church – Senseless Ramblings of the Mindless

Sunday Meet and Greet?

Published on May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 by Sandie D2 Comments

I may get some heat on this topic. It may get me put in the boiling pot, lol… But every Sunday I say the same thing to myself when I go to church. We have what’s called “Meet and Greet” time. Basically people stand up after the announcements and they greet each other and then are suppose to sit down when the music starts.

Now, the reason I have been thinking on this is because it is hard to get the attention of those around to sit for the service to begin. Everyone is standing and talking along the walls, in the middle and just visiting. There have been times when I have needed to get to other areas of the church and found it impossible to get past everyone. Good thing I didn’t have to go potty or have an emergency. And there have been times I needed to get to the restrooms and that was not going to happen since it was blocked in all directions. It can get pretty loud in the sanctuary when you have 100 people talking and trying to get back to their seats. It could actually dangerous in some ways if there was an emergency.

My way of thinking is this. So bear with me and I know many will think it is a horrible thing to do away with or modify this part of the service. We have Sunday School from 9:30-10:30 am. Our church begins at 11:00 am. Between Sunday School and the Worship Service we have Fellowship Time. That’s where there is goodies and people visit with each other as they prepare for the Worship Service.

Around 10:50 am people that are where the Fellowship time is moves to the sanctuary. As people come in, they make their way to their seats and visit with those around them or those they haven’t seen. Service is about to begin now and the pastor and the lay leader go to the front. We then have announcements and the Meet and Greet… OK! Now this is where people may think I lost it. Why in the world do we have to have meet and greet if they are visiting before church and as they are sitting down? Not only do they mingle during the before and meet and greet times, they do after the service. I sometimes wonder if it is more of a social hour instead of a time of worship. I know it must be me, but seems chaotic to me.

I know most churches do this and people love the meet and greet time. But it seems to me just by observing that it is difficult to get people to sit down and stop talking. I know that many of the people at church only get a chance to see their friends and such on just Sundays. But for Pete’s sake, it gets out of control.

Now I always have things reeling in my brain. This is no different. I wonder if they put the meet and greet before the announcements while people are still in high gear and wanting to chat, then maybe it would be less disruptive and come to order easier. I wonder how many actually hear the music starting and the singers singing because of all the noise and talking. I’m all for visiting and catching up. But it seems to me that we are there to Worship God and be in His presence.

We have a fairly newer pastor which is awesome. Like most new pastors they like to change things up and they each have their own style. He may be figuring out that I can be a person that stirs the pot, lol. People may shanghai him if he got rid of the Meet and Greet time, but personally I think they get a lot of time and opportunities to talk and meet each other.

Speaking of our pastor and I’m probably guessing when he reads this he is shaking his head, and wondering what I’m doing. There is another opportunity for people to meet and greet and that is as the pastor and his wife goes to the Narthex and greets each person as they leave the church. As people are waiting to leave, they are visiting then too. Like I said, I’m guilty of this myself. I am a gabby person.

I think about when I visit a new church and while I love visiting new churches, I hate being put on the spot. I look over the bulletin to see the order of their service and I notice they have a time to welcome new comers. I dread this time of the service. They ask if there are any new people and if you don’t raise your hand or stand up, they point you out. This has actually stopped me from going to churches a second time. I don’t like being singled out and I don’t like being put on the spot. I actually feel sorry for people when they are put on the spot like that. And if they don’t stand up and they are called out. I know that sounds bad, but otherwise pointed out that they are new, all eyes are on them.

I have no problem raising my hand if they want to give me a new comers packet or those around me introducing themselves. But not all people are into the whole swarming over ya like a swarm of bees. You can see it in their eyes that they are headed your way. There has to be a better way to welcome newcomers to church without making them feel like they are on display. Once I get to know others, then I have no problem with them. But not all people are huggy squeezy kind of people. When they go to church, they want to worship, listen and go on their way.

I did like it how my church did it when we lived in Arizona. We had a Meet and Greet time. But we stayed where we were and just greeted those around us. If someone was new, then during the announcements they would be welcomed and given a first visitor packet. For those we wanted to talk to personally, we would talk to before the service or after the service. It was less distracting and safer. All I can imagine is one of our seniors with walkers or canes go crashing to the ground and nobody can get to them and you can’t hear then yell for “HELP”. I know this may be extreme, but you never know what can happen. We have a lot of seniors in our church and this last Sunday it seemed like a stampede down the aisle and everyone trying to get seated. Not cool to have a stampede of people at church when there are handicapped people trying to sit down. Bad IMAGE in my brain!

Personally speaking, it can be overwhelming to have a swarm of people that have you targeted in their eye-site when you are new. I feel bad for those who are trying to do the “Call to Worship” because nobody hears them…

We have a overly friendly and loving church. During the meet and greet it can take some time. And that is because people (myself included) get gabby. We want to catch up and say hi to everyone and welcome the newcomers. Some churches even have the Meet and Greet for newcomers and for those that want to take part right after church. This is actually pretty awesome. Instead of overwhelming the newcomers, you have snacks and drinks that would be also available like during the fellowship time and give them a chance to meet the pastor and his wife and others who would like to participate. That way if they have questions about the church, they can meet on a more intimate level. I have been to these and they allow for some awesome opportunities for the newcomers and the church. Some churches also have a newcomers lunch where those who are on the Welcome Team (which we don’t have) take part in. But those on that team would be at the luncheon and all newcomers that have been coming during that month or would like more information can attend.

Having a time of welcoming can easily become something we dread and want no part of, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Meeting and greeting those around us can be a wonderful time to connect to those in the church. I do have to say our church is great at this and the people are awesome when it comes to being genuine and sincere to those who have been there a long time or to those that are newcomers. You will for sure be leaving as a friend and as a family member.

When we first came to St. George Community Church, there was this lady Kathy Grey that shook our hand and introduced herself to us. What she did next was what I think is a perfect way to get to know those who are in our church or new. She invited me and my daughters to lunch and since we didn’t know the area, she drove us around town. That made a lasting impression on my family. It meant a great deal to us. I hated the that I had to stand up and introduce ourselves and say where we came from. But what Kathy did. This small gesture is something we all can do.

Why Do We Go to Church?

Published on April 18, 2014 by Sandie DLeave a comment

Oh man! This may be one of those topics that may cause me to get on my soap box.

When I go to church, my thought isn’t on much other than going to church and listening to the Word of God. We sing songs to the Lord and we praise God. Nothing else should be more important than Worshiping God!

But that isn’t always the case for so many. It drives me bonkers that people complain about the stupidest things and forget why we are at church to begin with. Now, granted my mind can get distracted and I have my moments. But why is it that some people can’t just go to church and worship God? If they are paying attention to all the other distractions and minor things that have nothing to do with praising God, then they are not at church for the right reason. I think they should re-evaluate why they are going to church!

I have had many times when I would complain about the music, the organ which I can’t stand and other things. Then one day I guess it was God saying that I wasn’t there to worry about the stupid things that get in the way of learning more about Him. I was there for Him. And since I’m not big into the old-time hymns and love contemporary praise and worship music, I guess that kinda set wrong with me at first. Besides if I want to listen to my style of music I have the rest of the week and for an hour or so on Sundays, I can pay attention to why I really am at church.

I guess what I think is that we are very blessed to be able to worship God in a way that others can’t. Some of the missionaries our church sponsors have to hide because they will be killed. Some are living in areas that have never seen missionaries and have very little. The church they go to have no air, no doors and only a roof made of tree’s. And what get’s me is that they don’t complain about what they don’t have or if things aren’t just right. They are happy to worship God no matter where they are at. I wonder how many would stop going to church here in the states if they had to go to church like the Fowlers with Christian Missionary Fellowship do in Ethiopia!

Why we should go to church.

To grow in the knowledge of the Bible, God’s Word…
To hear the voice of God…
To be loved and encouraged…
To have fellowship with Jesus Christ…
To love and encourage our fellow Christians…
To pray for one another…
To promote the Gospel…
We sing praises to God for His goodness…
When we go to church faithfully, we are witnessing to others.
We are one in the Spirit…
We become closer to God…

Call me wrong or off base, but it seems to me that there are a lot of reasons to be going to church that are much more important that the trivial things that we focus on. I don’t care about what color the walls are or if there is a light coming through a window. If there is a light, maybe it is the light of God. So I say, go ahead and shine Your light.

There are more reasons for going to church and why it is so important. The main reason to go to church is that God knew how important it would be for us. That is why He commanded us to go.

Jesus Rode in on Donkey

Published on April 13, 2014April 14, 2014 by Sandie DLeave a comment

Today at church my mind was wondering in a few different directions. First it is Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
Palm Sunday is one of the most important days in my opinion when it comes to remembering what Christ did for us on the cross. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week of events leading up to Jesus’ death

First off, one our young ladies Samantha Tommer sang a beautiful song by Nicole Norderman. This is one of my favorite Easter songs and comes in right after Ray Boltz’s “The Hammer”. I will include a link to both of these songs in case anyone wants to hear them. Today I also thought about another

After this is about the time my mind got wondering. The reason I say that is because the air conditioning wasn’t working right and it was more than warm in my opinion. Some of the older ladies may differ with me. Pastor Ray goes to turn the air down, since I he was hot too. I wasn’t focusing too much on that actually. What I was focusing on was that they turned the lights down and opened the doors to let a cool breeze come in. You may be wondering why this got my brain to wondering, which isn’t hard to do.

Right after they opened the doors and the breeze was going through I kept thinking about Jesus’s triumphant entry into our church. I was curious if maybe Jesus didn’t want to have us focus on the heat as much as He wanted us to come to church and the Holy Spirit was the gentle breeze that seemed to cool things down. I may have to relisten to his message because my thoughts were on what if Jesus were to walk through our doors or coming through them on a donkey? What if Jesus came today and that cool breeze was the beginning of His appearance at church. Or maybe the Holy Spirit wanted to remind us of the peace and His victory because of His death and His resurrection.

When Jesus rode in on a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches is a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9). Way back when in Biblical times, the custom called for kings and nobles arriving in procession to ride on the back of a donkey. The donkey was a symbol of peace; those who rode upon them proclaimed peaceful intentions. The laying of palm branches indicated that the king or dignitary was arriving in victory or triumph.

As church proceeded and I resigned myself to the thought that Jesus wasn’t going to come riding into the church on the back of a donkey, I realized that Christ was already there. And for me at least, the cool breeze and the doors open was a way of saying to “come on in, all is welcome and Christ is present.” Now, my guess is that many may just being thinking it was just a breeze that was cooler than they wanted it to be and they couldn’t read the words in the Bible. Maybe, just maybe God didn’t want the air conditioner to work and He wanted to be our cool breeze in a heated desert.

Links to video’s and Easter Songs…

The Hammer– By Ray Boltz
Why– Sung by Nicole Norderman- Samantha Tommer sang this today at church…
Behold The Lamb– Ray Boltz –

Introductions at Church

Published on September 11, 2013 by Sandie D2 Comments

I have been working on our churches website lately and doing a lot of changes. We are in the middle of welcoming our new pastor and there are changes on the horizon. Changes are a good thing though and I look forward to seeing what changes there are and where God is leading our church to. But! I know, there is always a but. But, the other day at church I got thinking about our order or service and how some of our lay leaders or those making announcements welcome first time visitors.

Our church is a very huggy squeezey kind of church. I love the people there. Even though there are times when I will venture out and go to another service because they are doing something special or I have a need for contemporary music. I have long ago come to the conclusion that our church is meant to be more of a traditional style of service and that is OK. But back to my thinking about the way we greet newcomers.

One of our guys was doing the announcements and there were some newbies that walked through the door. They were new to the area and was checking out churches in the area. Now when I check out a new church, I don’t want a lot of fanfare. I want to sit in the back and listen to the sermon and see what the church is like on a normal Sunday. But that moment comes at some churches when the guy up front will ask if there are any first time visitors. I dread that moment and when I know a church does that, I make sure to stay clear. I don’t like being called out when I go to a new church or having to hold my hand up and everyone focuses on me. It reminds me of the times I had to start a new school and the teacher would have me stand in front of the class and introduce me to everyone. Then they would assign someone who didn’t want to be your friend for the day.

The other week when this happened at church, I wanted to tell the poor family to lay low. Don’t raise your hand and move quietly. I could tell the people just wanted to be there. Their legs started to fidget and a couple of the kids was whispering about how they didn’t want to stand and introduce themselves. I think this time of welcoming and showering people with an over abundance of love and affection all within a couple minutes is old church. I think all the churches I have gone to are like this. And I have to admit that the friendliness of everyone is what drew me to St. George Community Church. That first Sunday I didn’t like when I had to stand up like I was in class. My girls and I had a talk on the way about if they do this, who will stand up. I got the loosing straw.

Now the part that I do like is that they have a meet and greet time. I think this is a good thing because it gives you a chance to welcome newcomers and say hi to those around you. Everyone is standing up at the same time, shaking hands and being friendly. It isn’t just one person or a family standing there with 120 sets of eyes watching your every move.

I went searching the ever reliable internet on what keeps them away from church. I know everything we find there has to be right, right? Well, I started a search on why people stay away from church or why they have a fear of going to church. And these are some of the things I found and I have to say that we are guilty of some of these things. Egads, does that mean I need to change my way of greeting others at church? Hmmm…

The one that stood out the most was addresses. And this keeps me from going to new churches too. They hand you a packet and you fill out your name, address, phone number and whatever else that is asked for shy of signing your life away. So they fill out this nifty little card that gives information to the pastor and church leaders so they can call on the person later. Not that filling out a form is bad, because I have no issue with that. But what follows is kind of a pain. You have the bombardment of people asking where you are from, do you live in the area, are you a visitor and so on. I know I’m guilty of this myself. I think once the form is filled in it is nice to just introduce yourself during meet and greet and tell them you are happy to see them. No long stories or life time history is needed at that point. If they wanted 20 questions, they would go on a game show for that. Once that card is in the offering plate, then the pastor will call or visit, which I like. It’s much less intimidating to visit with one or two then 120.

This is one of my things I’m guilty on. When a newcomer finally makes it past everyone at church and given their life story, they have to find a place to sit. My eyes are darting back and forth and I know the only pew that would hold them all is the one I sit in each and every Sunday. Telepathically I’m sending a message to these newcomers that they are sitting in my seat and they need to move, lol. Now of course I would never voice this out loud, but it is bothering me to no end. So after church I huff and puff for a few and then calm down and realize I don’t own the pew and they needed to sit somewhere, lol. I’m pretty sure they were wondering where they would sit and didn’t realize that there is a magic sign on that one. When I go to other churches, I know I always hope I didn’t ruin someone’s plan to sit in their favorite place that was made for them. I wonder if their hearts jump out of their chest as the strangers enter the row and plop themselves down. Egads, that gives me a headache just thinking on that, lol.

I did venture out and onto the internet to check out why people don’t go and here are some reasons I found. When I ask some people why they don’t go to church I found it interesting that many times it is because of a bad experience that kept them away. And some may be like me where they wouldn’t go to church unless they knew they wouldn’t be singled out. Some of their reasons were that they didn’t have anything nice to wear and people would make fun of them. Or they would think that the church only wanted their money and was going to suck them dry. This is one that I hear all the time and that is that they aren’t good enough to go to church. Shoot not one of us is good enough and all are sinners, but that is a whole other topic. When I heard some of these reasons I made me think about the kind of message we are sending out to people outside of the church. I have to say that I was pretty happy that some even told me they hate having to stand up and introduce themselves. I felt like I wasn’t alone.

In closing, I guess I have to admit that I have a few church issues. I like my pew and I don’t like to stand up and be called on. But I do love the people. You won’t find a more loving and kind group of people then you have at St. George Community Church. I’m looking forward to see what is going to happen even though I am a creature of habit as some may know. I will close this topic before I go on and ramble more about other stuff. 🙂 Even though, Now I’m thinking I need a video to tell people that it is safe to go to church and they don’t have to stand up and introduce themselves if they don’t want too. And if they feel pressured I will hide them under the safety of my pew. 🙂

We Have a New Pastor

Published on August 17, 2013August 17, 2013 by Sandie DLeave a comment

Our church has been in the middle of a transition. Our previous pastor and his wife retired at the end of March. Pastor Dean and Ruth have been awesome and we will miss them. There isn’t anyone that can fill their shoes. But I wonder if we should be looking for someone to fill their shows. The reason I say that is that we need to look for a pastor that fits in his own shoes and one that Christ has sent our way. We should find someone who is an individual and someone who is will be respected for being who he is and our church has found that person.

Last weekend we had the opportunity to meet our next pastor and his wife. It had to be a whirlwind of a time for them though. Our church hires the pastor. We choose who would best fit our congregation with the help of Transformation Ministries. The new pastor was looking for a church that is Bible based and not one that is conforming to the world. I would have to say our congregation is very much Bible based and it is very loving. You won’t find many where you don’t feel like there are clicks and such.

That little basket of white papers holds the future of our church and the pastor to be’s life with St. George Community Church

What got me thinking about our new pastor and his wife is the process all applicants have to go through when hiring a pastor. We bring in the pastor that the search committee has found. Then they are called to come and get to know the people of our church, preach and all the things that go with meeting and greeting. I can’t begin to understand the pressure the interviewing pastor must feel at this time. He has to literally interview, have questions ask and put on the spot during this time. They aren’t just interviewing with a few, but the congregation at large.

Thankfully the pastor and his wife both got voted in unanimously and they will be an awesome fit. I’m sure they breathed a sigh of relief when all was said and done and the vote came back in their favor. The search committee had to make sure to pray and follow Gods lead when it came to who we would consider. It’s a tough job being on the search committee.

Thankfully we have been having this awesome young man named Andrew doing our sermons. He would fill in when Pastor Dean and Ruth would be on vacation, so this made it easy for him to step in and help. Hopefully our church will still use Andrew on Thursdays and such. He has become a member and friend of our church. I don’t know if he is literally a member, but he is there and he is part of the family of God.

October 1st is when our new pastor and his wife is due to begin their life here in St. George. I pray that they feel as blessed as we feel we are blessed. It’s a new chapter in the life of St. George Community Church. They have some wonderful ideas and gifts. I’m excited to see how things go for the church.

I promised the new pastor I wouldn’t mention his name or anything until after he has put in his notice at his church. It has to be hard for him since he is leaving his denomination and moving to Utah. They could probably use your prayers and thoughts as they transfer to our church and leave their church family that they have come to love.

One last note and I will add a picture of this soon. When the final vote came in and it was read aloud, you could feel the joy from the new pastor and his wife. What a huge relief this has got to be for them. They were met with hugs, tears and over joyed members of St. George Community Church. It took a while to find the right pastor for our church. But we had to be sure he was a man after Gods own heart and not rush into things. I think we made the right choice and our search committee did an awesome job.

Some People are Rude

Published on January 21, 2013January 21, 2013 by Sandie DLeave a comment

I want to warn you, that this is going to be a bit of a venting post. I’m sorry since I have been trying to stay clear of the grumbling issues since I seem to hear so many complainers.

So far this weekend it has not been a good one and I have not been impressed to say the least.

On Saturday Chuck looks at his car to see what is wrong with it since water or should I say ice was coming from it. He didn’t put antifreeze in it and cracked the block. So that is probably $1000.00 that will be going out when it would have costed under $10.00 to fill with anti-freeze. Enough said on that or I will write a book about how ticked I am about that.

Then today at church, this lady ticked me off. She doesn’t know she did, but she did. She waits around for a bit after church and then I go to say hi her husband and her. I won’t go into names. But I was ticked when she had to make it a point to tell me that it looks like I gained some weight. And I explained to her that I take steroids and she should know the effects of the steroids since she use to be a nurse. Her husband then proceeded to tell me he understood. Well, no he doesn’t. There is no way he would because he is thin as a rail and probably soaking wet he is 150 pounds. But then, why should I have needed to explain anyhow since it was none of their business to begin with. Then they thought it was a good idea to invite me out to lunch, which they always do. The audacity of the whole thing blew me away.

My medical things is something that I don’t like to share with the world and those who I think need to know, knows. Usually when I get put on a prayer request page at church I get 20 questions and I hate that. I don’t think I need to explain what is going on to begin with.

I think of people that judge others because they are heavier or whatever else and it makes me mad. They don’t know what is going on with the other person. There are many who gain weight because of illness and medications like myself. Shoot, I wear a size 16. It isn’t small, but it sure is a long way from being massively overweight. Sure many over indulge, but then that is also a problem. They may be eating to hide hurts and pains. When someone looks down on another because they are heavier or don’t look like they think a person should is not the kind of person I want to be around.

This is part of an article that was written on a health website about things not to say to a person who takes prednisone.

Prednisone, one of the most effective short-term medicines for quickly quelling a severe flare-up, has several side effects, including weight gain. Another side effect is “moon face,” in which the cheeks get rounded, making for a chipmunk-like look that can give the impression that a person is heavy even when his or her body is rail-thin.

Fortunately, this effect tends to go away when the person stops taking corticosteroids. Until then, the best approach to commenting on weight or looks to a person with IBD is not to comment at all.

I think of my daughter Jessica who has Poly Cystic Ovarian Disease. I love her and she is beautiful no matter what her size is. With PCOS there are many side effects and weight gain, infertility and many other not fun side effects come with that. She is heavier because of this and it is always an uphill battle for her. If only others would take into consideration that other things are going on in peoples lives and you can’t judge a person by how they look or what weight they are on the outside.

Then there this woman in Las Vegas named Tanya Angus who just died from . She 34, died “due to her heart and TIA (transient ischemic attack or mini-stroke).” Tanya Angus had an extreme form of acromegaly. Tanya spent the last 12 years trying to find a cure for her acromegaly, which meant she couldn’t stop growing. If she was judged by just looking at her, you would think that she didn’t care what she looked like and ate all the time. But that was far from the truth.

It makes me wonder if they are really happy or if they have to put others down to make themselves happy. I’m just guessing here.

I posted my vent on Facebook and was glad to know that I can grumble and others are OK with it. I’m blessed with many wonderful friends.

Side Effects of Prednisone-

Sodium (salt) retention
Fluid retention
Weight gain/Obesity
High blood pressure
Elevated blood sugar
Elevated blood fats
Potassium loss
Headache
Muscle weakness
Puffiness or moon face
Growth of facial hair
Bruising easily
Thinning of skin
Poor wound healing
Cataracts
Glaucoma
Stomach ulcers
Aseptic necrosis
Irregular periods
Rounding of upper back
Growth retardation in children
Increased appetite
Insomnia
Psychiatric issues (depression, mood swings, personality changes)

I would like to say that with the Psychiatric issues, if I get upset and yell at the person who told me I look like I gained weight, I’m going to plead temporary prednisone insanity. Just be warned…

Blessings

Published on January 15, 2013January 15, 2013 by Sandie DLeave a comment

Life seems to come rushing at us full force. If you are like me, you are on the go and barely have time to breath and take in the goodness around you. Anymore, we barely have time to stop and look around us and smile at what we have. We shouldn’t think about our blessings just at Thanksgiving. We should all the time, because they are happening each and every day. Sometimes, we just miss them because of all the bad things going on around us. Or those things we choose to focus on instead.

I want to do a little project this year for those around me. It will be a Random Acts of Kindness Scavenger Hut. You may be wondering what that is. Give me a moment to share my list of things I would like to do for this Scavenger Hunt of Kindness.

Give a random person a flower
Buy breakfast for an unsuspecting person
Write a note and let someone I don’t know that they are special and that God loves them
Go to the nursing home and pick a room and read to that person or let them share what ever memory they would like.
Hold the door open for someone
Smile- That can go along ways
Invite someone to dinner that may be eating alone
Buy a gift card at a store and give it to the person behind me
Take my grand-kids out and let them do a Random Act of Kindness
Do a video for a Facebook friend that may need a lift in his/her spirit

There are endless possibilities that I could do for others that doesn’t cost anything but a little bit of time. These acts of kindness isn’t only for them, but for myself. I think when we do for others, we also lift our spirits and helps us appreciate what we have.

When I think about all the blessings I have in my life, I would say I have a bounty of blessings. Here are just a few. I could write a book, but I won’t…

The other day during the prayer over the city, I was given a picture from a dear friend. I shared a dream I had and she had a picture that represented that dream.
My daughter Beckiah sent me a text message just to say she loved me and asked how my day was.
JJ asks me out of the blue what he can do and if he could help with anything. I had to think hard on what he could do for me though. But I let him and he was so proud.
I love to watch the birds outside and it is funny to see how they play together or hang out. The other day I was watching them on the power lines just sitting there. I know it’s weird. But they had me wondering why we can’t just be and sit and observe the world.
I have many wonderful friends that pray for me. And I appreciate those prayers. Even when I don’t say I’m having a hard time, they know and take it upon themselves to be there.
Health is a major thing. Yeah I have many health problems. At the same time, there are millions who have a lot more and young children dying every day from cancer and other diseases. There are countries who have no medical care and people are left to die. I’m very blessed to live in a country where there is medical care.
How can I leave out God? Well, I can’t. I wouldn’t be blessed without Him. He tells me no when the answer needs to be no. He lets me throw my temper tantrums and loves me anyhow. He knows my weaknesses and doesn’t leave me. Wow, not too sure others would do that to the degree God does.
I have the best kids and grandkids ever. Yeah, I may get mad or say stupid things. But that’s OK.
Chocolate is a great blessing too… It has a way of calming my soul and shutting my mouth when I need to say nothing… So something sweet goes in, so nothing sour comes out… OH yeah…
Notes in the mail. I kinda miss those because my mother in law would send a little thinking of you note and letting me know she is thinking about me. I still have some of those notes from her. When I get one out of nowhere I think of her and how nice that someone took the time to say hi and your in my prayers.
I get a kick out of this lady at church Evelyn. She always asks me how I’m doing and I start saying “I’m Fine”, then she finishes before I can say it and tells me, I know your fine, but your lying, lol. I find that funny for some reason. She knows me for who I am… So many at church are that way. They give me that look and I know they know, but I try to convince them anyhow, lol…
There are many many things I’m blessed for. Even for doing dishes that I don’t like doing or laundry. At least I have dishes and food to go on them. I have cloths that need to be washed and a washer and dryer to do them in. Not everyone can say that.
I don’t appreciate having to wash my car, but I have a car that runs and that needs washing.
Computers can be a hassle and run slow, but I can’t complain much because I have a computer to use and blog about these things on.
How can I leave out music. I love to listen to Casting Crowns, JJ Heller and most of the Christian singers and groups. I have heard many grumbles, myself included about music at church. I’m not into funeral music for church derives So some time ago, I came to the conclusion that I’m going to church for the message and worshiping And if I want to listen to my style of Christian music, I can turn on KLOVE (huge blessing for me) or go to a special at another church. Music is a gift and I appreciate those who get up and sing and lead at our church. Instead of complaining, I’m choosing to be blessed and enjoy the time I’m there.
Pastor Dean at our church allows a time to offer praise reports and what a blessing it is to see how God is working in everyone’s life. They may not have everything, but they have God and so do I.

I would love to hear what you are blessed with. People can name alot to grumble about, but what taking a chance and saying the good things going on in your life.

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