farewell 2011

Celebrating in downtown Savannah just now...

ringing out the old year.

Plan to be asleep when the new year rolls in at

midnight.

It has been

a very good year because

I can honestly look back and say....

My relationship with the Lord

has grown

and my faith has greatly increased

since this time last year.

That's all that really matters in this life, you know...

that on the journey,

as you get closer and closer to your heavenly home, 

 the things of God become dearer and dearer.

That being in His word and in prayer every day 

is not a

 "maybe I will if I have time,"

 but an absolute necessity....

just like breathing.

We got Gus!

No longer an orphan, he has a real home

and a loving family.

God rescued our precious boy from

the streets of Ethiopia.

Cornerstone Church is up and going.

God is faithful to bless

the proclamation of His true word.

Bubba has four more radiation treatments.

Praise God he is almost done,

and miraculously he is unscathed by it's ravages.

Only by the grace of God......

What a year of blessings!

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

quiet times

Christmas hydrangeas at the Pink House.

I savor these days!

Christmas has come and gone

and now is the time

to be quiet..

to rest and relax in the warmth of the memories.

To actually sit by the tree with the lights all aglow.....

 candles flickering light

all around the room. 

To have that delicious thought......

"There's nothing much that needs doing right now."

There is a time to work and a time to be quiet.

I am being quiet right now.

cathy

christmas night at our house

And

our second Christmas morning

with Amanda and Mark and Jake and Eli...

.

a few more Christmas eve....

and then Christmas morning at David & Erika's house.....

more later....

this is what happens...

after Christmas

in grammy's big tub.

We are still engaged in a continuous round

of parties and gift openings.

I will share pictures of our Christmas

starting tomorrow

and over the next few days

when things settle down a little.

Until then.....

christmas eve at.....

 The Olde Pink House

in downtown historic Savannah....

very elegant fine dining in a

 beautiful house that dates back to 1771.

The pictures tell the story.

more later....

cathy

he knows me so well

This is one of the gifts Bubba gave me for Christmas today.

It thrilled.

He knew it would.

Amanda & Mark arrived safely with Jake & Eli about an hour ago.

So thankful for this Christmas filled with

family,

delicious food,

and lots of good fellowship.

We'll have Christmas

all over again in the morning.

Thankful,

cathy

Merry Christmas everybody

Pictures from tonight.

Lucy & Harry as Mary & Joseph,

Gus

as a very happy shepherd.

May tomorrow

 be joyous and bright

as we celebrate the birth of our precious

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

cathy

the birth of a Child

"Every birth of a living child is a marvellous event. 

 It brings into being a soul that will never die. 

But never since the world began

was a birth so marvellous as

 the birth of Christ. 

 It in of itself was a miracle.....

God was manifest in the flesh. 

I Timothy 3:16 

The blessings

it brought into the world

were unspeakable....

it opened to man the door to everlasting life." 

 JC Ryle

Expository Thoughts

My questions to you this Christmas Eve are these....

Do you understand why Jesus was born?

Do you know what God has given you through His appearing?

Has it changed your heart?

I'll be praying....

love to all,

cathy

christmas shopping......

is finally done.

Gifts are wrapped, but without bows.

Maybe

I'll do that tonight or

Maybe I will just relax and read

and give the gifts without bows.

If you know me well

you know

"I would never give a gift without a bow!"

Pictured above is

"The French Market"

my most favorite store in Savannah.

What really intrigues me

about this store is the

architecture,

both inside and out.

I could stay all day

and just look

at all of the wonderful things

they have on display.

The birth of Jesus

"Now is come the time when

God's kindness and good will towards guilty man

is to fully be made known. 

His power was seen in creation,

His justice was seen in the flood. 

But His mercy

remained to be fully revealed by the appearing and atonement of Jesus."

JC Ryle

Expository Thoughts

Oh the depths of the mercy of our God

that He would look upon us,

vile sinners that we are,

and shower us with mercy and forgiveness

by sending

His Son Jesus Christ into this world. 

 A love like this I cannot comprehend. 

I can only by faith accept it

and be humbled before the God who made and sustains me. 

I praise His holy name tonight.

cathy

concerning the children

Speaking of

John the Baptist

at his birth....

"And the hand of the Lord was with him."

Luke 1:66

I have prayed

for my children and my grandchildren

 since before any of them were ever born....

daily lifting them up

before the One who made them

and the One who knows the plans He has for them.....

Trusting always 

that no one else could care for them like

He could.

I am sure that the aged Elizabeth,

John the Baptist's mother,

prayed diligently for him as well.

There is no greater gift

a mother can give to her children 

than to pray that they

would come to love and trust

 God

and His son Jesus Christ.

"The hand of the Lord was with John the Baptist

to sanctify and renew his heart...

to teach and fit him for his office....

to strengthen him for all his work as the forerunner of Jesus Christ....

to encourage him in all his bold denunciation of men's sins.....

and to comfort him in his last hours when he was beheaded in prison."

"We know

that he was filled with the Holy Spirit

from his mother's womb.

We need not doubt that from his earliest years

 the grace of God's spirit appeared in his ways. 

In his boyhood

as well as in his manhood,

the constraining power of a mighty principle from above appeared in him. 

That power was

"the hand of the Lord."

"This is the portion that we ought to seek for our children. 

It is the best portion,

the happiest portion,

the only portion that can never be lost,

 and will endure beyond the grave."

"What God did for John the Baptist,

He can do for our boys and girls. 

But He waits to be entreated. 

If we would have the hand of the Lord on our children,

we must diligently seek it."

Amen & Amen!!!

JC Ryle

Expository Thoughts

lucy in motion

Wrapping presents and watching House Hunters.

Can't

formulate

thoughts

tonight.

cathy

time to go home

Grace

played her violin

for our praise and worship this morning at church.

From Be Thou My Vision 

(my favorite hymn) 

to Silent Night

our hearts were blessed.

The talent

that God has blessed her with

is immense.

but she knows who gave it to her

and therein lies her

true beauty.

Our time together has been amazing.

A beautiful eighteen year old

like-minded believer

with whom I've been privileged to share

deep thoughts about God.

The children love her,

her family too,

and we can't wait until we see her again.

There are memories of very special times in my life...

Grace's visit was one of those times.

God bless you sweet girl,

 and keep you as you go your way!

pictures from our party

Too tired to write.

A great time was had by all.

cathy

the magic of Christmas

My tree

is beautiful this year.

It takes my breath away everytime I see it.

I give you a little glimpse in the picture above.

Somehow,

for just a few brief shining days in December,

this mundane world is transformed into a

magical place. 

Light creations appear in front yards.

A big blow up Santa stands in front of a Christmas tree lot.

A garbage truck sports a green wreath with a bright red bow.

Waiters in restaurants wear Santa hats and reindeer antlers.

Songs about the birth of Jesus are heard in the shopping mall.

It all goes away when the lights are taken down,

but you never forget....

the days when all is well and the magic of Christmas,

if just for a tiny little minute,

prevails in our hearts and minds.

Merry, Merry, Merry

*Walking barefoot down the beach just now,

nine days before Christmas.....

Lucy skipping along in the water with her dress up over her shoulders.

Bliss....this weather is pure bliss.

grace is here

In my opinion,

I have the best nieces in the world.

There are four of them....

Lisa,

Lindsey,

Grace,

&

Anna

Grace, my sister's daughter,

 just finished her first semester at

 Eastman School of Music in

Rochester, New York, 

and will be

spending the weekend

here in Savannah with us.

That's me and Grace,

many Christmas's ago,

enjoying her brand new tepee.

We have lots of family time planned

as well as walks on the beach

and a little last minute Christmas shopping. 

Christmas is all about family....

being together and sharing in the blessings of Jesus Christ. 

What joy!

our shepherds

They are the shepherds of our souls....

the men who open up the

Bible

and teach us what it says.

The men who study hour after hour

to be able to

"rightly divide the word of truth."

I found this in my readings today.....

thought it was very worth sharing.

"The character

of a really great & successful minister of God."

Luke 1: 13~18

Speaking of John the Baptist.....

and all of you pastors out there.

"He is one who will turn hearts,

turn them from

ignorance to knowledge,

from carelessness to thoughtfulness,

from sin to God.

He is one who will go before the Lord,

he will delight in nothing so much

as being the messenger and herald of Jesus Christ. 

 He is one who will make ready

 a people for the Lord. 

He will strive to gather a company out of this world,

 a company of believers,

who will be ready to meet the Lord in the day of His appearing."

Beautiful,

profound description of a pastor.

I just love this!

Lastly....

"For such ministers let us

 pray

day and night.

They are the true pillars of the church,

the true salt of this earth,

the true light of the world. 

Happy is that church and happy is the nation,

which has many such men."

JC Ryle

Expository Thoughts

nostalgia

My first bike.

1953

I was five years old.

Notice the training wheels.

I guess I finaly learned to ride without them

as I do pretty well now.

Maybe

as I get older,

I should get them put back on.

You know,

 when I lose my balance and my stability.

(this COULD happen at any time)

This will be short tonight.

I am trying to finish decorating the tree.

Last night I watched

While You Were Sleeping

My favorite movie in the world.

I highly recommend.

Until....

cathy

9:00 pm....go look at the moon.

It is magnificient.

this is dedicated to all the men...

who willingly

and with a kind heart

endure the hardship of.....

putting the lights on the

Christmas tree.

Bubba,

after dispatching me to check the strands for burned out bulbs,

began without complaint

to do the task that was set before him.  

Earlier,

when I mentioned that this needed to be done,

he scoffed and dismissed me

as if I had asked him to go out

and remove all of the water from the ocean.

Remarkably,

when I woke up from my

Sunday afternoon nap,

he was trudging up the stairs with the tree,

leaving a path of pine needles

and grunting.

  I am sure this grunting was from the strain of carrying the tree

and not from dreading what he had to do.

The job went relativly fast.

He was able to watch the Falcons win, and after that,

we discussed

David's sermon from this morning.

He was in an amazingly good mood

 and I knew it was a success when he pronounced....

"That is the best star placement we have ever had."

                                                 Lovely lunch with friends from Atlanta

who stopped by to worship with us this morning!

What an unexpected delight.

When I prayed this week for five new people to come to our church,

I never expected to see you two. 

And by the way. 

God answered that prayer. 

Exactly five new faces showed up today. 

 Praise be to God

for answered prayer!

all the difference

When I was much younger, I loved to read poetry.

Still do for that matter.

Saw this quote from Robert Frost

and I stopped to consider....

the difference.

Just to say...

this is probably not what Robert Frost had in mind.

Christianity is definitely the

"road less traveled."

In fact,

no one would ever

choose

to travel that road on their own.

There is nothing in man

 that would cause him to choose God.

We are born in sin

and opposed to God from birth.

It is only by the grace of God that we can know Him.

He opens our hearts and minds

to hear His word

and gives us faith

 through the Holy Spirit

 to believe and to trust in Him.

Once we are quickened in our heart with the truth,

we begin to seek Him.

It becomes a lifelong quest...

an amzing,

exciting journey

to know the great and only living God.

God's gift to make all of this possible is His Son, 

Jesus Christ.

That's Christmas, my friends,

pure & simple.

This truth and way is the road less traveled.

and yes,

It has made all of the difference.

"O Come let us Adore Him!"

another neice

another birthday.

This is Lisa

with Eeyore and Lucy

at Disney World

last year.

Wishing her a very happy day!

We are off to Florida for a Christmas shopping spree...

Will return tomorrow night....

maybe!

cathy