Sunshine After Rain

After two days of gentle rain, the sun is shining.  It has been a busy and unusual week!  Last Saturday, my brother's son (John Ross Jr.) and his wife, Caryn, with their son and daughter drove through Oklahoma from California.  Gramma called after our musical practice, and said they had arrived for lunch.  We had a very nice visit.  They were actually on their way to Kansas to visit Caryn's mother and were planning to go back home through Colorado to see her father.  Caryn just graduated from the University of Riverside with a major in history.  She gives tours of the famous Riverside Mission Inn, and plans to be a museum curator in the future.  During our visit, Caryn remarked that the Greenwalt family was so large, and yet everyone loved each other so much!  She had never seen a family that was so close before - physically and spiritually.  It was a good reminder of how blessed I am! 

God answered our prayers last Sunday.  All choir members were present and sang!  We used a new omni-directional sound system, and Chuck was back from FEMA to operate the sound board for us.  The auditorium was filled to capacity, and you could feel the Spirit moving in the hearts of the people.  Gramma and Ian both said they teared up sevral times as the choir sang.  Then, Pastor Larry called and said he heard sniffling throughout the church.  He felt that it was our most powerful musical yet.  I have been singing the songs in my head all week.  "I will rise when He calls my name.  No more sorrow, no more pain. "  It is music and the love of God that brings people together and creates harmony.

After church, I took the ham out of the oven and added the trimmings for dinner.  My rolls raised so much that they burst!  I wasn't going to bake them, but Ian and Phyllis insisted I try.  I was amazed that they still tasted good and they were all eaten!  Gramma brought a banana pudding and added whipped cream.  Gramma's friend, Shirley, also joined us.  After dinner, we all had races on the table with  bicycle rabbits.   Everyone laughed and laughed for hours. 

I paid for the time on my feet Sunday.  My right foot started to talk to me Sunday evening.  That was not a good thing because Bill had surgery this week on his ingrown toe nail.  Noel sent a picture on his facebook of us which was not flattering.  Keri called, and was laughing so hard.  In spite of Noel's root canal surgery (had to have a specialist), Janice went shopping for me, and brought over homemade enchiladas and salad.  What would we do without a loving family???

Bill taught two days this week at Shawnee High.  He also has 25 students in his on-line media class.  Some of the students are not Christian, and some of the most disrespectful I have seen.  They want to tell the teacher what grade they should get, and don't hesitate to "hate" the textbook that has been mandated by the university regarding media literacy.  They don't want to read, and they don't want to research news stories to find the truth.  It was a shock to some that "sequestration" was the idea of Obama and his administration.  However, there are many videos of the President speaking to prove this.  We also learned last night that one-third of all Medicare cancer patients have been turned away due to no funding for medication treatment.  I'm glad I have a supplement BCBS and medication plan in addition to Medicare.  I don't trust our government at all.  When people take God out of their lives, He takes His hand off of them!  However, if people say, "sorry" and turn from their wicked ways, God is a father of mercy and gives many chances.  When we turn around, God is there with outstretched arms of love!   We choose our own demise.