Abba's Girl

As Christians we often pray, we ask other believers to join us, many times the prayers concern our nation and the world and we stand on verses found in the Bible. One we see frequently is: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. A couple of verses from I Peter really speak to me regarding our nation: Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. It seems as we head toward November, many Christians are bashing Democrats, others are bashing Republicans, some are murmuring and complaining about POTUS. It does not matter what we think of President Obama, what matters (in my opinion) is showing respect for the office and honoring him by praying for him. The Word of God does no...

Sometimes I feel as if I live my life by the motto - Planliness is next to Godliness, I try not to but some days I wake up with a list of plans and a schedule to maintain. Today's plans were: Prayer (done) Time in the Word (done), Walk/Run for 45 minutes (done), Do Laundry, Mow the Lawn, Weed the Flower Beds, Finish reading John Adams, Nap, Begin reading Washington a Life, Contemplate Dinner at Home vs. Dinner at a Restaurant. Then at 6:15 a.m. today, I learned one of our dearest friends died last night. My heart aches for his wife, children, and grandchildren. My heart aches for myself as well, he was a good friend to our family and always reminded me of my father. Ennis served our country in the U S Navy, served the Lord in various ministries, and lived his life in such a way he was an example of a Christian man. I can only imagine how many children were in his Sunday School classes over the years. He was a man of deep faith and was filled with wisdom and love. So instead of ...

As I drank coffee this morning, contemplating washing my car and yard work a fleeting memory pass through my mind. Suddenly I was 3 years old in our front yard on Ashcroft Street in Houston. I was running through the grass and my next door neighbor Tony was washing his mother's car in their drive way. He stopped and said hi to me and asked if I wanted to "help". He let help for a few minutes, swung me up in the air and pretended he was dropping me and then set down me on the drive way. I told him goodbye and went off to play with dolls. I can't see his face in my memory these days, but I remember his kind spirit. It is the only memory of that sweet, young man who always had a moment for the little girl next door I still have. Not long after that he left for Viet Nam never to return. As we remember the fallen, I hope we remember their families as well. I remember Tony's parents in the years following Tony's death. They were never the same, their only child go...

My friend Chris who is 17 years younger than me said he wanted to knock off some weight and needed a great eating plan. I told him about the Caveman Diet, he talked me into joining him so we could be accountable and encourage one another. I told another friend about the diet, he told 1 of his closest friends about it, now there are 5 of us doing the Paleo thing. I will admit it annoyed me when I discovered 1 man lost 15 lbs in 10 days, Chris lost 10 lbs in 7 days, and another 5 lbs in 2 days. I've lost several inches and only a few pounds, but I remain encouraged. If you are interested in trying the diet, the website is www.cavemanpower.com Hopefully by the end of the summer I will be at a healthy weight and ready for the Wounded Warriors Project 8K in San Antonio in September (I do not want to finish last!) I think this is the best I've felt since my dad died 3 years ago. With the Lord's help I will succeed!

A while back a childhood friend sent me an e-mail out of the clear and the blue, it was a 3 line e-mail which really packed a punch. It said: Dear Annette, How are you? Have you talked to Susie Q? (Obviously I changed the name to protect the innocent.) Short and sweet right? Or is it sweet? Susie Q was a good friend of mine for many years, sadly our friendship ended due to her mental illness and inability to tell the truth. I miss the old Susie Q, but do not trust the one who was around when our friendship ended. That being said, if she called tomorrow and needed help, I would do anything in the world to help her because I love her. The author of the e-mail knew the situation and knew I had not spoken with her in 11 years. I never knew what I did to provoke such an e-mail. My husband declared it was some kind of passive/aggressive woman thing and she was trying to get my goat for some reason. On the one side I could feel my emotions switching into high gear. Tears welled up in...

I can't believe it is the last Thursday of February! I am thankful for: Time spent with Kathleen and Tess at Bible Study A card from Sandy which brought much cheer Worship with Annette G A letter from Kosovo Time with my husband even though it involved the making of deer sausage The freedom to attend church, worship, and pray