Saturday, July 30, 2011

Remember

Service and worship are inseparable. Worship is a service of praise and adoration, a recognition of priorities. The acts of worship, whether formal or informal, whether through singing hymns or doing our best, say that we know who is first, who's in charge, who's the boss. This is why we can't relegate worship to a once-a-week habit...Only by living in worship will we get away from promoting ourselves to head person.  Cheryl Forbes


Read: Psalm 100

Friday, July 29, 2011

InstaFriday

Fail for this week, but here are a few picks from a couple of things I did. Went to Target and was starving...decided to have lunch. 
 My view from the table I was sitting at...very nice day. 

  The car to the left of the green car was driven by a little old lady, who, when she was parking, got out of her car, moved the cart that was in front of the car so she could pull in all the way into her spot. She then took the cart....to the cart station. I figured she'd take it into the store. haha  If you remember this, you remember my pet peeve about the carts and putting them back where they belong. Then as I left the store, as I was taking my cart to the station, a man offered to take it for me. :)
 I went for a walk with some new friends (the three ahead of me, the one next to me and one right in front of me). We met at the Surfer Statue at Hermosa Pier and then walked an hour. We headed towards Manhattan Pier and turned around and headed back. It was nice, but my legs hurt the next couple of days. I need to get out more, obviously. The day was gorgeous...and it was 6:30 pm, still warm.

Now link up with Jeannett and share your week - or even your few pics. 

life rearranged

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Treasured Tokens Thursday

Do you remember this blog? Where Jeannett starts out, "I have a confession to make:
I’m terrible about daily Bible reading." And then she continues: "Absolutely terrible. I try, I really do. And then it falls by the wayside again. I have no excuse. ... but I do try to have reminders of God’s Word sprinkled throughout our house. Everyday reminders of His love. Encouragement that stems from Truth. Reliance on His goodness in all things. Not just on Sundays. Not tucked away in drawers to be pulled out for special occasions." Then she asks the question:
Do you try to display God’s words through your house too? How do you do it?
I wanted to do this sooner, but just got the time to take some pictures to share my treasured tokens and where I have my reminders of God's love and presence and Word.

This praying angel is a very special item. When Pastor Tim started at Grace Church eight years ago...REALLY? 8 YEARS? Wow! Well, when he started, at Christmas, he gave the staff special gifts. I thought it was so thoughtful of him and was so happy to get this sweet praying angel. It was always on my desk and now it is always somewhere in our house - usually on the entertainment center. I love the reminder that angels are around protecting us:

 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11 

 I saw this in the Family Christian Bookstore in Torrance. The first thing I saw was the picture of the shells. Then I read the verse that went along with the word "Courage." It helped give me the courage to go out and meet people. After living in SLO for over 40 years, I was used to being around people and getting together with others for coffee, movies, etc. Now I'm becoming a hermit, sort of. But recently, I joined a Walking Moai Team and am meeting some other women in different stages of life. And we were involved in a Bible Study around the corner. I need to get back to that even if Dan can't go because of his job. And I'm doing Hula Praise...Hula danced to Christian music...sign language with hands AND feet. Great exercise!
 I might have shared this before. Don't know if you can see the verse: O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 1 Chronicles 16:34

Got this from my good friend, Noonie. Always a reminder to pray for her. I miss her and our times at the movies, Margie's breakfasts, Target runs, etc. Hope to visit her in Colorado Springs.
Wasn't even thinking about this word till I was able to find letters to spell something. I liked this word because it makes me think about taking a moment to stop and just rest. And I was going to add a card at the bottom of the "u" (which was actually an "n", but I added the ribbon to make it a "u") - "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Psalm 37:7  I actually have that card on the monitor - I'm looking at it now. :)
 Just shared this little goody. The Lord's Prayer is always visible with this sitting on the entertainment center (opposite my praying angel). Love it! It was Dan's grandma's and we snagged it!
 
 My daughter gave me this and it just reminds me to count my blessings everyday. I should start writing them down. :)
 And I shared this, too. Just a very cute cross given to me by a former co-worker, Shelly. Miss that girl. So another thing to remind me to pray for someone. And a reminder that God is always blessing us wherever we make our home.
 I'm so bad at memorization and thought this would help. It did for a little while. Now that I'm looking at it again, I need to at least try making use of these cards. I just love the picture.
 I made this long ago - probably shared this, too, huh? Just a sweet reminder that "Jesus loves the little children..." We are God's children and He loves us so much! 
And, of course, the old refrigerator that can hold a mess of things. A very cute magnet made from a jeans pocket with the reminder "When this you see, please pray for me." Thank you, Priscilla. Praying for you now.

And magnets with my daughters and husband with their names and meanings and a verse to go along with the meanings. Missionary magnets and bookmarks. A "FAITH" magnet. And others. 
So, that's a glimpse of some of the ways I spread reminders of God's love and how I can always have Him in front of me everyday. I even have a couple of things at work. And I've finally been making a point of reading the Bible/having devotions when I first get up in the morning. That way I start out the day with Him instead of the computer and TV. 

Thank You, Lord, that you are always with us wherever we go even if we don't acknowledge You at the moment. Thank You for Your patience in waiting for us with open arms. Thank You for Your care for us and for Your protection as we go through the day. I love You, Lord.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday Musings

As we acknowledge God's control over the course of our daughters' life choices, event,s and experiences, we can open our hands and surrender the concerns and anxieties to which we cling. In exchange, we receive peace and the wisdom learned in letting go.  Debra Evans, Kindred Hearts


And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 (NIV)

Friday, July 22, 2011

InstaFriday

Not much this week. Gotta start being more random. And I've really got to organize my pictures. I haven't done that in so long, I don't know what I've posted lately. :) So enjoy the few I've done here.

 Liz and I went to the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. I haven't been to Laguna in ages. So artsy. We were just walking from our free parking and passing these interesting art shows. The Sawdust Festival and another festival were going on as well, so we felt blessed to find the free parking even if it was a little hike to the venue. But worth it!


 This was inside the venue for the Pageant. We got there early enough to walk around and see what art there was to see. We actually found a couple of artists that had some pretty cool stuff. Liz especially liked this one photographer's pics of Paris and New York - a couple of her fave places. 
Dan and I decided to go out for fish and went to Scotty's on the Strand mainly for the free parking. They have a very small lot and people going to the Comedy and Magic Club (Liz and I want to see Jay Leno sometime) try to park there, so they put cones in front of the spots. The host saw us and asked if we were heading into Scotty's and removed the cones so we could park. So nice. We sat in the dining area next to a window. So pretty and nice outside.

Just heading to Scotty's - Hermosa Beach might be a nice place to find a place. There's a trailer park right on the same street as the pier that would actually be kind of nice. Small, but right in the thick of the fun stuff. 

 This building has been going up for awhile. It's fun to see the crane up and running and the guys trusting their lives in this thing - can't believe how high it goes. Like Magic Mountain, I'll try it once and if I like it, I'll go again. If not, at least I can say I went on it once. Don't think I'll be trying this crane anytime soon since they probably wouldn't let non-workers aboard. 
This is the swing that we've been storing for Liz and Gregg. It lost it's top part that shaded us when SLO had such a wind storm, it tore the material away. Still haven't fixed it, but we do have the attachment. Anyway, on nice, sunny days, it's nice to come out and sit on it and read. I decided to do my devotions out there one day and couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before. We used a table umbrella to shade us when we had the kids over for lunch and ate outside. We really don't have a patio. It's a shared spot with our neighbors in the back. Their stairway goes up to their apartment. But it's roomy enough for what we did.

Now it's your turn to link up with Jeannett and InstaFriday. If you don't know what it is, check it out. Oh, and sorry for all the links, but we do have some fun places to go in the area...check them out if you have the time when you visit LA.

life rearranged

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Treasured Tokens Thursday

For some reason this didn't post. Oh, well. Here it is now.

This is one token of many from Grandma Jeanne Pitts' collection of knick-knacks. When she went home to the Lord, Dan's cousin took jillions of pictures of all her items and had family members go to a website where she posted everything...and we had to pick out what we wanted. I scored a full china set, yellow creamer/sugar/salt & pepper set, yellow pitcher, and a few more items, including this note holder or whatever it is. There is an opening at the top large enough to put note paper, but I have the key to my Seth Thomas clock in there. Of course, the Lord's Prayer makes it all the more special. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Amazing God!

Was going to write this last week, but never got to it. Still wanted to share how God's timing amazes me. I had my phone on silent...again...and missed three calls. One from Noonie. I was thinking about her and wrote her an email to catch her up with things. On her voicemail she was asking several questions, all of which I answered in the email BEFORE I even heard her VM.

Then a co-worker was talking about "Pageant of the Masters" in Laguna Beach. Never heard of it, but it sounded interesting and I wanted to take Liz. Well, a second message was from a friend from long ago whom I hadn't seen for years (until a memorial for her brother-in-law) and she was asking if I wanted tickets to....you guessed it...Pageant of the Masters. I didn't even talk to Liz about it yet. So, I'll get those and Liz and I are going on Monday.

The third was just a reminder about a bill I need to pay (if I can find it - oops). But, it amazes me, although it shouldn't, that He takes care of things in our lives and IS taking care of things in our lives ALL THE TIME. Things that we don't even really do much about, but He's working things out before we even start to think about them. He is so amazing...He's just that way. Reminded me of a devotional from Our Daily Bread many years ago.
"While reading John 3 to her little daughter, a mother paused after the 16th verse* and exclaimed, 'Don't you think that's wonderful, dear?' The child looked up in surprise and said, 'No!' Thinking she might have misunderstood, the mother repeated the question. Again the girl shook her head, saying, 'Mommy, it would be wonderful if it were anyone else, but really, it's just like God!"
* "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Saturday, July 16, 2011

InstaFriday

I've missed a couple of weeks since we were gone and then I was sick. But I didn't seem to take as much as I hoped. Here's some fun stuff, though.

Date night. We went to the Pier in Redondo Beach and had fun walking around. Stopped at one of our first ice cream/yogurt places. I got a banana split again. Don't remember it being so big.







And I saw a friend and her husband end up at Home Depot on Date night...we end up at Pep Boys. :)
Random...random...random...was watching golf and these legends were being interviewed - Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. I started watching golf with Dan and we are now watching the Open Championship (the British Open to us Americans). Anyway....
The two parakeet we birdsat while our neighbor went away for a couple of days. I used to have parakeets as pets when I was little. One we found in our yard - Pretty Pete. Two we bought - a green one, Peppy and a blue one, Tammy. Then Dan and I had Schöne (beautiful one in German) in Montana. 
Dan using his new BBQ that was purchased by the kids for Christmas (I think). Was making quite a bit of stuff, so ended up having Liz & Gregg over for lunch. Afterwards we went to the Dodgers game and enjoyed fireworks after the game. Delicious and fun!!!

Oh, yeah. We sat in the All You Can Eat section. That's good - or bad - whichever way you want to look at it. Different place, so a different view this time. And we had a policeman right next to us all night (they switched out every so often, but there was always someone nearby), so we felt safe, although we would have felt safe even if they weren't there. And then the military brought out the huge flag. I took video of that and forgot to take a picture. Haven't even loaded the video. Sheesh!



I bought this little bag for Dodger games, but it didn't get here in time for the game on July 4th. Got it in time for July 7th - Andre Ethier Bobblehead night. Liz had to have a bobblehead and I decided to start a collection, although I probably will only get one once a year, so it won't grow too fast. We got to the Stadium way too early. It wasn't even open, so we found a Starbucks (and other places in one big building) to hang out for awhile. There was a Subway, the laundry facility, vending machines, and a "get cash" type place.

 


I hope to get better at doing this and more consistent. But, in the meantime, link up. It's your turn.

life rearranged