Amusing Alcott Quote

The Library
by
Felix Vallotton

~She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.~
Louisa May Alcott

I can completely relate to the first part of this quote and my husband Steve would totally concur on the second part!Oh,just to let everyone know,I was approved to be a book reviewer by Thomas Nelson publishers and am awaiting the arrival of my first book!I just love the smell of new books,don't you?:-)
Have a blessed weekend.
Sharon

I'm So Sorry...

~Rejoice with those who rejoice,and weep with those who weep.~
Romans 12:15 NKJV

The call came in at about 9 this morning.I was preparing my morning oatmeal and the caller ID said it was my youngest sister,Melanie Clark, calling me from Sacramento.She's 41 and just married for the first time on August 15th.I'm glad I took the call instead of letting it go to voice mail.I answered the phone as I usually do and she asked how I was.I said okay and proceeded to ask her the same.Her voice broke into tears as she proceeded to tell me that her father in law passed away unexpectedly this morning.He was simply showering and passed away into eternity.I guess his wife had tried CPR on him after getting him out of the shower but to no avail.My sister is heartbroken that this wonderful man who helped his wife bake her wedding cake is now gone from their lives and so unexpectedly.All I could say to my sister was "I'm so sorry,I'll pray for you guys"and weep along with her.I wanted to be able to gather her in my arms and let her cry out her grief on my shoulders.She's my youngest sister and I love her.But I am 550 miles away and so must pray for her and weep for her from a distance.My heart is broken for her for I know what it feels like to lose my husband's father(he passed in 1997).And she and I shared in the grief over our mother's passing in 2001.There's no way around it.Death stinks.It bites.But none of us get out of this life alive and we will all face the passing of loved ones.The best we can do is trust God completely and follow His word.And share His heart with those who are grieving by weeping alongside those who are weeping even if from a distance.Please keep the Clark family in your prayers.Many,many thanks.
Love and Blessings~Sharon

I Did It...finally :-)

Read the Classics I

After giving it much thought I have filled out an application to be a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson Publishers.I am awaiting their approval or declining of my application.I am hopeful they accept me for I love to read and I love to write and I get to keep what I review!It's a win/win situation.:-)And with Autumn coming on there will be more indoor time here once the rain comes.And speaking of Autumn...our weather beginning today and lasting all next week is to be very Autumnal.Mild days and chilly nights are forecast!Just what I am longing for as these so very hot days and nights as of late have been a real challenge here in this hot apartment.Fans do indeed help however they are not as helpful as an AC or a brisk Autumn wind.:-)We are watching an ill granddaughter today till about 2:30.I do not like watching sick people which is probably why I have no interest in nursing on any level.:-)There was a time in my youth when I considered it but I now see that it was merely due to the fact that I grew up having to care for my younger siblings and my mentally ill mother.I did not see any other choice.It was all I knew so could not see any other life for myself.If given the chance or choice now I would go to school and learn all I could about the writing and publishing industry.That's the one constant that has never changed in my life since childhood...my love of words...well crafted words on a page inspire and excite me like nothing else(unless I am in worship and really feeling God's presence or out in His creation and filled with awe by it's beauty).And speaking of books I have 2 more waiting for me at our local library.Both by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann I think.They are non-fiction(Fleeced!and Outrage!) and I look forward to reading their insightful(I am sure they will be insightful)views on a variety of topics from illegal immigrants to the current administration.And speaking of this current administration I am very concerned about this whole socialized medicine issue.I know several people who would be adversely impacted by it including my husband and I.What are your thoughts?

Blessings~Sharon

Thankful

I am so very thankful as I type this.We thought we were going to have to take my husband to the ER today as he was having chest pains.But they're gone now.The nitroglycerine's did their job.Of course we prayed as well as having him take his pill(s).So thankful we have a loving Father who watches over us all.Perhaps God knew we needed a break from babysitting our granddaughter for the pains started just as were to be"on duty."Daughter called in to work and said she would not be in.After awhile the pains just vanished and a bit of lunch took away the nausea.So we are enjoying the unexpected day off from watching granddaughter.We need a break like that from time to time as life can be quite stressful for us without it.Perhaps it would be easier if our apartment was not so small and we both had better healtth,etc.Things like this affect all of us as our granddaughter has to play outside or at her friend's places when we watch her as our place just cannot accomodate Steve and I,a variety of loud children and our cat Shadow(who dislikes loud children immensely.:-) ).Oh, I am also thankful my new issue of"Victoria Magazine"arrived this week!It's the issue dedicated to all things British!And it's one of the few splurges I now have living on a fixed income as we do.Though I wish the cover had something other than food on it I was so glad to see it's arrival in our mailbox this week.I believe one needs beauty as well as bread in life.One feeds the body and one feeds the soul.I love to sit and peruse it's lovely pages and just relax and calm down from the stressors that life hands me at times(like a bank statement that refuses to balance even though I am extremely particular about it's upkeep as well as that of our checkbook).:-)How are things in your part of the world?What are you thankful for today?
Blessings~Sharon

From a Friend:Words of Encouragement and Wisdom

The following was sent to me by a friend.I thought it worth sharing here so I copied and pasted it.Have a blessed day everyone!
Much Love~Sharon

Good Morning, I woke up at 2 am feeling the need to write this email

I need to address the FEAR that is running rampid across not only America but most of the northern hemisphere.

As I write this, I know there are repercussions that may come against me. Several years back each time I was on the phone, there was a beeping sound every few seconds, and my mail for the past several years has already been opened. Each time I receive a package it has been clumsily re-taped closed. Including a family cookbook sent to me had a stamp on the package saying it had been inspected. However, I am not afraid; I only fear missing what the Lord tells me to do. When we are in His will then we have nothing to fear.

I suppose this “62 yr old, devout Christian great-grandmother” is a real threat in some way. Many of us are on a list to be watched for being a threat to our country. So much for freedom of speech!

I know it must be a terrible thing to be out of work with nothing in sight, and children to house and feed. If you are in this place, you must fight against the rabid fear trying to choke out your faith in God. In spite of what our eyes tell us we must trust the Lord to provide our basic needs.

It was over thirty years ago, when we went through an extremely rough time. I had in my purse $10 to last two weeks. While in church, I heard the Lord say, “Give the $10 in the offering”. I whispered to my husband in hopes he would say that cannot be God. However, Dave told me to give it to the church. Therefore, I did with a sinking feeling. The next day I discovered $20 in the sofa, and then I found food in the back of our cupboards I had no idea was there. One time a stewed chicken and veggies lasted us a full week with out adding water, and it did not spoil or lose its flavor in any way, the bowl stayed full. Glory to God and His provision!

Our walk in the Lord has been a faith walk for the past thirty-two years. It has been rough at times, but we have learned through it. The Lord has never left us alone, not once!

Phil 4:14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

As we walk close to the Lord, He will meet our every need, not our wants, but our needs. Give where you can and what you can. It may be giving of your time helping others, whatever the Lord lies on your heart to do, do it cheerfully.

Praise the Lord for what you have; a family that loves you is a great blessing. Strong legs and good health is an awesome blessing.

I have spoken often of the time coming when we will need to share our home with others, we are seeing this happen today. The important thing is not to give up trying and trusting the Lord.

Romans 8: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

I want to encourage each of you to stand up for what is right. This “health insurance plan” being shoved down our throats, will destroy most of us! Senior citizens as well as the very young needing medical help will be denied for a beginner. The government will decide who is to live and who is to die.

We are seeing the death of the America we love. We are witnessing the emergence of the “One World Government” breathing down our backs, which is “Fascist” replacing our Constitution.

HOWEVER, if anyone tells you to take up arms please discourage this; for this is not the answer … the answer is fasting and prayer!

I need to encourage each of you to begin building a food, medical and basic needs supply if you have not already. The day is but a shadow away when we will have need of this. As the Lord told Joseph to store up for the drought coming to Egypt , so He is telling us to do the same.

Again, I want to say, prayer and fasting is the answer to our needs being met. Jesus while in the Garden asked His disciples to pray with Him through the night. They kept falling asleep. We do not want to be remiss in this. Too much is at stake here. Not only our freedom, but also our very lives and souls are at stake! We must be alert to what is happening around us as well as listening for the Lords directions. If we are asleep spiritually when the Holy Spirits tells us to get up and leave, we will miss the protection of our Lord.

We must stay focused on our Lord and not man and his evil plans. It does not matter whether we are Republican or Democrat we need to fight for our freedom in God’s way and follow His leading not our own. My husband and I watch Glenn Beck on Fox news as well as Hannity. These men keep us abreast of what is happening they need to be prayed for daily.

We have never seen such an evil regime in the White house, stay alert dear ones and fear not, for we are not alone, the Lord is near us and ready to care for us each step of the way.

Isaiah 25:2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners' stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. 3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

Matthew 6: ²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I am holding each of you in prayer as I ask you to pray for me and mine. We need each other as never before.

May our Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless each of you as you walk in His light.

Jesus loves You & so do I,
Carol Psalm 91
http://www.abbalovesus.com

We Made It There Finally

Twilight view of Pacific Ocean
from Oregon Coast

We were able to take a much needed break this week and make it over to the Oregon Coast for a few hours on Tuesday!The drive over was lovely.Newly paved road most of the way thanks to ODOT(Oregon Department of Transportation)!The weather was cool and cloudy but after the recent heat wave we welcomed the cool and clouds.We made it to Lincoln City without incident and decided to hit the Tanger Outlet Stores Mall first.They have a Christian book store there called Tree of Life that I like to visit when we make it over there.They have a discounted book section in the back that I like to peruse.3 books for $5.97 is a deal I cannot miss looking at!Once again they did not disappoint.I found a book by Brian Flynnn called"Running Against the Wind."He's a former new age medium who offers a dire warning to the church about the new age practices that are making their way into modern day mainline churches!I also found 2 other non-fiction books by Jennifer Sands.She is a widow due to the 911 disaster.One book is called"A Tempered Faith" and the other is called "A Teachable Faith."I look forward to delving into both as soon as I finish my 2 library books and another stack of books I have markers in.:-)It was a good thing I found stuff pretty quickly for the mall started to get really busy and we hate crowds so we left as quickly as possible.Wanted some lunch but did not know where to go.Steve then said he wanted to splurge and drive to Depoe Bay for lunch at Gracie's Sea Hag.So off we went.The drive down Highway 101 was lovely.We saw bits of the ocean and the bay as we drove south and found much to comment on.Huge waves.The odd blue heron here and there.Bits of driftwood that resembled animals while in their natural,uncut forms!So much to ooh and aah over.And much laughter too which is such a great stress reducer.We made it to Depoe Bay and even found parking in close proximity to the restaurant.One of the perks if you will of my husband's having COPD is his disabled placard.We almost never run out of places to park when desiring to go somewhere.As we walked up to the restaurant we noticed a Swarovski Crystal shop right next to Gracie's Sea Hag.It's sparkly color drew in my beauty loving eyes but our growly stomachs decided to eat first.If,like us,you love fish and chips then we recommend Gracie's.They have both cod or halibut and it is served piping hot and in generous portions!I actually took some home with us.:-)Our stomachs full we then"waddled" :-) over to the crystal shop next door.I love sparkly and I love color.My eyes could not take stuff in fast enough.We spent several minutes in there and even Steve was really enjoying all the color and sparkle.One of the clerks even took some stuff out of the display cases and showed us stuff up close and explained what were observing.There were glass paperweights,crystal flowers and jewelry of all kinds;some even made with Oregon Sunstone!Simply beautiful.Though life on a fixed income does not allow us to purchase things like that we did enjoy"window shopping"immensely.A few minutes in such a pretty place does wonders even if one cannot afford to buy.We exited the shop and decided to head north again to find a quiet spot to look at the water.Once again we were able to see the majestic Pacific Ocean as we drove along.We also enjoyed the many kites and wind socks flying in front of local businesses.Loads of color and movement due to the perpetual coastal breezes that blew.:-)Made me feel like a kid.We ended up at Roads End State Park.There were too many there for a quiet spot but we did find a place to park and look at the water from up top.We enjoyed people watching as well as dog watching.We both love watching dogs at play,especially at the beach.We laughed at 2 young girls who would chase the waves as they went back out to sean and then come back in running being chased by those same waves.Hopefully those girls will remember such things for a life time.I don't have any such memories.We then decided to head back to Salem even though we knew it would be much warmer.But we came back a little refreshed and thankful to God for just a few hours respite.
Blessings~Sharon

Overwhelmed Overload

Grand Teton

Hear my cry ,O God:
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will
cry to You.
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is
higher than I.
~Psalm 61:1-2~

A request from a senior neighbor made me crabby.I did not want to return her phone call which I knew was a request for assistance of some kind.Word from a friend about news of her husband's return of prostate cancer made me cry.A call from a family member found me muttering under my breath "leave us alone" from another room I assumed they too were wanting something from us..My flesh,my humanity,was all too apparent in the last few days.I was on emotional overload.Overwhelmed by life.Inundated by a plethora of prayer needs for people needing healing had left me with a broken heart for these suffering souls.Add to that the recent heatwave and subsequent loss of sleep and you have prime breeding ground for emotional and physical exhaustion.I felt I had not a thing left to give.Nothing.Empty.Out of gas.And in the midst of all this a reminder to go the Rock that is higher than I for refreshing.For healing.Run to Jesus with my all too human frame.Run to Him for healing and renewal.Go to Him for rest.For peace.And if needed,escape for a day.Which is what we hope to do tomorrow.We hope to run to the coast for the day.To escape the stress and monotony of a life lived on a fixed income which carries with it it's own monthly challenges and stresses.We hope to stare at the water and let His waves have their healing and restorative way in us.We hope to have a cheap meal somewhere and just enjoy each other and His creation with out a jangling phone or cell phone!Our way of running to the Rock that is higher and bigger and more powerful than we could ever imagine.A way to let my overwhelmed and overloaded heart catch a break and perhaps heal a little.
God bless all~Sharon:-)