Week of Thanksgiving / Barn Dance

This Thanksgiving weekend went fast. :) Since Wednesday I've been running, which has been fun. I got off Wednesday at noon, which made it great for going to do some shopping. That evening I helped my family make pies for Thanksgiving dinner, clean house,& got the vegetable platter put together.

Thursday – Thanksgiving. We had two young people come be with us for the day, because they're in college and couldn't go all the way to New York with their folks & visit relatives. We also had a gentleman that just started coming to church with us this year. He doesn't have family near the area. The young people are a lot like my family : lots of fun, a little bit loud, and full of love. The older gentleman hadn't been to our house before so my friend decided that she was going to see if she could make him feel more at home, & she did an excellent job! I think by the time he left, he felt a lot more comfortable and had enjoyed the afternoon. The young people hung around until later in the evening and we all played games and laughed a lot. A joyful heart is good like a medicine. We should all be very healthy. :)

The next day was Friday, the day of the Barn Dance. If you have not read my other barn dance posts you need to. It will explain a barn dance. (to read it click on the header for this post and it will bring you to the barn dance post). I'm always amazed at how much fun it is. We had this one in a gymnasium, which was so much better than outside. It was definitely too cold to dance outside! The ocassion was for 3 young ladies that had birthdays this last month. It went really well. The dresses as usually were amazing. I got there at one in the afternoon, so I could help decorate, girls with their hair, & dresses. It was a riot in the girl’s bathroom; hoop skirts everywhere,( you have to realize that hoop skirts with crinoline take up a lot of room. Once you are in one you take up 3 times as much space as you usually would, if not more.) :) there were also dresses hanging on stalls, cabinets littered with hair accessories, makeup, and pins. :) There were girls one right after the other lining the walls, waiting to get changed, their hair done, or just watching the mess going on. I am sure that we were hilarious to watch. I never got to actually stop and just watch everyone, but from what I could see going on around me, it was amusing. After we were all ready, we went out to learn some of the dances, or visit. I had a wonderful time visiting with the people that were wandering, or as the evening progressed, the people I danced with. I really enjoyed getting to know some of my sisters in the Lord better! I met a neat couple from Virginia. They were my age and been married for about a year. They had a little girl that was adorable.
We had a competition during the last dance, to see whose circle could dance the longest. It was invigorating & tiring. ;) It was my favorite dance and the young man I danced with knew what he was doing, so he could actually make the part where you spin around fast go faster. I love to spin! We had a fabulous group;as a matter of fact it was so good, we won. Lol… The gentleman were wonderful gentlemen as usual. They checked on all the young ladies to make sure we weren't going to fall over, and then went to get us water. It was a perfectly wonderful night. During one of the dances, (this one is done in long lines) the young man that I was dancing with started doing a jig (or at least I think that is what you would call it. I do not know a lot about dances). It was neat to watch! He was fast!! :) I got to dance with my little brothers, and father again which is always so special. I love the fact that the families are the focus and everything is done as family groups! The little children are included for almost everything. It is the way it ought to be. We ended up going till sometime after midnight, and I was personally ready to stop. We all helped clean (it is amazing how much more quickly it goes, when there are so many helping). What a blessing! We all started to leave about then. Some of the families had to travel two or more hours home. I am so glad that they were able to make the trip. I can now connect faces to blogs that I've read, or people that I have heard about.

My funny, but crazy brother decided that it would be fun to go home and watch a movie after we got done cleaning. I do not know how he does it. Anyway, he had a friend come over after and they watch Chariots of Fire. I tried to watch it with them and made it about 30 minutes and had to desert them. I could not keep my eyes open anymore.

Saturday, we all slept in, which was wonderful. There was a bunch to clean up from the night before, such as our clothes, hair stuff, food containers, and so on. All of that stuff was basically in piles in the house, or still in the car. We spent the afternoon doing that. My brothers and 2 of our friends then went to see a group in Springfield that does improvisation. We had a great time. We went to get coffee afterward, need I say more. :) My family even got home and into bed rather early compared to the rest of the recent evenings.

Sunday was very restful and a really nice day. I talked to a few of my sisters in the Lord about what the Lord has been doing in our lives. It is fascinating that so many of us are dealing with the same things. I think it has to be the fact that we are all so busy with the holidays and the things that go with them. We all in different words basically said that we were having to constantly, persistently remind ourselves to be faithful in our time with the Lord, and stay focused on Him first. It is so encouraging to know that there are sisters in the Lord that understand what you are going through and are willing to share what they are going through. We can then all pray for one another and lift one another up by sending verses, notes, or giving each other a call if the chance should come up. The Lord has been good to me, by giving me this body. He is faithful, even when I am not.
After our church activates were over; verses, orchestra, bells, and choir. A group of us went to one of the family homes for chili and pictures of the barn dance. It was great getting to see picatures of things I missed. The pictures turned out beautifully and it looked like everyone had a good time. The people that took the pictures knew what they were doing, because they were perfect. The photographers captured what was taking place during each part of the evening. Fabulous…. After we looked at the 398 pictures!!!..... (if I have that amount wrong there, I am sorry. I think that was what they told me the amount was. : ) We all spent most of the evening eating and played a few family games. In all it was a busy but unforgettable weekend, and I came away richly blessed.:)

Quote on Attitudes

I received these from a lady that is ministering in China right now. They blessed me, and thought they might bless you all as well.


" I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou quotes ( American Poet, b. 1928)

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... We are in charge of our Attitudes. "
Charles R. Swindoll quotes


" Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become your habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character for it will become your destiny."
Frank Outlaw quotes

" Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be"
George Sheehan quote


" The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

" Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.
Mary Anne Radmacher quotes

" There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.
Washington Irving quotes


" Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."


" The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be"
Marcel Pagnol quotes


Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.

I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.
Pietro Aretino quotes

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
Winston Churchill quotes

One day at a time--this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful it will be worth remembering. "

" The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. "

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. "

You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.

Trusting God

My Mother sent me some great quotes and verses that blessed me this morning and I wanted to share them with you all.

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Job 13:15

Behold , I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 4:22
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To Thee I bring my care,
The care I cannot flee;
Thou wilt not only share,
But bear it all for me.
O loving Saviour, now to Thee,
I bring the load that wearies me.
Francis R. Havergal

He that lays his affairs and himself on God hath no pressing care; no care but the care of love, how to please, how to honor his Lord. And in this, too, depends on Him, both for skill and strength; and, touching the sucess of things, he leaves that as none of his to be burdened with, casts it on God, and since God careth for it, they need not both care. His care is sufficient. Hence springs peace, inconceivable peace.
Robert Leighton

Your afflictions are not eternal, time will end them, and so shall ye at length see the Lord's salvation; His love for you sleepeth not, it is still working for you; His salvation will not tarry nor linger; and suffering for Him is the nobelest cross out of Heaven. Your Lord hath the choice of ten thousand other crosses, besides this, to excersize you withal; but His wisdom and His love hath chosen this out for you, beside them all; and take it as the choice one, and make use of it. Let the Lord absolutely have the ordering of your evils and troubles, and put them off you, by recommending your crosss and your furnace to Him, who hath the skill to melt His own metal, and knoweth well what to do with His furnace.
Samuel Rutherford

Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith!
1John 5:4

What is victory over the world? It is to trust and then obey what God has said. It is to cut off as far as we may, every hold which everything out of God has over us; to study wherein we are weak, and there seek in His strength to be made strong. Be your temptation the love of pleasure, it is to forgo it, if of food to restrain it, if of praise of men, to put forward others rather than yourself, if of being right in the sight of men, be content to be misjudged, and keep silence; if of self-indulgence, use hardness; if display, cut off the occasion, and give to the poor; if of having thy own will, practice submission of it to the wills of others.


Brother Rutherford knew of what he spoke; see a short bio below.
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A Brief Life and Times of Samuel Rutherford
by William Carson
Before and During his Exile
Rutherford was born about the year 1600 near Nisbet, Scotland. Little is known of his early life. In 1627 he earned a M.A. from Edinburgh College, where he was appointed Professor of Humanity. He became pastor of the church in Anwoth in 1627.
Anwoth was a rural parish, and the people were scattered in farms over the hills. He had a true pastor's heart, and he was ceaseless in his labours for his flock. We are told that men said of Rutherford, "He was always praying, always preaching, always visiting the sick, always catechising, always writing and studying." Of course it helps when you get up at 3:00 every morning!
His first years in Anwoth, though, were touched with sadness. His wife was ill for a year and a month, before she died in their new home. Two children also died during this period. Nevertheless God used this time of suffering to prepare Rutherford to be God's comforter of suffering people.
Rutherford's preaching was unparalleled. While he was not a good speaker, his preaching drew great attention. An English merchant said of him, "I came to Irvine, and heard a well-favoured, proper old man (Dickson) with a long beard, and that man showed me all my heart. Then I went to St. Andrews, where I heard a sweet, majestic-looking man (Blair), and he showed me the majesty of God. After him I heard a little, fair man (Rutherford), and he showed me the loveliness of Christ."
In 1636 Rutherford published a book defending the doctrines of grace (Calvinism) against Armininism. This put him in conflict with the Church authorities, which were dominated by the English Episcopacy. He was called before the High Court, deprived of his ministerial office, and exiled to Aberdeen.
* This exile was a sore trial for the beloved pastor. He felt that being separated from his congregation was unbearable. However, because of his exile, we now have many of the letters he wrote to his flock, and so the evil of his banishment has been turned into a great blessing for the church worldwide.

After His Exile
In 1638 the struggles between Parliament and King in England, and Presbyterianism vs. Episcopacy in Scotland culminated in momentous events for Rutherford. In the confusion of the times, he simply slipped out of Aberdeen and returned to his beloved Anwoth. But it was not for long. The Kirk (Church of Scotland) held a General Assembly that year, restoring full Presbyterianism to the land. In addition, they appointed Rutherford a Professor of Theology of St. Andrews, although he negotiated to be allowed to preach at least once a week.
The Westminster Assembly began their famous meetings in 1643, and Rutherford was one of the five Scottish commissioners invited to attend the proceedings. Although the Scots were not allowed to vote, they had an influence far exceeding their number. Rutherford is thought to have been a major influence on the Shorter Catechism.
During this period in England, Rutherford wrote his best-known work, "Lex Rex," or "The Law, the King." This book argued for limited government, and limitations on the current idea of the Divine Right of Kings.
When the monarchy was restored in 1660, it was clear that the author of "Lex Rex" would could expect trouble. When the summons came in 1661, charging him with treason, and demanding his appearance on a certain day, Rutherford refused to go. From his deathbed, he answered, "I must answer my first summons; and before your day arrives, I will be where few kings and great folks come." He died on 30th March 1661.

Another good word quote

In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get
through, but rather how many can get through to you. -Mortimer J. Adler,
philosopher, educator and author (1902-2001)

Waltz Class

I had my first waltz class this last Tuesday evening. I was so much fun! I've always wanted to learn how to Waltz and Swing dance. I have never done it, but my mother and I have talked about it since I was in my mid-teens. I think it's beautiful to watch a couple that knows how to waltz together.

It is so much harder than I ever thought it would be though. Oh my goodness! It was a stretch for my mind to get my feet to go where they were supposed to. I kept wanting to use my right foot over and over again. Then when I thought I was getting the steps down(keep in mind I was just doing 'the box'. This is where you go back on right, out on left, together with right, then forward with left, over with right, and together with left). :) About the time I thought I was getting the simple, but mind boggling right, left, right, left. The teacher put me with a partner. He was very sweet, even when I stepped on his feet.:) He was an older gentleman, & knew how to waltz, which was a very good thing. He was learning how to lead. Leading! What an important word. Growing over the years, I 've been taught that the man should lead, and I believe it. Watching everyone in the class trying to learn to waltz together and my sweet, but poor partner, I realized in another way how important it is for the man to lead. When I forgot to watch for his lead and we both tried to lead we got all messed up, me going one way and him another. It was bad... When he forgot to relay clearly where he wanted me to follow next, and I wasn't sure which way he was going, it was horrible. In waltzing the man has to telegraph to an extent, so that the lady knows what to do next. He will put pressure on your arm by pushing or pulling, so that you will know which direction he is planning to go. When he fails to telegraph what he direction will be, we end up falling, stumbling, and stepping all over one another. . It is such a parallel with life. If you are in a leadership position and not leading, so the followers can follow a clear path, everyone gets muddled up. Since it was on the dance floor and we were learning it was amusing, when we had the little mess ups; but in real life, it would not have been amusing. I needed this gentleman to lead me, whether it was with the feel of his hand moving one direction or another, or a little bit of pressure on the arm of the side that needed to be moving. In life I need to be led, whether it is by the gentle reminder of someone's actions, or words, or a little bit more pressure from some one in leadership who is correcting me before I stumble all over myself and possinbly cause someone else to fall!. Following! Another very important word. For the followers part, I need to be willing without a moments hesitation to change where I thought we were going, to where ever he is now leading. I need to watch carefully for those signals, and then adjust so I am in step with them. After a while the dancing got to be easier. I could quit conciously thinking' right, left, right left', and just waited for those subtle signals. I could usually follow my partner. Towards the end I even got to learn a 'turn'!. That was beautiful to watch and fun to do once I was able. The teacher brought up a really good point that I was surprised and impressed with. She explained how the gentlemen would continue to hold onto one of our hands and gently lead us through the turn and around in a cirlcle until we were back in front of them. She then said "There will be 3 steps before you turn around and can see him again. " Ladies make sure you let him lead you! Let him signal how quickly he wants to go. If you anticipate the steps and try to speed it up you might get there before him.You want to get there together. Walk slowly & let him bring you along." I loved it! My mom and I both looked at each other and had to smile. :) It was great! I had no idea that I would like it as much as I did, or that I would see so many good lessons.

Anyway, this post ended up being almost as much a reminder about leading and following as it was a story about the fun & excitement that I had on Tuesday. I am looking forward to going back this coming Tuesday, learning some more, and practicing my 'following.'. :)

Laugh out loud, at the movies

My sister and I met my brothers in town the other night and went to see a movie together. As it ended up the guys went to see a different movie than my sister and I did. So much for going to the movies together. :) After we set down, close to the back rows an elderly couple set down behind us. My sister and I were watching the trivia questions about actors & movies, and discussing how many of the questions we didn't know the answers to. About that time the elder man started yelling to his wife about the questions on the screen. It was hilarious! He must have been hard of hearing, because he was yelling out his questions & she was yelling the answers back, which was almost as funny.. :) At one point during the question and answer session, he asked his wife a question, that my sister and I had been discussing. We were all waiting for the answer and two of the other questions on the screen had already been asked and answered. So now the wife hollers in her 'conversational tone' to her husband, "Are they ever going to give us the answer"? I laughing, finally turned around to agree with her and we all started talking. We discussed with each other what we thought the answer was in tones more suited to the room, rather then the loud and amusing tones used by her husband and herself. After she was done chatting with us, we turned back around, and at this time her husband asked her what we had been talking about. He of course hadn't really caught much of our conversation, so instead of asking me to talk louder, he just waited until I had turned back around and then shouted the question so loudly that ,once again ,the whole last five rows could hear.!!! The screen finally did show everyone the answer and the gentleman behind us laughing, shouted, this time to me I think, "Well you all had some of it right. 50% is not bad!" About that time the movie started so it got quiet,....... for a moment......

It was a suspense movie but it was hilarious. I guess the elderly couple acting so naturally had made a lot of the folks feel at home because now it turned into audience participation!! The guy next to my sister kept cheering for the lady trying to get away from this bad guy and bemoaning every bad that happened, slapping his knee and whooping all the while! Every time something startling would happen the teenaged girls sitting toward the front would scream. While all of this was going on the couple behind us would start back up their benevolent bellowing about something he hadn't caught! By the time the movie was over, it was all I could do not to turn around and tell the couple that it was great to meet them and get to enjoy the movie with them. We did end up asking them what they thought and just chit chatting a bit. It was a fun evening and on the way home my sister and I kept getting the giggles over the whole experience. Over all we had a blast!

Poem from Streams in the desert

Great truths are dearly bought, the common truths,

Such as we give and take from day to day,

Come in the common walk of easy life,

Blown by the careless wind across our way.

Great truths are greatly won, not found by chance,

Nor wafted on the breath of summer dream;

But grasped in the great struggle of our soul,

Hard buffeting with adverse wind and stream.

But in the day of conflict, fear, and grief,

When the strong hand of God, put forth in might,

Plows up the subsoil of our stagnant heart,

And brings the imprisoned truth seed to the light.

Wrung from the troubled spirit, in hard hours

Of weakness, solitude, and times of pain,

Truth springs like harvest from the well-plowed field,

And our soul feels it has not wept in vain.

Our knowledge of God is enlarged when we are brought through circumstances that cause us to draw closer to His will. When difficulties come into our path, we can thank God that He is taking the time to teach us something new and important. We can then lean on His everlasting arms of comfort, and love. The poem made me think of the 91st psalm: He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:

Quote

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to bechewed and digested. -Francis Bacon, essayist, philosopher, and statesman(1561-1626)

This is good!!!!