bible.  There are verses underlined with two or three words written in the margins.  Dozens of quotes, verses and sayings found on the pages in the front and back of her Bible.  They are a treasure to me.

In 2013 I posted "word clouds" created by Wordle.  The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.   I took all the sayings written in Mom's Bible and here's what I got:

I realize there are a lot of words and it might seem like there is no way to narrow them down into themes, but I think I've done it.  Of course, the longer I worked on this, the more I realized this was going to turn into a series of posts instead of a single post!  In the days ahead I'll be exploring these six themes from Mom's Bible:

Encourage Yourself
Have a Prayer Life
Guard Your Tongue
Be Content
Be Grateful
Have Faith/Trust in God

Before I get to those themes, I want to re-post a story:

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything,wrote in the sand:

"Today my best friend slapped me in the face."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

"Today my best friend saved my life."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

Learn to write your hurts in the sand, and to carve your benefits in stone.
~ Author Unknown

I consider Mom's Bible her stone.  She wrote her blessings, her faith, and her prayers.  It's a stone that I have learned so much from.

What I Miss The Most

This time of isolation has been much longer than I had hoped.  I know people are still getting sick, some are dying, but I'm really ready to get back to a normal life style.  One that includes going to church, going to restaurants, traveling and shopping!

I've continued going to the grocery store and that is the one place where I realize what I miss the most:

Smiles!

It's that moment when you make eye contact with someone as you're both reaching for hazelnut creamer or a carton of ice cream.  You smile as you share the moment with a stranger.  But masks are hiding smiles.  Masks cover our mouths and noses while we try to stay six feet away from everyone.  Many people won't even make eye contact.

I Googled "a smile is contagious" and got over 47 million results.  According to many studies, smiling is considered contagious and is very rewarding. When a person smiles, neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin are released. These chemicals help lower one’s stress, relax the body, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and serve as a mood lifter. A person smiling is also seen as “attractive, reliable, relaxed, and sincere.”

So here are a few smiles for today!

VT Youth On Air

As we continue staying home, our church has gotten very creative.  We have our Sunday morning service at 11:00, Wednesday night Bible study at 7:30, Kids Power Hour on Saturday mornings at 11:00, and VT Youth on Air on Saturday evenings at 5:00.

Last night's VT Youth on Air was something special.  It started much like our monthly Youth Service with songs, prayer requests and announcements.  They then played Bible Scavenger Hunt.  Sis. Vivian and Bro. Gary gave 20 Bible verses and each contained a key word such at bed, milk or bread.  The young people were given 7 minutes to find as many of those items as they could, take a picture with the item and text it to Sis. Vivian or Bro. Gary who continued encouraging the young people as the time counted down.  The winners were Jason Wilson for the guys and Caitlin Flores for the girls.

After the game came a sweet part of the service.  Testimonies from two young people.  But these were not just any young people, but two sweet young ladies from the church in Lucena in the Philippines!  One was a prerecorded testimony and the other was a letter that Sis. Vivian read.  Oh how my heart was touched by these precious young ladies!  Such faith, trust and hope!

Sis. Divine Grace

Sis. Marisol

After the testimonies, there was a song by a brother from Lucena.  During this time of social distancing, Pastor Pabanil challenged his young people to create Bible lessons for their Sunday school children and to write an original song.  The song was an original, and again my heart was touched.  I wanted to jump on an airplane for that 14 hour flight to Manila and then spend another four hours in traffic to be back in the church in Lucena!

The service ended with a message from one of our ministers, Bro. Laster.  I realize there are many church services you can listen to online these days, but this one was special!  It is available on our church website (along with all our other services.)  Go here:  VT Youth on Air - Holy Ghost Power Hour. 

Sunday afternoon update:
I had church at home this morning while Les was in Burbank running the sound for our live stream.  Since today was the first Sunday of the month, it was Missions Sunday at Victory Tabernacle.  It was a pleasant surprise to hear that Bro. Nathan Weidner was our guest speaker.  We enjoyed spending time with the Weidners while we were in the Philippines.  They are ready to return to the Philippines as soon as they are able to fly.  We're praying that this pandemic ends soon so they can get back to the land of their calling.