Thanksgiving Weekend Events

Kirk and Kelli arrived on Wednesday evening as scheduled. Kirk's family stayed with Gramma and brought her over on Thursday morning. While the turkey was was roasting in the oven, they brought out the scrabble game. Gramma was delighted! After dinner, we all played Apples to Apples, then began a game of Mexican Dominoes. Gramma kept forgetting to inform us of some of her "made-up rules" which kept everyone laughing! After indulging in pumpkin pie, and applesauce cake with whipping cream, Kelli unwrapped her birthday gifts. We gave her a dainty cross necklace with a rose on it, and a stuffed penguin that sings, "I Wish I Could Fly" while it flaps its wings.

On Friday, Tamra had to fly back to LA because she had to work that evening as an ER nurse. Bill, Kelli and I went to the mall to check out some specials. Kirk called me and I told him to meet us at Taco Mayo for lunch with Kyle. At 3 pm, Noel's family arrived. I prepared a deli smoked ham dinner for 16 people. Jason (Galen's son) brought his family over to see his cousins, Kelli, Kirk, Steve and Mark. Steve's wife had to work so he had brought his boys, Hunter and Forest. I was so thankful that it was a gorgeous day and the kids could go to the park behind our house. In fact, it was so warm that several of the boys ate on the patio with the little ones.

On Saturday, Bill, Kelli and I drove over to Gramma's to say goodbye to Noel's family and then we headed to the movie, "The Blindside". Fantastic movie!!! From there, we took Kelli to Braum's. She was introduced to chicken strips with white gravy and their small hot fudge sundae. She loved it!

We learned this weekend that Kirk and Tamra will be heading a team from Cal Baptist to Manilla, Phillipines next spring; Jason's wife is having baby #3 in June; and that Kelli has been invited to New York City where a friend is covering the ball-dropping for Fox News. He is the national editor for that network. She will stay with Lorn Green who is the Religion Editor for Fox News and be given a press pass. The fellow who has invited her is the former Baptist Press Editor. We are so excited for her! (He also happens to be a bachelor!) I told her that next fall when we do our New England tour from New York, I want a free ticket to the Huckabee Show! She said that would be easy.

Kelli left to go back to Michigan this morning at 4:30 am. In spite of the early hours, I managed to teach the 17 people in Bible Study and sing for an hour with the choir after the worship service. We were preparing to sing at the Christmas Tree Lighting at Unity Hospital tomorrow evening. University Baptist' Handbells will also play. It rained today and the temperature dropped which makes it seem more like Christmas. We received some holiday mail which also puts me in the spirit!

Thanksgiving Eve

Wow! I have prepared for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a birthday this week. Kelli is arriving in about 30 minutes from Michigan. Kirk will arrive in about 2 hours. (He went to Tulsa to visit a college friend first.) I have bought, wrapped and labeled Christmas gifts for them to take back when they leave. Tomorrow is also Kelli's birthday, so I have prepared her gift as well.

Noel called to let us know that his family will arrive on Friday afternoon and stay until Saturday. His son Steve is driving his semi home tonight and will join us so that he can visit with Kelli and Kirk. They use to have fun together at Gramma's house in California while growing up.

There is a big turkey in the fridge, I made my heavenly jello salad, and I will make the pies tonight. Last night I baked cookies and fudge brownies for the school dinner today. We had food from Korea, China, America and Saudi Arabia...maybe Columbia. It was very interesting and delicious!

I taught full-time this week. It was a big jump for me to teach APL classes after working with my "preemies". It's so rewarding to have a conversation with advanced English speakers! Most of the students are traveling by plane for the holidays. Some are going to a Thunder game on Friday.

Last year, Mom and I spent Thanksgiving in Springfield and I was so sick! (Bill was in Singapore.) While there, it snowed and I nearly hit the backend of Noel's car. I prayed myself back to Tecumseh because Mom couldn't help me drive and I was still not feeling well. I'm praying that I can stay well and enjoy my family this year.

I'm also praying that all of the people I love will stay healthy and have a great Thanksgiving!

It's Sunday Again!

The older I get, the faster time goes. Friday, I taught classes until 3 p.m. and then drove quickly to the doctor for my 3 month check-up. I had been to the lab the day before so that Dr. Smith could check my numbers. He told me that my report looked good. Then, I asked him about getting an Advance Directive which tells my family what to do about life support. I learned that the Tribe has an office for medical legal issues. I picked up my papers and was told to bring them back next week to be notarized. I will be given a card to carry at all times. Easy!

That evening, Bill and I went to Zocolo's Mexican Restaurant in Tecumseh for dinner. The Christmas lights were up and it put me in the spirit. So...on Saturday morning, we put up our Christmas tree in the family room. I love looking at the lights! Having been in Japan where Christmas is not even on the calendar due to it being a Buddhist country, I get crazy about the season!! After getting the tree up and our household chores finished, we saw the movie, "Julia/Julia. I really enjoy cooking, so I loved the movie!

As usual, we had a great Bible Study this morning! We had one new member, Jason, who is about 35 years old. We are up to 21 members in our class now. We discussed the third chapter of James. It followed what I had been thinking about lately........"Watch your mouth!" Jealousy and the attempt to control not only tears other people down, but is so unattractive. Of course, it is impossible to tame an evil tongue without the spirit of God.

I still think my church is the best on the planet! The music is outstanding. Larry Bouf sang, "Beulah Land" and had us all swaying as he sang. After a sermon on "A grateful heart" the choir practiced for an hour. Since we are using a CD accompaniment, I am singing alto. I have been talked into one of the four solos. I'm singing the second verse to "There's Joy in This Place". It's very bouncy.

On Monday, Nov. 30th, we have been asked to sing at Unity Hospital for their tree lighting ceremony. The choir was very enthusiastic about it! On December 4th, the choir is coming to our house for a potluck and a concert practice. Everyone seemed excited about that as well. There will be about 20 people coming. For the next month, I'll just clean my house every evening and make sure the fridge is stocked! Thank you Lord for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Interesting Day at School

For the past few days, I have been subbing in the afternoon for a new teacher at our English school. Her daughter is autistic, and she had to find someone to care for her. Delores was so grateful for my willingness to help her out that she gave me a signed book that she and her husband have written together. The title, "A Potawatomi Word A Day". Her husband speaks the language fluently and is a Spiritualist. He performs Indian weddings, funerals and namings. He also worked with my cousin, Dr. George Godfrey at the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas.

David, one of my Chinese students, blew me away before class started. He asked if he would stay healthy if he went to church on Sunday and prayed. I didn't expect the question, but quickly told him that it wouldn't hurt. I also told him that I don't wait until Sunday to pray. David was fascinated, and asked me when I prayed. I explained that I do a lot of my praying while I'm driving and before I get out of bed. He had seen people pray before their meals and asked if that was okay. I assured him that before or after is just fine. But, the boy wasn't satisfied! He wanted to know what to say. I gave him a brief example and encouraged him to pray for people he loves as well. There were about 7 Muslim students listening to this exchange, and one of them asked me if God talks back to me. So, I explained how I feel He does this. Later in the day, David came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. (He's 6 ft.) He said, "Teacher, I prayed at lunchtime today, and I prayed for you, too." That melted my heart!

I know that people are praying for me because I almost became the meat in a "semi-sandwich" on the way to school. As I was driving north on Hwy 177 from Tecumseh to Shawnee, I saw a huge semi-truck barreling down on me from a side entrance. I checked my mirror and hoped to move into the left lane. However, there were two more semi-trucks. One of the drivers saw what was happening and I could hear him putting on his brakes to slow down quickly. I was able to squeeze into the left lane just as the truck to my right came onto the highway!!! I have no doubt that angels were watching over all of us!

The Five Love Languages

I read "The Five Love Languages" again after many years. It is fascinating to know that we show love to others according to our own needs. Many times we "blow it" because we think we are pleasing others - only to find out that we are pleasing ourselves and not the ones we care about. I was also reminded that some people are great at putting on a "show" of love for selfish agendas. After reading this book, my kids went through each member of the family and labeled them. Although we are all a mixture, some people can be labeled more obviously. After understanding the list of 5 love languages, it is important to be aware of others needs and try to meet them.

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

This is the time of year that I think about the people I love most. Miles separate many of us, but I wish I could communicate my love using all of the 5 love languages!

What Is Love?

This morning we received a message from Galen that his best friend, Jim Murcray died at age 59 after 26 days in ICU. Galen and Sondra spent a part of everyday in ICU with his family and was at his side when he took his last breath. I had followed Josh Murcray's emails and had begun to pray that God would take Jim home if he would no longer have quality of life. I knew that many of us were praying in concert. We all had complete confidence that God loved Jim and would do the very thing that would be best for him. Galen will officiate the memorial service at his church on Saturday. Knowing Galen, it will be a bitter/sweet time of celebration.

Last Sunday, Pastor Larry spoke on the subject of love. We were reminded that when you really love someone - you feel their pain. Love causes you to want to "fix" things for others. There are times that we just can't do anything it seems. It's those times when we cry out to God. He will have to do what we are not capable of doing. Just knowing that others care (even though they can't help me) is a comfort. In another blog I will write about the book, The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. It is so appropriate for this time of year! God, thank you for people who love me!

Made It Through the Weekend!

When we finished choir practice today, it was raining quite hard. We drove to Van's Barbeque Restaurant and enjoyed the warm atmosphere. I felt like it was the first time in several days that I was relaxed. I taught 17 members in Bible Study Class this morning and then played a violin duet with Pete during the worship service. Sue had to leave early today, and asked me to play for the invitation hymn. Two white-haired ladies were baptized, and Lin (our Chinese student) decided to become a Christian. I had been praying for her because I could visibly see the spiritual battle that she was fighting during the services. When I mentioned it to her this morning, she smiled and said it had been a huge battle due to her pride.

Yesterday, Bill and I drove to St. Gregory's at 6:30 a.m. to meet other teachers who were going to the ESL conference on the Okla. Central Univ. campus in Edmond. I hated getting up so early, but the sunrise was spectacular! It seemed that the entire eastern sky was flaming red!! We went to seminars the entire day except for a catered dinner at noon. It was good for me to be there because I had been asked me to be a presenter, and I refused because I thought you had to be great. After listening to one of the fellows, I leaned over to Tony, our director, and told him I thought I could be a speaker next year. He smiled, and nodded vigorously.

Friday, I taught six classes with only a break for lunch. I normally would not have agreed to do that, but Sandra had asked me to help her out. Her grandfather has bone cancer and she needed to take him to get a scheduled MRI. I know that when I need help, Sandra will be there for me. Besides, the classes were interesting. A Columbian boy wrote an essay about his mother. She works in his father's glass factory, and she designs stained glass for churches and private homes. He said that her favorites are of birds.

Thursday evening, we went to Pete and Lorna's to eat dinner and practice our violin duet. Lorna baked chicken breasts in cream sauce, yellow squash casserole, and made cashew salad. Pete baked a cherry pie with lattice topping. We felt honored that they wanted to cook dinner for us because Lorna is at the top of the list for a kidney transplant. She never complains or talks about it. The doctor told Pete that Lorna's kidneys would fail in 2006. It's almost 2010 and God has sustained her. She hasn't needed dialysis yet either, but she knows it's possible. Lorna trusts God in all matters and it keeps her SO sweet! She's a wonderful role model for me.