The Nutcracker

A few years back we started a tradition of taking Emma and Destiny to the Nutcracker every other year. Last night Lani joined us in this tradition. It is so fun to take little girls to such a beautiful ballet!

Poor Gary! Always outnumbered on these nights! The girls sure do love him!

Happy Birthday Dad, Grandpa, Great Grandpa!

Today my Dad turns 94! Just think, if we get to have him another six years he will be 100!
We are blessed to have this very wonderful man around. He is the sweetest! Slideshow

The Spirit of Christmas is Love

May God's Perfect Love Warm Your Heart and Sustain You in the Year Ahead!

I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him. Luke 1:46-47 & 50 (The Message)

My New Favorite Pictures of Zion

Since Gary did not include these pictures on our Christmas card I am just going to post them here! Isn't he adorable? :?)

Family Time Christmas Traditions

One of our more recent traditions has been to add communion to our time together on Christmas Eve. Three years ago my Dad led that time in a good old Nazarene traditional way as you can see by the use of the manual in his hands. Two years ago Jonathan led it. I didn't get pictures that year. Jonathan had us do our communion in the dark...like the early Christians probably had to do it...in hiding. Last year I led it at the dinner table having each one pray for the person to their right as he/she served the person to her/his right. I believe Jeremy will be in charge of this this year. This has come to have great meaning in our home. I know I want to make sure all is clear between the Lord and I so that I can partake of this with a clear mind!
*May this Christmas be one you experience a clear and free relationship with God!*

LOVE

Was not Jesus an extremist for LOVE?...So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.
*Martin Luther King

Oh Be Careful Little Mouth What You Speak

Because those little ears hear what you say!
Even though I don't teach a parenting class anymore I always seem to be on the lookout for additional lessons to be added.
Recently I have been thinking about how young children mirror what they hear. If we are mad at the pastor...They don't like him. If we are mad at their teacher and have bad things to say about the teacher...it gives them the right to disrespect the teacher. If Mom has bad things to say about Dad...The kids have bad things to say about Dad. Hmm...Usually they defend Mom if Dad has something bad to say about Mom. That needs to be studied! :?) Maybe it is true that the greatest gift a dad can give his children is to love their mom! As I was holding my grandbaby after his dedication I was wondering how much of what happened in that service was already having an impact on him. How much of our googooing and gagaing is already having an impact over him? I remember rocking and rocking his daddy and singing over and over the list of people who loved him dearly. Did that give him any confidence as he grew older. Who knows! I do think we need to be aware of what comes out of our mouths in front of our children. They are affected by it. Read scripture to them! Tell them about how good God is!
My parents never gossiped about any of our friends in front of us(probably not behind us either) so that we got to enjoy all the adults in our lives. Even those my parents weren't to excited about. Thank you Mom and Dad!
If your church is looking for a good parenting course I recommend www.biblicalparenting.org

Why Do I come Here?

OK, So this is not exactly my favorite picture! I am not sure which one of my kids took this while I was having my private time with Father while we were in Bend at Jonathan and Sandy's last year. However, I was going to post a beautiful scenery picture to go with this post, but I decided this fit with what I want to post today. Following are two songs that have touched me today. They are on an album by Monty Poe Lover of My Soul

Why do I come here, why am I always in this place. I've become lost in, catching a glimpse of Your sweet face. I hear You knocking at the door. I'm fascinated by You more and more. The fragrance of Your Love is sweet. The melody You sing is stirring me. Just when I think it's time to rest my weary soul, You stir the fire again. Just when I feel my lovesick heart will settle down, I see Your face again! And oh the way You say my name Like a Song of Songs, a true lover's refrain. Come away, come away my love. Come away, fly with me, my dove. Come away, lift your voice and sing. Come away, come away with Me.

Here I am, standing at the altar, waiting in Your presence. Falling down, seeking the Face of the God Who created me. Deep calls to deep, there's a crying, deep in me. I have come, driven by desire, Your Love's a fire drawing me, into the depths of love like I've never seen. I just don't understand what You see in me. You are the Life, pouring over me just like a Waterfall of Love, filling all that lacks in me. You speak the secrets of my heart. So I sing the wonders of Your Love.

Our Visit to San Diego

I have tried to load these pictures several times the last few days and finally today they load!!!

I wish we could have gotten a picture of the little old man on the bike from in front! He had shorts and a suit coat and as you can see long socks and nice shoes. Soooo cute. At the same time we were watching an elderly lady pull herself up from sitting on the beach with her walker and walk into the sea with that walker to enjoy sunset. I think Gary got pictures of her.

We went to Balboa Park. I want to go back and spend several days there! There were many massive trees. We were there at night. I want to go back in the daytime. It is a very interesting place.

Our kids did a great job planning our time there. We watched a movie on this ship's sail! Great Movie Sandy! (yeah, right!) :?)


The Mormon Temple was inspiring. You have to have special qualifications to go inside, but we enjoyed going around the outside!

Unique Art Created Just For Me!

Just think, Jeremy created this just for me! I love flowers and am sad when the cold weather sets in and I have to cut back all the frozen plants outside! Thank-you Jeremy. I am enjoying this!

Happy Birthday Universe!

The date of the creation of the universe was October 23rd!
See, God creates really special things on that date!!!!!!
http://www.holysmoke.org/cretins/martya.htm

"The Best Is Yet To Come....

And then there's more to follow!"
My mother broke her pelvic bone a week ago today. Because of that I have spent the last week at my parent's house caring for them. My dad has alzheimers and somehow has latched on to this statement and repeats it often during the day.
Amazing! Many times an alzheimer patient becomes someone who curses even if they never cursed before.
I thank God that this is what my dad says and reminds us of the positive side of life! He is soon to be 94 years old, both knees are in bad shape, bone against bone. Yet he goes around whistling one hymn after another. He has pretty much lost his voice...it is VERY soft when he speaks...but his whistle is as good as it was when I was a little girl.
I am so grateful to have such a wonderful Dad!

Vote For My Boys!

Jeremy and Jonathan have both made it into the finals for a Zest Soap "Adventurous MEN" contest.If they win, they get to go to on a $15,000.00 trip somewhere amazing in the world!Please go vote for them- be sure to rate them as "3's" in all categories, then rate 3 other individuals as "1s" in all categories to help their prospects. In all you must rate 5 men.Thanks for the help
Vote NOW! The voting is over in nine days! Be sure to ask friends and family to vote too.
http://zestforadventure.com/contest_voting.html
For more explanation go to www.jonathandy.blogspot.com

We Just Don't Know Who We Are Dealing With!

A few years ago I got a sub assignment that turned into a seven month assignment. It was not the greatest assignment for sub/student relationship in that it was study hall and absolutely no talking was allowed the whole hour. I had one student who was a great challenge. She was a talker, she was defiant, she was angry and explosive and it did not take much to get her there. She hated me because I stuck to the rules. In due time I wrote a little proverb for her that more or less went like this. "My name is........., which means queen. I will learn to respond, not react to people who upset me, because that is what a queen would do." We did become friends, and across the few years I have known her since, she comes up and hugs me.
Today my assignment was in a behavior disorder class. She was the guest speaker in the Social Development Class! I knew she had a rough background, but I had never heard the story!
She and her little brother were sexually and physically abused by their dad on a daily basis. When the police came to their home to take them away from their dad (their mom had disappeared to get away from the abuse) she was 5 years old, weighed 16 pounds(Jonathan weighed 18 at three months!) they were both tied to the bed by their necks, they were naked, their legs and arms were broken, and her lungs overlapped because of having been kicked in. They were in the hospital for months, were placed in 87 different foster homes. The dad gave up his parenting rights and the mom could not be found. They were given up for adoption to two different families. She was given to a family in Australia where she lived for a year and a half. The Mom came back and claimed her children, thus making the adoption an illegal adoption. Eventually the children were given back to their mom, whom they did not know. She does not have parenting skills at all. The little brother was born normal, but due to the abuse he has become what is officially called retarded(her words). He is a senior this year and is a very dear person.
As you can well imagine I did not do a good job of holding back the tears today! I wish I would have brought her home back in her sophomore year! Actually, I remember having wanted to do just that.
She talked about praying a lot when she was little and asking God what she had done to deserve this life. She was sure she did not deserve it. God never did answer her, so she quit praying.
She works two jobs now, is taking on line courses for college credit and her boyfriend has proposed to her.
Her job today was to encourage the kids in the behavior disorder class to stick with it and graduate because "people like us can do good things too."
She gave Mr. Kruger a lot of credit for where she is today. Several times over she said she would not be where she is today had he not been "in her face" making her finish school.
I have spent the last two days in this class as a sub. I have been in there many times in the past. This teacher has to deal with kids who feel it is just fine if they do nothing at school....most are on drugs....many adults have no hope that these kids will graduate.

Not Mr. Kruger! He will call them to get them out of bed and to school!!!!!
Gratitude? This man rarely gets that! Yet, I have seen him in this position for 6 years and I am sure he has been there more than that!
This man has definitely been Jesus to these kids!

Dove Soap and Parenting Skills

I am just about to use up a bar of Dove soap I have at my tub. I smile as I use it and think of the reason I have it. My mother gave it to me a few weeks ago as a form of apology. I had made a joke about her and her Dove soap. The joke was not a joke to her!
You see, when I was younger my parents were rather poor. Evidently Dove soap was on the expensive side and my Dad bought some for my mom. No one was allowed to use it except my mom.
As I joked about it now (40 some years later) my mom was horrified that they had ever made such a rule and does not recall having done that.
I reassured her that it was not a bad thing at all. The way I see it, it was a very simple way of teaching us to honor her. My dad bought her something special and we were to honor her by not using it! She always had us honor my Dad at the table by having us reserve the biggest piece of anything...for him.
They have been married for 67 years and they still honor one another. My Dad has alzheimers and very bad knees, but he still holds the car door open for my Mom. My mom still gives him the biggest piece of whatever at the table. They still celebrate their first kiss, their first date.
"Honor your Father and Mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God will give you."
That is one of the ten commandments! It must be pretty important to God that we honor our parents! I am sure glad my parents found simple ways to teach us to honor them!

Praising God Our Children Are OK!!!!!

We thank God we have our children! Jonathan and Sandy were in a serious car accident and we are very grateful they are OK other than in a lot of pain! You can get details on their blog

The Next Conference I Am Going to, Lord willing!

http://womenaliveministries.com/?Conferences:Kansas_City_Conference

Babysitting My Grandbaby

Gary and I sure did enjoy Zion Today !
I kept him outside and he enjoyed that. I talked to him a lot and he tried to talk back with a sweet smile!

Hephzibah

If I were to have another baby, I think I would name it Hephzibah! :?)
What do you think it means?

Report

I am sure enjoying the conference! Some thoughts I like
The Mystery of intercession - we tell God what He tells us to tell Him to release power.

God opens doors of blessing and closes doors of oppression in response to our prayers. There are blessings that God has chosen to give, but ONLY if His people rise up in the partnership of prayer.
God is waiting for our persistence in prayer before Him. Isaiah taught that He longs to release His grace and power, but actually waits until He hears the cry of His people in intercession.(30:18-19)

I am enjoying the worship. It reminds me of the old Nazarene camp meeting or college chapels at Mt. Vernon where people allowed the Holy Spirit in on the worship and felt free to shout out their worship! We need those days back!!!

Spiritual Warfare Intercession Conference

I am looking forward to this conference I will be attending at the end of this week. I am believing I will come out of it understanding Spiritual Warfare in a much clearer way. I have attended two conferences here in the past and have come home a different and better woman (Handmaiden:for those of you who make fun of me for using that word!). :?)

Our Walk Should Match Our Talk

An engraving on a cathedral wall in Germany bears these soul-searching words:
Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us,
"You call me Master and obey me not;
You call me light and see me not;
You call me the Way and walk me not;
You call me life and live me not;
You call me wise and follow me not;
You call me fair and love me not;
You call me rich and ask me not;
You call me eternal and seek me not;
If I condemn you, blame me not."

Hmm...His promises to us are conditional,
aren't they?!?!?!?

Drawing Near

I am reading the book Drawing Near by John Bevere

One of the questions after the chapter I read a couple of days ago says, "In the beginning of this chapter, the author writes, 'Over this time I've discovered two major groups within the church...The first are those who seek God for what He can do; while the second seek Him for who He is.' Be honest-in which group do you see yourself?"

Hmm...not a question I think I have thought much about before!

Jonathan makes the statement..."You have as much God as you want"
I am "grappling" with these thoughts and am committing to thirsting more for Him.
Here is another statement in the book that , I guess you would say, is convicting me. I want to make sure I am pursuing Him all the way!
"Our souls desire what we feed them. If we have a steady diet of sports, we will crave ESPN. If we have a steady diet of movies and Hollywood gossip we will crave movie channels, magazines, and conversation that appeals to this appetite. If we constantly feed on the business world and current events, that is what we'll long for. If our satisfaction is in our homes, cars, clothes, and so forth, then we will light up with passion when we discuss shopping, or a new car, or decorating ideas, and we'll find spiritual conversations mundane. We'll have a hard time reading the Scriptures or tarrying in the prayer closet. However, if we feed on a steady diet of the Word of God, it is easy to set aside time for prayer, and conversations on spiritual things will come easily and flow naturally. We will crave the presence of God and desire intimacy with Him."

Zion Meets Great Great Grandpa

Zion Michael Ray & Great, Great Grandpa Ray

Tuesday we rented a mini-van so that all of us could travel together to Warsaw, Mo. We wanted Great, Great Grandpa to meet Zion. He has been on Jeremy and Tricia's "case" to get busy and make him a Great, Great Grandpa. We all sure wished Great Grandpa Bill were still here. He sure would enjoy being a Great Grandpa!
My dad is Great Grandpa to Zion, but he is five years older than Great, Great Grandpa Ray!

Jonathan Preaching

Sunday night we got to hear Jonathan preach! He did a wonderful job. He taught a lot of "meaty" stuff but I can simply put that he challenged us to

• READ
• PRAY
• OBEY

I told him he is definitely not a "warm fuzzies" kind of preacher! To be honest...I am not looking for warm fuzzies...I am looking to be challenged to be drawn deeper in the ways of My Creator!

Thanks, Jonathan! To God Be The Glory!

Just When

These are the word to a song that touched me this morning. The album is Lover of My Soul by Monty Poe
Why do I come here, why am I always in this place, I've become lost in, catching a glimpse of Your sweet face. I hear You knocking at the door. I'm fascinated by You more and more. The fragrance of Your love is sweet, The melody You sing is stirring me.
Just when I think it's time to rest my weary soul, You stir the fire again. Just when I feel my lovesick heart will settle down, I see Your face again. And oh the way You say my name, Like a Song of Songs, a true lover's refrain
Come away, come away my Love, Come away, fly with me, my Dove. Come away, lift Your voice and sing. Come away, come away with Me.

Crocheting

I believe this is the fifth time have made this particular afghan. I love the details on it and I enjoy the fact that it turns out so big compared to what other patterns call for. My mom has asked me how many afghans I have made. I always say I don't know! "Is it in the hundreds?", she asks.
I would have to say yes! I actually developed "tennis elbow" from too much crocheting!

I Got to Hold Zion for Several Hours Yesterday

He has already changed so much! I went over to help at their house. Well...yeh, I helped! I just held Zion the whole time unless Mom was feeding him!
He is absolutely Adorable!

What Is The Cutest Scene You Ever Saw?

A few years back I was out for a walk at around 5:30 in the morning at Rock Springs Ranch in Kansas. Suddenly off to my left I saw a lot of black and white "commotion" going on in the field. I stopped to see what in the world it was (it was dawn...so I had to focus at first!) Lo and behold eight baby skunks were playing in the field! They were chasing and jumping over each other! I stood there for quite some time not caring that I was messing up my workout time. I doubt I get to see that again!

(This is not my picture, I took it off some site on the web. It is bigger that the ones I saw.)

So, what is your cute scene story?

Morning Glory

If I am going to have my own personal blog it will have to have something about Morning Glories. If my husband is going to encase my house with garden capabilities (excpet in front of the garage!) and build three decks and a front porch....then I have places for Morning Glories. As you can see, I have a wall forming up the back. Before the season is over my whole upper deck will be engulfed! For years I have planted them and then harvested the seeds so as to plant the next year. I eagerly wait for the end of August when the flowers finally come and are out for just a few hours in the morning. Then school starts and I hate to go because I know all those Morning Glories will be gone when I get home! Up till now I have only had the typical blue ones. I have discovered there are many kinds of Morning Glories. So, late in August I will be looking for Pic0tee Blue(double layer with white edge), Chocolate (pink ones?) and Mountain Glory blue( the leaf is very different!). But it looks like I will not have to wait anymore to see the Good Morning Red!
Actually this year I am trying other climbers besides Morning Glories. I have Clymatis, Hyacinth Bean, Cypress Vine,Moonflower and Climbing Spinach! Fun, fun, fun!
Aren't you glad I don't know how to load my slidshows on here?!?!?!

Talk About Blessings!

Here is my family! This picture was taken by Kelly Jackson on December 22, 2005(our 33rd anniversary) The sitting was Jeremy and Tricia's Christmas gift to us. Two days later we found out that Tricia was pregnant in this picture and this would not be an up-to-date picture of our family for long!

How To Find God

I had a great experience today! I called to order "How To Find God" a New Testament used for bringing men and women into a personal relationship with God.
I have ordered before and it has been business as usual. However, today I spoke with a man on fire to bring souls to Jesus Christ. He told me that they are mailing out 4,000 Bibles per day! Many Christians have discovered this wonderful tool and are ordering it to use to bring people to Christ. He told me of a man who preaches in a warehouse where cyclists come into the warehouse on their motorcycles to sit on their motorcycles and hear the plan of salvation. Now, if you invited these men to the church...would they come? Doubtful! That is soo cool!
There is nothing more exciting than Kingdom Business!!!!!
These Bibles do not cost much at all! You will be shocked. And...if you order over the phone you don't have to order by the caseload like you do on the web! www.biblesatcost.com

Habits

"Why do you call me,'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say? I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me and hears my words and obeys. That person is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the floods came, the water tried to wash the house away, but it could not shake it, because the house was built well. But the one who hears my words and does not obey is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. When the floods came, the house quickly fell and was completely destroyed."

I like the story of the little boy who fell out of bed. When his Mom asked him what happened, he answered, "I don't know, I guess I stayed too close to where I got in." Easy to do the same with our faith. It's tempting just to stay where we got in and never move.
Growth is the goal of the Christian. Maturity is mandatory. If a child ceased to develop, the parent would be concerned, right? Doctors would be called. Tests would be run. When a child stops growing, something is wrong.
When a Christian stops growing, help is needed. If you are the same Christian you were a few months ago, be careful. You might be wise to get a checkup. Not on your body, but on your heart. Not a physical, but a spiritual.
May I sugges one?

• 1st, the habit of prayer: "Base you happiness on your hope in Christ. When trials come endure them patiently; steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer." (Romans 12:12, Phillips)
• 2nd, the habit of study: "The man who looks into the perfect law and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who sees and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness" (James 1:25, Phillips)
• 3rd, the habit of giving: "Every Sunday each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn." (I Corinthians 16:2, TLB)
• And last of all, the habit of fellowship: "Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead let us encourage one another."(Hebrews 10:25 TEV)

There they are...habits worth having. Isn't it good to know that some habits are good for you? Make them a part of your day and grow. Don't make the mistake of the little boy. Don't stay too close to where you got in. It's risky resting on the edge.

I got this from my NCV Bible and I would assume the devotion was written by Max Lucado. Two questions I take from his study are...Describe someone who, in your estimation, maintains a lifestyle of godly habits. What can you learn from that person? A year from now, what new habits would you like to have incorporated into your spiritual life?

Jonathan and Sandy are Moving to San Diego

This past May Jeremy, Tricia, Gary and I went to visit Jonathan and Sandy in Bend, Oregon. Here we are at Benham Falls. It is one of my favorite places to be. Now I will have to find a new place to call "one of my favorite" since I would want that to be close to my kids! In just a few days they will move to San Diego and then come to KC to see Baby Zion.
I love it when we are all together and I just can't wait to have them here for a few days!

Always On His Mind

These have been interesting days. I find that Zi-Baby is always on my mind. Gary has to remind me to allow Jeremy and Tricia breathing room because I just want to go see the baby! As I realize how my mind is consumed with him, I think of this song that talks about the fact that I am always on God's mind. If I can, I will try to load the song! Enjoy!
Ok, so I don't know how to do that, so here are the words.
Always on His Mind
Lord, I will seek You, on my bed, think upon You. In the day, I'll dream of You. You're always on my mind. With my whole heart I'll love You, With my mind and my strength too. Waste my life searching for You, you're always on my mind.
Though I'm poor and needy, The Lord thinks upon me. Though His name is Holy, I'm always on His mind - I'm always on His mind. Though I'm weak and lowly, the Lord thinks about me. Though He's high and lofty, I'm always on His mind - I'm always on His mind
I'm in love with God
God's in Love with me...

15 Great Grandchildren

My Mom just called to inform me that Great Grandchild #15 was born at 1:30 this morning. Jennifer and Eric Wasson are the proud parents of their 3rd. Regan Quinn came in at 6 pounds 11 ounces.
I had been considering putting something on the blog about my Mom and Dad.
These are two very delightful people. I can't help but thank God for allowing me to have Larry and Eunice as my parents.
That terrible Ahlzeimers disease has taken hold somewhat of my 93 year old Dad, yet I see in him a Spirit Filled man who does not display the meanness that comes with that disease.
Mom has been endowed with continued energy and just got back yesterday from having preached at a family camp in the Ozarks. She will be teaching a ministerial course for the Joplin District in September. It will involve 10 hours of teaching each weekend for 4 different weekends!
What a heritage these great grands have. My prayer is that the rest of us will continue on in the life of seeking God's will and pursuing it with our all!

Zion Michael Ray Collins

Now That is A Sweet Baby!

Arbor

I am not sure I invision exactly what Gary has in store with this his creativity! I do know I am very excited to see it when it is all done! I think I am going to have Japanese Wisteria and climbing Hydrangias on the arbor! There will be a swing in one of the bays and a sand box in another! Zi Baby, you are truly inspiring your Grandpa!!!!!

Something New for Me

We have a night of inflatables at camp and last week Fun Services brought something new. I had sooo much fun on this...but not enough time on it due to the fact that so many other adults wanted on it as well! It was funny to see the men on the tricycle as their movements on it were exactly the way I saw my boys ride their tricycles when they were little. I fall over when I try a bike...but this, I can handle!!!! :?)

Jeremy As Dad

It was a neat experience to watch Jeremy as he delighted in his son. Someone commented on his picture in my slideshow with a question as to whether this is how God looks on us! I believe He does with more Love that we can ever imagine!

Becoming A Grandma

I have been told that there is nothing compared to becoming a parent...well, let me tell you...becoming a Grandma is mighty close! As you can tell, Zion has brought a very contented feeling to this Grandma!