Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

A Random Post With No Pictures

1.  It's Saturday.  It's raining buckets of water and little ponds are springing up all over the campus.  We had a tornado watch for a while but that has passed us by, thank goodness.  Despite the weather one of the local residents brought lunch to those of us who are "long term" volunteers.  They were having a family gathering and thought of us - they plated up grilled chicken, red beans and rice, rolls, and cake.  And then apologized because they didn't bring forks!  As you can imagine it was delicious and we had a wonderful time eating together and visiting without thoughts of work calling us back to our duties.

2.  In Bible study this week we've read about spiritual gifts.  It was a great reminder that each of us has gifts, different from everyone else.  Too many times we women say..."oh I can't do anything special" but the fact is that who we are is unique and special.  I remember one time teaching a women's Sunday School class - the class was for "older" women and I was at least 40 years younger than anyone in the class.  We talked about gifts and one woman said over and over that she had no gift.  Finally another spoke up and said "you make the best banana nut bread ever and you always share it!"  Banana nut bread might seem to be a simple thing but when taken to someone who is needing to be lifted up, it can be everything.

3.  A friend's son became suddenly ill on Tuesday and his father was told to say his goodbyes.  Twenty four hours later this young man was off the ventilator and chatting with his mother.  An answer to prayer?  Certainly.  But it was a reminder to me that I must cherish every single moment that I have with people I love. I know it but too often, in my busy-ness, I forget it.   I want to focus on the moments I have with them, whether in person, on the phone, in a text message, or in an e-mail.  I want to be sure they know that I love them - let there be no doubt.  It's up to me to make that happen.

4.  I love Google.  It allows me to have a blog, completely free to me, so that I can read and write and share with people all over the world.  I am grateful for all that they do.  Well, not all.  The new word verification doesn't work for me.  My eyes aren't bad for someone my age - my distance vision is still quite good but of course I have to have readers.  I wear one pair for the computer and another for reading.  No matter which pair I put on nothing helps with the new word verification.  So if you use that feature on your blog please let me apologize right now that you won't get many comments from me.  It's not because I don't want to, it's simply because I can't.

5.  I have every intention of staying inside all weekend and enjoying the rain being outside.  But if tomorrow proves to have better weather I'll be attending another Mardi Gras Parade after church.  Let the bead throwing...and catching...begin!  I hope your weekend is one filled with people you love and lots of laughter.

22 comments:

Unknown said...

So glad you are having a wonderful time, and getting rain. We've had rain here for many hours now. We need every drop!

nanny said...

We had a small amount but not much!
This was a great post! Thank you!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

that was so good of your friends son recovering!! I too have a hard time with the word verification - why in heavens name do they have it like that? I too might not be commenting on some blogs because of it, I normally have to give it two or three times before I get it right.
Karen

debbie m said...

I loved this post! Thanks for sharing, and reminding me how blessed I am.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Just a lovely post - thank you for sharing - no photos were needed.

Ray and Jeanne said...

When I read your post, I immediately thought of the song "If Tomorrow Never Comes". Enjoy the rain - maybe you'll get in a bit of quilting! ~Jeanne

Susannah said...

Hi Marlene, the word verification is very hard for me......I just can not see it!

Loved your post .....always a delight to read.

Susannah

Quilt n Queen said...

So nicely said Marlene...hope the rain lets up so you can go to the parade tomorrow. You were the conversation at dinner tonight as we were watching the weather and saw the south was getting hit hard ...I said to my husband 'Marlene is there, I hope she is OK...and he says...who's Marlene. I said 'a wonderful blogging friend who is volunteering at a mission in Louisiana'. I agree with you about the new word verification ...I keep hitting the refresh button till I think I can read the words...(o:

Denise :) said...

Glad the bad weather was a non-issue for you. I agree, it's definitely important to cherish the ones you love, when you're able. I don't care for the word verification, either -- it's so hard to read and I end up trying several times, often. Hugs to you! :)

FlourishingPalms said...

What a lovely and thoughtful post. It's always nice when you share your insights and wise words. They always fit ME! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has issues with the new Blogger word verification. I made sure that mine are "off" on my blog. I am counting blessings since being reminded by you of the power of prayer... that God sometimes says "yes" to, and sometimes says "no." May we all appreciate our loved ones more than ever. Bless you Marlene for being a bright light.

Amy, a redeemed sheep said...

You are a great encourager. Thank you for sharing that gift with us. =)

The new word verification is B.A.D!

Quiltgal said...

Glad to hear your friends son pulled through. We are having quite a bit of snow this afternoon, but it will soon be over. Thanks for sharing your insights of bible study. We all need to be more mindful of sharing our feelings with others and showing our love.

Michelle said...

Yes, that word verification is difficult. I think they give you a margin for error, as I'm sure I don't get it right most times. Why did they have to change it?

I hope you have a sunny Sunday so you can play.

Grammy Staffy said...

We had some rain too which is great for so.Cal. I am really sick with flu And flat in bed..... But then it makes me appreciate being well. (((hugs)))

Julie Fukuda said...

For the life of me, I can't figure out why google changed something that was hard enough to something near impossible! between my dyslexic typing and those wonky words there is a lot of possibilities for error.
Next year's conference theme is on discovering and celebrating our gifts. Now I know who to come to for ideas.

Carol said...

May God bless you tenfold for your sharing, Marlene! Thank heavens your son pulled through. I hope you get to play today (Sunday) too!

The new word verification...pphhhbbb!

Carol (NJ)

Josie McRazie said...

1) the new word verification is CRAP! (sorry for the language) 2) God is good and does amazing things!! Glad to hear your friends son was one of them! 3) My Brother (in TX) is also currently living in a swamp as well! LOL after being at the highest stage of drought over the summer they just seem to be getting rained on every day now!! LOL

molly said...

Glad to hear your friends' son pulled through! When everything is going smoothly it's easy to forget how fragile life can be....
I don't understand either why they changed word verification. Now it is sometimes not only difficult, but impossible, to read! What genius thought this was a good idea?
Hope the rain lets up for you! It's looking iffy here too which may scuttle The Bean's kayaking plans....Keep those positive vibes coming!
I can e-mail the instructions for that little bag to you, or snail mail.....Don't cut up a good tie, buy one for pennies at a thrift shop!

barbara woods said...

i hate trying to read that to and sometimes it takes two or three times to get it

Anonymous said...

So "the lake" is in LA.... hope the beads were fun.

So with you on the word verifiation..... if I don't get it in two there is no comment...

journeying said...

Thank you for the well-worded reminders to count our blessings and to recognize and use the gifts and abilities given to us (sometimes I think refusing to do so is somewhat ego-centric and that Satan loves it)and to make the most of each precious day we have.

Adrienne said...

Praising the Lord for answered prayer!

About word verification - I'll tell you and your readers why I have it on my blog. I, too, don't like it and I've had to put it back on because of the awful comments and business-generated comments I've received. When I take it off, they start all over again and they stop when I add it back. I really believe it's been made harder to read because of the 'smarts' of the people out there who don't do good things. I will probably take it off soon and not allow anonymous comments. If that doesn't work I won't be able to leave it off. My sweetheart and I just had a major online security breech and I'm not willing to take chances again. You, my friend, can always email any comments. Keep checking in with me - I may have word verification off soon.
~Adrienne~