Jesus Cared

JESUS CARED
Yes my savior cared for my soul.  He shed His blood that I could have salvation from the payment for my sins. THANK YOU  Jesus that you shed your blood for me.  THANK YOU heavenly Father for giving  Him to the world.  THANK YOU Holy Spirit for the comfort you provide and guidance as I study your word.  Lets rejoice today and every day HE IS RISEN!  When He was on the cross I (Esther) was on His mind.  Thank you precious Lord.

Yesterday - THANKSGIVING!

Yesterday we went to Robert and Julie Van Zandt's .  Es has become friends with Julie through their daughter Brittany.  Brittany and Christopher have three precious little ones who call Bob and I Grandpa and Grandma.  We had a great meal and good fellowship with adults and fun with the kids.  Lovely family.  We have much to be thankful for.

Harvesting

Harvesting
We have had the joy of fresh tomatoes, peppers, and apples we raised.
We have two apple trees. Last year we got one apple from each of the trees. This their second year we got 10 from each tree. We have eaten all the State Fair apples and Bob just picked the Cortland this morning so we each had one. Next year or maybe the next we will have so many we won't count them. It has been fun. We have had so many fresh tomatoes we can't eat them all fresh I have cooked up a lot and made chili several times. Will make a casserole for supper with some and I have frozen ten so far. We are thankful for them.
We were talking with some friends the other night as we both celebrated our anniversary together. They are farmers and they expect to be in the field harvesting their soy beans in about two weeks and a little later their corn.
Harvesting is fun. I remember Harvest Festival at church in the fall when I was a child. Did any of you celebrate a Harvest Festival?

Thank You

Thank You
On Wednesday I saw the surgeon. He will do the surgery I need. He put me on a hormone treatment to strengthen some tissue before surgery. No date has been set. He said that if surgery were done now the tissue would tear. I will see him again. November 9th. One nervous concern addressed.
This morning my primary care doctor called. He had received the report back on the heart monitor I wore for 24 hours. A very good report. My numbers had not fallen into a danger area while sleeping. My heart had skipped a couple beats, but he said that is not real unusual or of concern. So second concern addressed.
THANK YOU for your prayers.
Today is our 44 th wedding anniversary.

The Old Fisherman

The Old Fisherman

Our house was directly across the street
from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins
hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs
and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at
the Clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper,
there was a knock at the door I opened it to see
a truly awful looking man. "Why he's hardly taller
than my eight-year old," I thought as I stared at
the stooped, shriveled body.

But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided
from swelling, red and raw yet his voice was
pleasant as he said,"Good evening. I've come to see if
you've a room for just one night. I came for a
treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's
no bus 'till morning.'

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon
but with no success; no one seemed to have a room. "I guess
it's my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says
with a few more treatments..."

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I
could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves
early in the morning." I told him we would find him a bed, but
to rest on the porch till supper. When we were ready, I asked the
old man if he would join us. "No thank you. I have plenty and he
held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished dishes. I went out on the porch to talk with
him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old
man had an oversize heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children
and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact. every other
sentence was prefaced with thanks to God for a blessing. He was
grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the linens were neatly folded, and the little man was out on the porch.

He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "could I please come back an stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added."Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind." I told him he was welcome to come again.

And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4 a.m.,and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden.

Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!"

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice but, oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness would have been easier to bear, I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse. As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the lovliest container I had!"

My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. "It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. There's an especially beautiful one. "God might have said when He came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."

All this happened long ago--and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

A Veteran

A Veteran
I'm very thankful for all the men and women who serve our country. I received this poem as an e mail. We need to pray for these men and women and pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones while serving. This poem arrived with no title or author.

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair is falling fast,
And he sat around the RSL,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his chilren and his wife..
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politican's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so many times
That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would your really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days..

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY


A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,
wrote a blank cheque made payable to 'Australia', 'New Zealand',
'Canada', 'Great Britain', 'The United States' or any other God fearing country for an amount "up to and including my life".

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this WORLD who no longer understand it.

Thank you veterans and Soldiers who have served in the past and who are now serving.

Space

Space
We were blessed to be able to purchase a used John Deere 30 inch riding mower this week. Bob had mentioned to our neighbor Tom that we might purchase a used mower. Well Tom has been helping his Mom get things ready for an estate sale as his half brother passed on. He asked Bob if he still what a riding mower. Tom drove it over to our place and we bought it. Now why did I title this SPACE. Well WHERE WERE we going to keep it. Our sun porch has become our second garage, because that is where we have a little space. We are thankful that the things Bob moved to have the mowers and snow blowers in the garage will be dry and usable in their new space (home). God is so good in providing for all our needs. PRAISE GOD!!!

Burnt Biscuits

(This is an e mail I received. This wasn't my dad, but it could have been. Thank you God for my memories of my dear Daddy. He taught me so many lessons like this.)
When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food
for dinner every now and then, And I remember one night
in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a
plate of eggs,sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front
of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet
all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burnt biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
You know, life is full of imperfect things... and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal - breaker!
We could extent this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband - wife or parent - child or friendship!
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."
God Bless You...Now, and Always...
So please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.!.!.!

GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED

Today I want to share a writing I received today as an e mail. It is so very precious. Dr. Bob, a former pastor of ours sends us something every day. This was written by the boy's sister. How much happier this world would be if we all trusted God in this way and had his attitude and appreciation of things. What a precious young man!

GOD LIVES UNDER THE BED by Kelly Adkins
I envy Kevin. My brother, Kevin, thinks God lives under his bed. At least
that's what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen,
'Are you there, God?' he said. 'Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...'
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my room. Kevin's unique perspectives
are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered long
after the humor. I realized for the first time the very different world
Kevin lives in.
He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties
during labor. Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2) there are few ways in
which he is adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he
always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed,
that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every
Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in the sky, because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever
dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work
at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to
eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly
over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child.
He does not seem dissatisfied.
He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple
work.
He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before
dinner and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for
his next day's laundry chores.
And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes
Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and
speculates loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. "That one's
goin' to Chi-car-go!" Kevin shouts as he claps his hands. His anticipation
is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn't know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not
care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs
have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never as happy as when he is working. When
he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in
it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and does not leave a job
until it is finished. But when his tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when
you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances. Kevin is not afraid to cry
when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always transparent, always sincere.
And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to the Lord, he comes
as a child. Kevin seems to know God-to really be friends with Him in a way
that is difficult for an 'educated' person to grasp. God seems like his
closest companion.
In my moments of doubts and frustrations with my beliefs, I envy the security
Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge
that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap. I am.
My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances-they all become
disabilities when I do not trust them to God's care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has
spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and
soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed
at how close God really is to our hearts. I'll realize that God heard the
simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
Kevin won't be surprised at all!

Thankfullness

Thoughts I have had the last week around thankfulness.
1. That there were people willing to share with me that God loves me and sent His only son to die for my sin so I could receive forgiveness from Him.
2. My husband, a wonderful man who loves me. God drew us together because He loves us.
3. Our two children, our daughter-in-law, our two grandsons. Children are a blessing from the Lord and bring much joy to our life's.
4. Our extended families.
5. Telephones to keep in touch with family and friends.
6. Quick medical care when needed.
7. Roof over our heads.
8. Ample supply of food.
9. Proper clothing for all seasons.
10.The men and women who serve in our military.
11.Police Officers.
12.Good helpful neighbors.
I could go on and on. God has been so very good to us. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a blessed and Merry Christmas.