"when you're in love"

Bubba and I as well as all of David and Erika's precious things arrived home safe and intact this afternoon at four.

We have unloaded the van and retireved the cat for her appointment in the morning. It is almost 7:30 and I will be in bed by eight. There have been only a few times in my life when I have been this tired.

The air conditioner in the "man cave" is broken again.....this will be the third time. Every time we come home from a trip the upstairs room is 99 degrees and climbing. The repair man will be here in the morning.

Bubba will sit in my chair down here tonight. He has to relax before he can sleep.......me, I just go on to bed and to sleep.

Again, we thank God for His watchcare over us.

We didn't have any more "knock down drag outs." Too tired I think.......it takes energy and concentration to have those.

I will close with this quote from Andy Rooney that I read recently:

"I've learned that.....................when you're in love it shows."

from...c

to all who are wondering

We are in Cartersville, Ga, about 50 miles from downtown Atlanta.

We just arrived after 12 hours on the road.

We are excruciatingly tired and will be going to bed soon.

We plan to take it easy in the morning and then go to Lenox mall for a few hours.

We will then head for Savannah after lunch.

We feel very good about what we got done in Chicago.

Until tomorrow then.............cathy zzzzzzzzzzz

the results

Earlier this week bubba sent out a political survey to determine how liberal or conservative you are. The top score and most conservative would be a score of 40.

The absolute most conservative member of our family was Erika* who scored a perfect "40."

Erika 40*
David 38
Bubba 37
Robbie C. 37
Keith 36
Cathy 34
Sally 33
Estelle 31
Teri 29
Mark 28
Rita 24
Mitch 21

All is well here in Arlington Heights. We have gotten a ton done today.
Our van will be packed to the max when we leave Sunday morning and try to make it as far as Atlanta.

Only one casualty. Harry pulled a really nice pie plate off of the table and it broke into a thousand pieces. It didn't seem to bother him one little bit.

We are tired, spent.......in a good way.

Has anyone considered the miracle of God to sell this house so quickly in this depressed economy and when a bunch of other houses in this neigborhood still sit with their "for sale" signs blowing in the wind?

We are amazed at His work on our behalf.

From the packers.......

our drive north

After:

two and one half "knock down drag outs"

two small zip lock bags of boiled peanuts

one major thunderstorm

one small dairy queen ice cream

one really bad meal at Cracker Barrel

several $4. 17 a gallon tanks of gas

one heavenly bed at the hampton inn

six John mcArthur CDs about the end times

and over 1,000 miles,

we finally made it to Arlington Heights earlier this afternoon.

We got our Lou Malnati's Pizza for dinner and it was unbelievably good. Bubba and David are cleaning out the garage and I am writing this blog. I've seen another heavenly bed upstairs into which I will be heading into very soon.

There is lots of work to do here and the temperature and humidity feel like we are still in Savannah.

Please, if you haven't already sent in your score to the political question that Bubba sent out....Amanda, Sally, Teri, etc. please do so quickly. We are waiting to publish them.

I do like Bubba's new glasses. The lady at the store helped him pick them out. They are fitting because they are aviator glasses and that's why I like them.

The funniest sign that I saw on the trip was this one in front of a beautiful farm:

USED COWS FOR SALE

Please tell me what a person would do with a used cow???

From the traveler.....cathy

here we go again

Honestly readers, what Bubba should do with his white paneled truck is go into the moving and storage business.

Tomorrow we leave, driving to Chicago with most of the boxes we used in our most recent move, along with quilts to cover furniture, and lots of wrapping paper and bubble wrap.

So David and Erika watch out for us. We are coming your way and we are loaded, but the load is light because the boxes are empty. We'll see you Thursday if the Lord is willing.

We are also in the process of dealing with the house that Nana and Aunt Dottie lived in. So much there to sort through, pack up, and take to various places. Somehow this difficult task fell onto just Bubba and I and it is going very slowly.

You may notice in the pictures above that Bubba is wearing sunglasses.

Yesterday morning he realized that he had misplaced his perscription glasses. We think they fell out of his pocket while loading trash into bags at Nana's house. Anyway, rather than search through all of the trash in the 90 degree heat, he decided to get new ones.

So the question is:

1. What do you think?

2. Did he choose the right style without me there to help him?

I'll reveal my answer in the next blog.

Cathy

please read this whole blog:)

If you look closely at these pictures you will not see the lightening.

I sat out back yesterday evening for a long while. My goal was to take pictures of the lightening that was putting on a dazzling show just off on the horizon.

Every time there was a beautiful streak I took a picture but I never captured the flash.

I wonder why? It flashed faster than I could press the button. If I only could have anticipated the exact moment it would flash. How do people get those amazing pictures of the lightening?

I will say, "timing is everything."

"The clouds poured out water; the skies gave off a sound; Thy arrows flashed here and there. The sound of Thy thunder was in the worldwind; the lightenings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook." Psalm 77: 17&18

I'm reading from the book of Revelation, the book that comes with the promise that if you read it you will be blessed. Not with riches of silver or gold, but with spiritual riches of knowledge and understanding of the things of God.

The church at Philadelphia was called the "faithful church." Jesus had no words of condemnation for them. He did have these words:

1. You have a little power. (spiritual power from the Holy Spirit to stand firm in Christ and

do the work of His service.)

2. You have kept My word. (obedience to the word of God; you have done what the Bible says)

3. You have not denied My name. (not denying the name of Christ often brought death)

"Because of your perserverance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth."

Jesus told them that He will "keep them from the hour of testing." They will be taken up to be with Him before the time of tribulation on this earth begins.

I wonder how many people skip the blogs that I write that contain Scripture?

Whenever you have opportunity, read the word of God. It contains everything you need to know about life. All of the questions that you want to know the answers to are in this book. Sit down and read it from cover to cover. Read it slowly and ask the Most High God to give you understanding. It may take you a year or two years. Perservere.

My heart longs to tell people about Christ. I will always be available to do that.

Love, Cathy

the fury of nature

Here where we stay, on Thursday, at about 4:00 pm, we had a wonderful afternoon thunderstorm. Lots of lightening and thunder and a good, steady rain which we needed so badly.

Over by Lake Mayer the storm turned destructive.

The house that you see in the first picture belongs to a friend of ours. One of those old, massive oak trees that one sees often in Savannah was picked up by the fierce wind and put down on top of his house.

After dinner last night we drove over to survey the damage. There was a red sign posted on a pine tree left untouched that said DESTROYED. The whole house lay in ruins around the tree that had fallen into the living room, dining room, and down the hall.

There was a massive crane very slowly and methodically lifting pieces of the tree off of the roof, one at a time.

We talked to Kenny for a long while watching this process. He had not been home when this happened, thankfully. There was other damage in the area but nothing of this magnitude. The church above is on the corner of Montgomery Crossroad and Heatherwood Drive.

Just thought I would report this story..........more later, maybe. Cathy

happy birthday amanda

June 20, 1976 - Sunday - Father's Day

We were having a feast at Papa and Gi's house to celebrate.

It was 10 days after your arrival date. We had decided you were not coming anytime soon.

On Saturday I had scrubbed both bathrooms and vacuumed the floor. We had just moved in to our brand new home on Wilmington Island.

About 3:00 am I woke up in pain. Bubba and I made our way to St. Joesphs in the wee hours of the morning.

You were born at 1:30 pm right in the middle of what would have been our Father's Day celebration.

I had been told all through my pregnancy that I would have another boy. It took me a while to believe the news that my dream had come true. When I saw you for the first time I was overwhelmed with gladness. You weighed 7" 13" and were 20 inches long.

Soon the room was filled with pink flowers and tiny little pink dresses. Little did I know it then, but my joy had just begun.

That was 32 years ago. Today I cherish you more than then. You are my daughter and my true friend. I have watched you go through so many difficult times in your life and I have been amazed at how you have dealt with each trial in a mature and godly way. I have watched you grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To see the wife and mother you are today gives testimony to the working of the Holy Spirit in your life and I give all the praise to Him.

You are a treasure to all who know you.

Enjoy today.....I know you will.

Love, your mom

ps.....send the dates for Sept. so that I can block off the condo for you all.

# 10,000

Only seven hundred more hits before my 10,oooth reader. I am so excited.

The only way that I will know who you are is if you comment and let me know. All the site meter does is count the hits.

I will be looking forward to that day. I average about 45 hits a day so it should take about two to three weeks.

I am now on Facebook as well. It is probably a young people's thing, but it is fun and I already have several friends. It is a big deal to see how many friends you can get. Sorry about that blunder last night where I sent my site out to everyone. I did get some new friends by doing that though.

I love being at the computer and it is a big time-waster for me. If I ever start selling on e-bay it will be a full time job.

I went to see my third grade student today who is now my radiologist. Such a strange sensation to have a little girl I taught give me my mamogram report. She is still so sweet. They say she has the sharpest eye anywhere to detect a problem. I was fine which is always a good piece of news.

Lisa, I bought the deer repellent you suggested today. In just a little while I will go out and give what few flowers I have left a good dose. The lady at the store said that it really works well.

David and Erika just finished signing the papers on their house sale. We are so excited for them as God seems to be moving this process right along. It will still be into August before they get here as David has yet to go on the mission trip to Romania. Please keep them in your prayers.

Bubba and I were just talking about how good God is to us and how we take so much for granted.
We need to be in a constant mode of thanksgiving for His daily graces.

I have started to read and study the book of Revelation. It comes with a promise:

Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is the one one reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near."

become like a child

A few blogs ago, while I was in the midst of being in the Hollinsworth's home which is filled with babies, I commented that there were lessons to be leaned from the children.

First let me muse a little about them;

They are born in sin that is for sure. The Bible tells us that very clearly.
They want what they want now and not a minute later.
They are demanders, they want their own way and they cry if they don't get it.

But O, their little minds are not clouded with the ways of the world.
They fully trust that their needs will be met.
They are so teachable.
They respond to discipline....they learn from it.

Jesus was teaching His disciples in this passage from Matthew 18:1-4
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them and said,

"Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "

Christ our Savior used a little child as an example to teach his disciples a lesson.

We have to remember that the disciples were still thinking at this point in Jesus' ministry that the kingdom would be an earthly kingdom set up on this earth and they were curious as to who would be the greatest.

Jesus very cleverly used a child as an example. He told them that they must be converted and become like a little child;

You must humble yourself
You must trust me
You must be teachable
You must accept my discipline
You must not be concerned with this world

(all of the things that I mentioned above that I admire in a child)

And then, Jesus said, "You will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Not as the world think of greatness, but as our Lord sees us.

Bow your head and ask God to teach you to humble yourself before Him as a little child; He will......and then the process begins.

Jesus said, "Become like a child."

the aftermath

In this picture you can see the almost untouched hush puppies. I did eat two of them..... just couldn't resist.
These crab legs were some of the best I've ever eaten. They came out of their shells sooooo easily.

The only regret I have is that I couldn't eat more.
This picture is of Bubba. He didn't know I had brought my camera and it took him a bit by surprise.

After eating four servings of legs he had to quit because he got a cramp in his hand.

In other news of the day, Amanda fell halfway down her steep, wood stairway this afternoon. She doesn't think anything is broken. She hit on her bottom pretty hard and took some skin off of her arm. We are just glad she wasn't carrying a baby when she fell.

Jake woke up with a virus and has been throwing up all day. Only little Eli has escaped unharmed.

Well, after two blogs I think I will call it a night.

I must go get some exercise......cathy

crab legs

For Mother's Day Bubba promised to take me for "all you can eat" crab legs.

Today is the appointed day. We plan to be there at 5:30 when the restaurant opens to start eating.

We have eaten sparingly today to be ready for this sumptuous treat.

The Oyster Bar, as the restaurant is called, has these yummy little balls of hush puppies, sweet, with honey butter to dip in. I love them but will have to resist as their sole purpose is to fill you up and that means you will eat less crab legs. Also I eat only a few pieces of lettuce out of the salad for the same reason.

Now I know you must be saying, "What lengths she goes to for this event." Well, it is a big event in my life as it doesn't happen very often. So.....I must prepare.

Tonight I will write to let you know how the crab leg event went down.

Until then.....my mouth is watering

I don't believe in signs from the sky, but I am an Aquarius.....a water baby.

Hence my desire to be by the ocean and eat from its waters.....c

happy fathers day

I bought this little outfit and the saddle oxfords that Jake has on. If you ask him to pose for a picture, he gets very upset. It took three separate disciplines to get a halfway good shot. This is not one of them

This is a picture of Eli at the Embassy Suites Hotel. He was mesmerized by this floor to ceiling mirror that was in the bedroom. He spent much of his time staring at himself.

After the boat ride we spent some time at the playground by the river.

Jake was very happy for this photo, but cried when we told him it was time to leave.

Consensus: It is very hard to be three.

Now this is a very happy little "swinger." Notice how his left hand is balled up.

One more thing about Eli....he is getting teeth and he is able to bite his food.

It's raining everywhere but here. The sky is dark and I just heard thunder, but no rain for us. It will wait until I go out for my bike ride in a little bit. I love storms and there hasn't been one in a while. I sure hope this materializes.

I probably shouldn't be on this computer during this thunderstorm. If everything suddenly blacks out, you will know what happened.

I bought Jake some sunglasses when we were in Washington. Amanda says that he loves them, but instead of putting the legs of the frame behind his ears, he puts them over them. That must be very uncomfortable. She said when he put them on yesterday, he said, "These are grammy's glasses."

Lucy just called Bubba to wish him a Happy Father's Day. She couldn't ever get it out, but she did manage to say "I love you" before she hung up.

Having a bike has revolutionized my life. I didn't particularly like walking and would find any excuse not to exercise. Now I can hop on and pedal for 30 to 45 minutes, break a good sweat, burn off some calories, and it is all pleasurable for me. Plus it is fun to be out and about in the neighborhood. I highly recommend.

Just a reminder......don't forget to read you Bible every. If you don't understand it keep reading. Ask God to give you understanding. He will.

Sincerely....cathy

Two little boys on a boat

Eli wore his "crab" outfit to the seafood restaurant

Granddaddy holds Eli in his life jacket

While Mark holds Jake

Two brothers hard at play.

I mentioned that we rode over to a restaurant last Saturday night on a boat. What a way to get your appetite ready to eat seafood. Jake and Eli were a little "stiff" but we attributed it to the life vests. I think the picture of Mark and Jake is particularly good and should be framed for posterity.

The deer came back last night and ate my beautiful petunias. They were white in a black pot. Now there is nothing. He left his footprints and that was all.

I read on the Internet that a company is selling urine from wild animals like coyotes and foxes to sprinkle around your yard. This is supposed to keep the deer away. I am tempted because flowers are expensive, but I do have a bit of a problem paying money for bottled urine.

Let me know if you have a better way to keep the sweet little fellows away from my yard.

I see by my sitemeter that the 10,000 mark is coming soon. I want to know who the person is who reads my post on that number. I am not going to send out a prize......I am just curious.

Now, the evening is falling and I must ride my bike and water my flowers.....

You all have a restful night with dreams as sweet as mine were last night. c

a few pictures from out trip

It is always good to come home after a trip. God again blessed us with traveling mercy and for that we give Him praise.

Lindsey and Bryan thank you so much for keeping my flowers alive.

Frankie, that rain you mentioned when you called this morning isn't here....what happened to it?

Poor Bubba had to drive the whole way. Sleepiness overtook me after lunch and I couldn't help myself.

Our trips were wonderful. We really miss the little guys in the pictures above. I have more to share tomorrow as my blog will be short tonight.

It always takes me a little while to get re-oriented after a trip. I have always found that the best thing to do is just go to bed and start anew in the morning.

But, there are some potatoes stinking in the pantry. I'll have to deal with that first.

Night - Night

Cathy

"a diamond in the rough"

We are back in Lanexa, VA, after a very fun trip to Washington DC.

Last night Bubba took me to the Sweetwater Cafe where we think the best food in the world is served. I got a crab cake and a small fillet. He got salmon with a special sauce. It was delectable.

Amanda wanted to stay at the mall, so she and the boys ate at Mickey D's. We begged her to come with us but she wanted to shop more than she wanted to eat.

Everything went so well until this morning.

ABH planned to be at Macy's at 8:00 for the beginning of the "one day sale." Bubba was to take her and come back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave. Amanda was running a little behind, and everybody knows what that does to Bub, so she had to leave in a bit of haste.

When we picked her up we left to go downtown to another Macy's. She shops when things are deeply discounted for her e-bay business lest you think she is the ringleader of the mad shopper's society.

At some point Amanda realized that she no longer was in possession of her diamond necklace; a special gift from Mark two Christmases ago.

Calls were made to Macy's and nothing had been found and turned in. Promises were made that they would call if they found it. Fat chance of that.

Now this is where the miracle comes into play. I had been praying that God would miraculously help us to find her treasure.

Three hours later we made the decision to return to the scene and search ourselves.

Bubba took us back to the exit that we had left from and we hurriedly combed every area of the floor where she had shopped, all to no avail.

In her haste this morning to leave the hotel room she put her jewelry in her pants pocket. She later put on her earrings and her rings, but not the necklace.

Then she remembered that she had put her hand in her pocket and felt what she thought were crumbs........while waiting for us to pick her up she decided to fling those crumbs out of her pocket and onto the ground.....and off we went.

Unknowingly she had tossed her necklace instead of what she thought were crumbs. (Mommies always have weird things in their pockets)

As a last ditch effort she went to check outside of the exit door and amazingly there it was sparkling in the sunshine. It was laying right where the people come and go out of the store but no one had seen it.

That was a miracle.....an answer to prayer. We couldn't get over how God had led us back to the beautiful diamond. He had protected it and had it waiting for us when we came back.

We praise Him for His involvement in the little things that are big in our lives. Things like this happen all the time when you live in the grace of our loving Father who cares about His children.

His grateful child, Cathy

the heart of a child

We are in Washington, our former place of residence. We are staying at the Embassy Suites at Tyson's Corner.

It is a privilege to bring our two grandsons on this adventure.

I think that Jake is like his dad Mark in his love for hotels. It all seems like magic to him. He calls it a castle. This is why I love children so much.......

Experiencing life through the eyes of a child........."the wonder of it all." I guess that was one of the reasons I chose to be a teacher. Children keep you "thinking young," and that, my dear friends is the secret to being happy.

This morning at breakfast Jake came running up to me and said breathlessly, "Grammy, you are a genius." Now we all know that is not true, but he sure made my day.

Granddaddy and Jake are off together at this moment. You know, to do some man things. It is nice that the little guy has gotten to the point where those two can really enjoy themselves.

To "think like a child" means that we see the wonder and excitement in everything. Looking at the sky still amazes, standing by the ocean still fills with awe, Christmas still thrills. It's having the heart of a child. You are still teachable. You rise at 6 am ready to see what the new days holds. Everything is an adventure.

Jesus said; "Suffer the little children to come unto me."
"Unless you come as a child........................."

There's a teaching there for us..............cathy

a wonderful weekend

The Blue Heron restaurant is on the other side of the Chicahominy River in Virginia.

A large pontoon boat picked us up and shuttled us over for dinner. Jake and Eli were bundled up in life preservers which looked a lot like straight jackets. Jake was a little nervous and Eli looked like he had just been shot out of a cannon.

The food was delicious.....lots of crab cakes and crab legs with drawn butter. We ate well and the boys were good and we left the restaurant fully satisfied. As we were walking back to the boat Jake expressed that he thought he would like to go back home in the car. We explained that there was no car to go home in. On the ride back across the river he loosened up a little bit......I think he may have even enjoyed it.

Today after church we were invited over to a couple's house after church for Sunday dinner. Again we feasted on delicious, lovingly prepared food. Such an honor to be with people who love the Lord and love to open their homes.

One more thing. Amanda and Mark think Jake may be somewhat musically inclined. I was a little skeptical until he sat on the piano bench and belted out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to his own accompaniment. Keeping in mind that being his grammy I may be prejudiced and also that I have no known musical ability except for singing hymms in the shower, I do think they may be on to something. We'll see.................

Tomorrow we leave for out trip to DC. It should only take us a couple of hours. We will try to get an early start. It will be in the 100's for today and tomorrow. We hope for some relief soo.

All I have to say is, "Thank you Lord for air-conditioning.." Cathyc

102 in the shade

It's that time of day when grandparents collapse.

Both babies are down for their naps and the house is quiet.

Bubba and I took the little ones to Chick-fil-a for lunch and then over to Target to get some "spray and wash." In the baby world one cannot exist without this product.

According to Jake, one cannot step into Target without purchasing popcorn..........no matter that you've just eaten a full lunch. Once that was done we could get what we needed and head for home.

I need to mention at this point that the high here today is 102 degrees which drains the very life out of you not even taking into account the handling of two babies.

Seeing that both were starting to lose consciousness on the way home, we resorted to singing to them to keep them awake. If they drift off in the car you miss the long three hour afternoon nap, so, basically we will do anything to keep their eyes wide open.

The songs have to be loud and lively with funny faces and clapping of hands. This gets old ten minutes into a thirty minute trip, but you keep at it because you keep thinking of that three hour nap situation.

Once we got into the house and changed everybody's diapers, it was time to gently lay them down in their beds What a happy thought!

Low and behold Eli had filled his diaper and had to be changed again. Then he cried acting like he didn't want to go to sleep after all. What little teasers they are!

After the last one was bedded down and prayed over, Bubba and I staggered to our respective resting places.

Believe it or not, when they wake up we will be missing them and ready to start the circus all over again.

Amanda & Mark will be home when they get up and our one on one time will be over. Parents rightfully take precedence. That is how it should be.

To read and sleep for me...........more later...............cathy

full time grandparents

One is never quite prepared for the intensity of caring for babies and toddlers. They demand your undivided attention and they get it willingly and gratefully.

I like to study their faces as they play. They are so focused on what they are doing. They memorize things so easily. Jake learned all of his letters and the sounds they make by watching a video several times.

The Bible reminds us that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child and that we do well to discipline it out of their hearts. Jake is learning so well what is right and what is wrong. He forgets sometimes, but I can see tremendous progress.

I asked Amanda today how she does it, how she makes it through each day with her sanity intact, but then I think back and remember that I was once where she is today. We attribute it to one thing, God's grace to us one day at a time.

Today I was in the potty room and Jake busted in the closed door saying, "Hi grammy!" I returned the greeting and he ran out leaving the door open. He quickly returned with his "Handy Manny" tool set to fix the pipes at the back of the toilet. He is so happy all of the time.

Little Eli is doing amazing things.....He loves to eat, he moves at the speed of light, and he just loves Mickey Mouse. He doesn't like to go to bed and his has the sweetest little blond fuzz on his head that I love to smell.

I take it all in. It is such a special time in my life. All of these babies are growing so fast. I don't want to miss a thing.

By eight pm all is quiet. Eli has stopped fussing and Jake has stopped talking about everything under the sun. It is time for us to sleep and rejuvinate because they will be up at first light in the morning.

Rest well Amanda and Mark on your little getaway....your babies are sound asleep.

All I can say is..............."what an amazing gift God has blessed us with."

"Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Light in whom there is no shadow of turning." (a favorite verse of mine I think from the book of James)

"How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? Is forever enough?"
(from a favorite song of mine)

Love, Cathy

we arrived safely

We arrived safely to the Hollingsworth home at about 3:30 pm after leaving Atlanta right on 8:00 this morning. It was a very uneventful trip. It seemed to pass very quickly as Bub and I had a lot to talk about. We found a new Bar-b-que restaurant in North Carolina. It tasted just like Aunt Dottie's pig-pickings used to taste.

The boys were excited to see us and we have had a good time visiting and now it is time for bed. We just ingested Amanda's home cooked derby pie. It was delightful.

Tomorrows expected high is 96 degrees so we won't venture far. The air conditioning here feels delightful and Bubba and I will be keeping Jake and Eli while Amanda and Mark go away for a couple of days.

I remember back to our days as young parents and how wonderful it was to leave it all behind if only for a few days. We wish them well. They want to sleep late and have an adult sit down meal together. That is why we are here...............and also to get to love up on the little ones a bit.

I can't send pictures because I am on our laptop. Will save them all up for when we get home.

As always......c

examine yourselves continued

This morning I wrote from JC Ryle's book, four special evidences of the true Christian's relation to God. Please be sure to read first.

The first one stated that true Christians are led by His Spirit.

God's children know without a doubt that His Spirit is in them. He leads and guides with God's word as His standard. He will always instruct you in the way of righteousness. The believer knows a sense of well-being that He is being led along by God's Spirit. The Spirit will always point you to Scripture as you make decisions and travel along the pathways of life.

If it doesn't match up to Scripture, it's not the Holy Spirit telling you what to do.

One special way that the Spirit works in us is that the true believer has a longing for God's word and the truths that it holds. This person has a genuine seeking heart. This believer does not have to have a college degree to understand the Scripture. He just cries out to God and He will bless him with knowledge.

Secondly, true believers have the feelings of adopted children toward God their Father.

A believer has been transferred from the the kingdom of darkness headed up by Satan himself to the glorius Kingdom of light belonging to God Almighty! He has not only reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ's blood, but He has actually adopted us as His own dear children. If we are true believers, we think of Him as our Father. God is an all good Father who loves us perfectly. He gives us good gifts and He disciplines us to righteousness. Best of all we can trust Him unequivocally.

Thirdly, true Christians have the witness of the Spirit in their consciences.

The Spirit will let a true believer know by God's word when he is sinning. That is why we have to read the Bible every day so that we know what it says. The Spirit will also agree with our Spirit about the true believer's relationship with God. Because of God's Spirit within us we can know without a doubt we are His true adopted children.

Lastly, all of the true sons of God will take part in Jesus' suffering.

Jesus did not die a gruesome death on the cross so that we wouldn't have to experience any suffering while on this earth. All of the trials and tribulations of this life are given to true believers for our spiritual growth. It takes the hard times and the suffering to make us desire the things of God.

If we are real Christians we will suffer in this life, but not to fear. The Holy Spirit will lead us through and you will know for sure that He is with you. Keep in mind always........... the Holy Spirit is God Himself.

O to be more like Christ....to be ready when the clouds break open to reveal the Son of Glory.

All of us need to examine our hearts, friends and family. I want us to be able to enjoy heaven together.

Love, Cathy

PS The headings are JC Ryles - the writings are mine.

examine yourselves......

The book by JC Ryle, "Are You Ready For The End Of Time," struck a nerve with me.

It was definitely a book for our times even though he wrote it in the late eighteen hundreds.

And then this morning I read this verse from II Corinthians 12:5......

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!

Mr Ryle gave what he called "special evidences" of the true Christian's relation to God.

1. True Christians are led by His Spirit.

Romans 8:14 "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

2. True Christians have the feelings of adopted children toward their Father in heaven.

Romans 8:15 "Ye have not received again the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

3. True Christians have the witness of the Spirit in their consciences.

Romans 8:16 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God."

4. All the sons of God take part in the suffering of Christ.

Romans 8:17 ""If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ, if so be that we
suffer with Him."

So there in His word God laid out the measure. At a later time, hopefully today, I will do my best to explain these standards a little further.

It is very important that we be READY when Jesus returns!

cherish is the word

I like music.......the oldies and the new ones. Bubba and I were in Johnny Harris' the other night and they were playing songs from my dating era. This was before Bubba came into my life.

The song was "Cherish." It was a "summer romance." I thought I was in love with the boy.
He had a turquoise blue Mustang and this was "our song." The "romance" didn't last long. It ended on the beach at Hilton Head on a beautiful September Saturday afternoon. He broke my heart and I thought it would never heal. It did!

Bubba and I always laugh when we hear that song. He knew the guy and it wasn't long after that sorrowful breakup that he asked me out.

It is amazing the memories that song brought back. I hadn't thought of that time of my life in years and then all of a sudden I remember it all. One song.......

On Wednesday we leave for Lanexa, VA to see the babies that live there. Bubba and I are going to keep them while Amanda and Mark go on a little R&R. And then on Monday we are going to Washington DC for a couple of days. Amanda and I are so excited to get to go back. She wants to go shopping for bargains for her business and I just want to go shopping and to Sweetwater Cafe.

I am reading the "Reagan Diaries." Very interesting.....highly recommend. I just finsihed JC Ryle's "Are You Ready For The End Times" written in 1872. Amazing how relevant it is for today. More on that later.

I start another year of my blog. So many of you give me such good feedback and I'm thankful.

I tried to undelete my pedicure blog with no success. Not many people got to read it before I sent it to the trash heap. I will keep trying to find it and will republish after editing the last line. I've had several calls relating to it's absence.

Have one of those marvelous evenings and thank the Lord for it. c

June 1, 2008

It was on June 11th of 2007 that I started writing this blog.

As of this post I have blogged 335 times.

In October of 2007 David installed the sitemeter for me. As of this morning there have been 8,614 hits on it.

If I were to go back and run off these posts I would have a book of the last year of my life.

All of the day yesterday I mulled over whether or not I should keep writing. This is what I decided:

My goal is to point people to the God of the Bible and His son Jesus Christ.

I want to encourage everyone to read His word every day and seek Him diligently in prayer.

These are good and worthy goals and I am confident in them.

I apologize for any offense that my writing may bring to my readers.

I write my life story........what I do, where I go, how it affects me and those I hang around with.
Whatever I write I want to convey how God's word permeates my life.

Occasionally I may overstep the bounds of what is acceptable......thanks for calling such to my attention.

What I love most about the blog is your interaction with me through comments, e-mails, phone calls, and in person. I would miss all of this if I quit writing.

So.................I will continue because I want too. I think I would be lost without this pleasure.

Thanks for reading.....let me hear from you.

Yours truly, cathy