Sunday, September 21, 2008

Awesome Worship Today!

Meet Lee Brown, our new brother in Christ.
Lee has a story to tell. He lived on the streets of Memphis for 20 years. He was befriended by John Kennedy (a Sycamore View member and a Harding Grad professor). He came to talk to our Career Counseling class a couple of semesters ago. He began by saying he was born unwanted and unloved by everyone except his grandmother. He grew up angry, alone, and unloved. He joined the military when he was old enough so that he could fight and kill legally. While living on the streets, he was set on fire, frozen to park benches, ate from garbage cans, had one eye stabbed with an ice pick...About a year ago, Joe Birch, a news anchor in Memphis, helped him get an apartment in which he has been for almost a year now.
This is John, Lee, and Josh, our preacher. His lesson today was perfect to what took place. He came from Luke where Jesus touched the untouchable and unclean and calmed the storms in their lives. So encouraging to see Sycamore View really moving to accept ANYONE who wants to be baptized and embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior!
After the baptism, John and Lee did the communion talk together. It was very touching. Lee said the most beautiful prayer. It was such simply amazing! Praise God for how He is working at Sycamore View.

And there was one more serendipity this morning...Curt Sparks was there. He had come in to do a wedding last night. It was great to see him, but we did miss Nedra!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Rants and Raves!

1.  Several weeks ago, after a year or so of ice cream for at least one meal a day, I had some friends who talked me into going to the Diet Center.  I had done that program once before when my children were in grade school with great success and kept the weight off for several years (until the dr. gave me elavil for my migraines....that stuff made me eat like there was no tomorrow and I gained 40 pounds in 2 months...)...well, after 3 days of eating healthy - fruits, vegetables, grilled chicken, salads, NO SUGAR, NO ICE CREAM, my stomach was killing me - I mean worse than labor pains!  So I called my friend, the gastro doctor  and he told me it was probably my stomach just trying to get used to the change in diet.  It still wasn't much better in 3 days so I went to see him.  After a cat scan, found out I have diverticulous...He put me on antibiotics for a week.  Then last week, I had to go back in and have a blood test...I have an infection in the lining of my stomach!  More antibiotics and in six weeks I have to have another test...Should have just kept eating ice cream every day...It might have killed me sooner, but I would have died happy! On the up side, I have lost, at the last weight in, 9 and a half pounds. I'm pretty sure it will be more next time because my jeans are getting really loose.
2.  Tim and I have an appointment with an attorney this afternoon about the Kroger thing.  They finally called with an offer which was not enough to even cover the medical bills, so...
3.  I have misplaced (I hope it's misplaced and not stolen) my wallet.  It had $200 in it that was left over from the Toronto trip and that is making me really crazy!
4.  Tim bought his airline ticket to go back to Toronto to get his plane but he DIDN'T buy me one so he will get to see Laura and Nigel and John and I won't!  He's going to owe me big time for that! 
5.  And now I'm like Reagan...does no one love me anymore?  No one is making comments on my blog!  (except for Beth....Thanks!  I love you, too!)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Time to Spare, Go by Air

Well, coming home on Sunday was certainly an adventure.  We got up at 6:00 in order to get home in time for Sunday night things and lo and behold, when Tim taxied out to do the final run up on the engine, the right mag died so we could not fly home in our plane.  We took it back up to the terminal and got a taxi to the international airport where we were given the choice of three flights home.  We picked the middle priced one (though still very expensive) that was supposed to get us home by 1:00 Sunday afternoon.  We were late boarding our flight to Cinnicinati about 2 hours.  It was a really rough flight (Thanks, IKE).  Then they closed the Cinnicinati airport because the winds were so strong that it wasn't safe for the guys to be in the control towers so we spent most of the day sitting in the airport.  We finally got out about 9:40 Sunday night - at least it was a direct flight to Memphis and Joe picked us up.  What a day!!!  Not like one I want to experience again for a long time!  When the plane is fixed, we'll have to fly back to Toronto (unless I can talk John or Laura into taking flying lessons and flying the plane back home to us) to get it and I guess we'll just be forced to see Nigel again sooner than we anticipated.  What a pity! 

Friday, September 12, 2008



Finally, Tim came back to the room, and here is a beautiful picture of Nigel having fun playing peek-a-boo.  







Here is a photo of me and Laura with Nigel last night at the Italian restaurant.  He is learning to smile for the camera, and I am learning to keep my eyes open.

Sitting in Tornoto

We are Tornto. No prpblems at all with the plane - Thank the Lord! Laura and Nigel were waiting for us at the hotel! That was such a sweet pleasure. We ate at a very authentic Italitan place last ( not too good for my diet...I've lost 9 aand 1/2 pounds) but it was really wonderful. Nigel has grown so much. We took lots of photos, but I'm having to work on Tim's computer this morning and I don't think he down loaded any of them last night, He was to busy playing with Nigel. He has that same precious little face but he smiles so much more. At first he wouldn't let me carry him around too much, but he evntually warmed uo to me and let me hold him. I think I could cuddle with him all day. Laura stayed with us until John finished his meditation and the he came to pick them up. I tried to trade Nigle for a piece of Teramisue (SP?) that we had bought for John at supper but he was a little selfish and he wouldn't go for that...he wanted them both! Which is just as good, I guess since I don't have the equipment to feed Nigel anymore...well, I have the equipment, but it's not in working order right now.

Tim has classes in the mornings and is free in the afternoons so that works out really well. Laura and John and Nigel will get alone time in the mornings and then in the afternoons we can all do stuff together.

Oh, and Laura got her hair cut really, really cute. I'll post pictures when Tim gets back to the room and shows me how.