OOPS!

I just THOUGHT I was finished with Christmas! LOL! I've already heard "grumbling and complaining" that my last post didn't have ANY pictures in it! I guess I found out that everyone comes to MY blog to see the PICTURES! Well, that's alright with me. I just didn't want to bore anyone with my "grandchildren" Of course, that is not possible, I'm sure! :) Oh well......I guess I just HAVE to put these pictures on so ya'll can enjoy them along with me.

We've got so many wonderful people in our congregation that love to give gifts to us at Christmastime, and this year wasn't an exception, but our grandchildren got in on it this year! So here are a few more pictures of Christmas in the Office after church. James, Carmen and Jeremy wanted to give the girls these "pink baseball gloves, pink back-packs, and a ball to throw". (In my house?) They had so much fun opening these gifts. Scarlet isn't quite old enough to have a glove and ball, so she got a sweet little "sunflower bear".

Thank you Bro.James, Sis.Carmen, and Jeremy! (I'm sure Kyle was in on it somehow.)We love ya'll!

I'm Finished With Christmas

As much as I've enjoyed this Christmas, friends and family, I'm ready to move on to a NEW YEAR! In my wildest imagination I never believed that we would be celebrating the year 2007. All of my life I have heard about the return of our Lord, and when he would come back for His bride, on a cloud, and we would be caught away, together, to meet Him in the air! I am still looking for Him to return. I KNOW it will happen and it can't be too far in the future! But, while we remain here on earth I want to be ALL I can be for God, family, friends, and church. It's wonderful being a mom, wife, grandmother, friend, and Pastor's wife! Life couldn't have been any better for me. Of course, we've had some very hard times in our ministry, but I have been so blessed and I am happy to be "who" I am. Working with people, and loving them, and seeing changes take place for the better in their lives is fulfilling and exciting! I've watched how God has taken the sin-sick life, and made something beautiful for the world to see. I've watched the poor become financially stable after coming to God, and you can't experience these changes in people's lives without feeling a deep appreciation and love for the ONE who has caused this to happen. What does 2007 hold for all of us? I don't pretend to even "think" I know, but I do know there are great things ahead for everyone who will strive to do their BEST for God!

A Little More of Christmas

This week has been busy with FUN! Oh, there was work involved, but it was the kind of work a lady doesn't mind when it involves her kids, grandkids, and family. After all, if it wasn't for those we love, life wouldn't be a whole lot of fun. During the time my family has been home for Christmas I had the privilege of going to the mall to see Santa with my grandchildren. Savanna is 5 years old and today was the FIRST TIME she had ever seen Santa! When we arrived he was gone “feeding his reindeer” so we waited patiently until he returned. When Savanna heard the bells ringing for Santa to arrive her eyes lit up!







It was beautiful to see a child’s reaction to a “fairy tale world”.
Our children are only children for a short time, and it is getting harder and harder to find a child with a pure and healthy imagination!! The world we live in is trying to steal it from them.






So, let the children enjoy a little time of a “make believe world” and while they are having fun unwrapping presents “Santa brought on his sleigh”, we can get away from the pressures of “our world” and imagine with them, for it’s through the eyes of a child that we can find the pure, simple, and beautiful things of life!

Scarlet was afraid of Santa! She's not quite old enough to want to be held by a man with a big, white beard.

I'm Still Here

Well, ya'll probably think I took off with Santa, but I wanted to inform you that I'm still here!! LOL! Since the family has been home I've been very busy having FUN! I'll be posting more in a few hours, just please don't give up on me! See you soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

EXCITED and BLESSED!

I just had to sit down for a few minutes to say that I am so EXCITED about Christmas! God has been so good to me this year. Could I "count His many blessings" to me? Well, I could try, but would only get so far, because His blessings are new EVERYDAY! I am really looking forward to my family being home with us this year. The grandbabies are old enough now to realize they are coming to "Mimi and Papa's" house and we're going to have FUN, FUN, FUN, and get to open gifts from everybody. Oh yes, it thrilled me when Brenda told me this morning "Savanna has been counting the days until we go to Mimi's house!" Scarlet was trying her best to "crawl through the phone" when I called them awhile ago. Brenda said, "Mom, Scarlet is about an inch from the phone. She is trying to figure out where you are!" They will be here tonight and will stay as long as they can. Andrew, Mandy and Alayna, are living here in Wichita Falls, but when Jon and Brenda get here they come over to our house and are here most of the time. Sometimes they pack up and come stay with us! It's so much fun!

In April '04 I wondered if life would ever be right again. From 2000-2004 my sisters and I lost our "brother, mother, and father". The pain of the loss was almost more than we could stand, but we have found that "life goes on" even when you don't think it will. Yes, LIFE CHANGED and the pain of change was TERRIBLE, but God has been GOOD to us through it all! We will always miss them terribly, and at Thanksgiving and Christmas it seems to be worse than at other times, but one of these days we will be together again, and that's what keeps me LIVING!

Memories flood my heart and mind as Christmas day approaches, and a lot of them come from ME being the "grandmother"! I LOVED going to Grandma's house. She always had her Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, and when we arrived, even if it was late in the night (it was a 5 hour trip) the lights on the tree were on and there was ALWAYS a pot of "white beans" on the stove. I was so EXCITED about being at Grandma's house! She usually told me what she bought me before I could open my gift. She couldn't hardly stand the suspense of surprises. I think every Christmas of my childhood I got a doll from Grandma and Grandpa Pound. I loved my newborn babies, my black baby, and my bride doll. The Christmas dinner was always so delicious. She made the best turkey and dressing and always had me come and taste it to see if it "tasted right". How would I have known? I was just a little girl! After several years of tasting the dressing, then I got really good at telling her what it needed. UMMMMM.....I can almost taste it now. After Christmas dinner with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins, the adults usually took naps, or went outside and lounged in the front yard while the kids played. We weren't in the house playing video games, since they didn't even exist, but I have a feeling that even if they had, we would have been "shooed" outside to play. The wonderful thing about it was we didn't have to play by ourselves for long. The adults would come out and we would "jump rope", play "catch", or "flying dutchman". Then when the adults were too tired to keep playing the kids would play "ditch"!

It was so much fun being with all my cousins. After it got dark and we were called inside there was always the time around the piano! Mother "tickled the ivory" as Grandpa would say, and we had to sing by "note" out of the songbooks! Everyone had their "part" they HAD to sing. If you didn't Grandpa would stop the song and correct you so that the song would be sung RIGHT! WOW! It was beautiful and fun!

I want so much for my grandkids to grow up enjoying their Christmases with Mimi and Papa like I did when I was a "child". I cannot allow sorrow to rule my life, lest I forget to have FUN with MY grandchildren, like Grandma and Grandpa showed us. They had a son die at 17, and a baby daughter die when she was around 6 months, yet they always showed me the JOY of LIVING! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Pound for the great legacy of LOVE, JOY, PEACE and FUN! I will meet you, Keith, Mother, Daddy and all our loved ones who have gone before us "in the morning" around the THRONE!

Here is a reminder to all of us who remain here on earth: Talk, laugh, sing, play, and enjoy THIS Christmas with family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

You've Been Blogged!

Last night was the annual Angel Tree Gift Wrapping that ReaLife has done for several years, so I went up to help for a while. We had a great time wrapping gifts for children who do not have much and wouldn't have Christmas gifts if it wasn't for those who unselfishly give to those who are less fortunate.

Great Writer

My friend, Joseph, has written a very good post about our service with Sis. Freeman. You really ought to read it! It's so touching to me. Thank you Joseph for your "thoughts" written in "words" so we could enjoy them.

Words Cannot Describe

There is a song that says, "I Can't Find the Words" so I have to use that phrase tonight when I talk about the things God has done for us this weekend. We had Sis. Nona Freeman with us in both services and she was used of God mightily! She preached a message God gave her to preach to EVERY church she is invited to and it was EXACTLY what we needed to hear. While she preached she told of miracles and the working of God in the lives of Bro. Freeman and herself. All of you who have heard her know exactly of what I speak. Faith was being built in the hearts of everyone under the sound of her voice, and she was getting ready to lay hands on EVERYONE who came forward when she leaned on the pulpit, ceased speaking and became disoriented. She was near collapse when Wendell and Andrew sat her down in a chair behind the pulpit. The church started praying and after a little while she started coming back around!! She was PRAISING GOD through most of this situation, and felt that Satan was trying to destroy what God was wanting to do, so she told him, "Satan, I AM going to sit in that chair and I AM going to pray for everyone who wants to be prayed for", which was most of the people in the congregation! WOW! It was a POWERFUL move of the Holy Ghost and many people were touched. I've had one lady tell me she was in a lot of pain when she went to get prayed for and after Sis. Freeman laid hands on her, she went back to the pew, worshiping God, and the pain was gone!! We are EXPECTING GREAT REPORTS from tonights service! At 90 years old this dear "warrior of the cross" is still being used mightily of God and we were privileged to have her here at Life Tabernacle!

Santa Came to Town

Ok, ya'll! I couldn't resist.

She told him what she wanted...

Of course she KNOWS she'll get it...

I'm sure she will...because she had a good long talk with "Santa"!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This is Santa's "new sleigh"! (another piece of my collection)

Santa Isn't Alive? That's RIDICULOUS!

This is going to be a long post because of the story I have attached, but I just HAD to say something about Santa! Those of you who know me very well know that I LOVE Santa! I know he is a controversial subject among some, but I really enjoy the "spirit of Santa Claus". As you can tell, I am still a kid at heart and love the make-believe world. If you want to stay young you must sometimes "think like a kid"! Didn't Jesus tell us to "be like little children"? Well, I'm living up to it! I do not know who wrote this story or I would give them credit for it.
I received it in my email box from a lady in our church who knows how I feel about this subject. Thank you Janet for bringing us back into the world of "make-believe"! But, is it really "make-believe"....I'll let you decide!
Before you read the story let me tell you another one about Alayna. As I was preparing this post I heard about this. At our church Christmas Social, Sunday night, Sharon took Alayna to the restroom. Alayna said, "I wanna tell you something." Sharon said ok - what? Alayna said, Santa Claus is REAL!! Sharon asked, "How do you know?" Alayna answered, "'Cause I saw him at the MALL!!!"

Now, if that doesn't make you believe Santa's real, maybe this story will! LOL

"An Adventure With Grandma"

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day, because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true. Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked.


I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten- dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew: My family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's .... for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it -- Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: RIDICULOUS! Santa was alive and well, and we were on his TEAM! I still have the Bible, with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.

"He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree."



The pictures of Santa are a few pieces of my Santa collection.

Alayna Loves to Entertain

I am putting this post on especially for those of my family and friends who are not around my grandkids. I just wanted you to see Alayna as she recites one of the "rhymes" she likes to do. It's really a little game she does with her mother, but since Mandy wasn't here, I asked her to just say it. I hope you enjoy! Love you all!

(of course, if those of you who see her in church enjoy this little video, it's alright with me....lol)

Spread the JOY!

A friend of mine sent this to me this morning and I just had to "spread the JOY"! Please go to this link and ENJOY Santa and his reindeer singing, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". I won't charge you anything! LOL! Love you all! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Is A Time For Love

I wanted to post a few more pictures of our drama today so that you could enjoy a little bit of it. Andrew remembered being in this drama when he was a boy. I enjoyed seeing Alayna as the drama went on. Nothing could get her attention away from it.
Here are just a few of the pictures I took while enjoying the story of how Jesus comes into our lives in many different ways, yet sometimes we do not recognize Him. But, when we are sincerely seeking for Him, He lets us know that He's been there all the time. Very thought provoking.

Curtis Shahan, the Cobbler













James Cain singing "Somewhere In My Memory"


















Mikela Sterner, one of the grandchildren













Ayrian Boyd singing "O Holy Night"













Grandpa (Joseph) and some of the grandchildren
Grandma (Linda) and some of her grandchildren
Life Tabernacle is full of talented people who love working for the Lord and making His Kingdom better. I just want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU for all your hard work! You are wonderful!

Note: There is no way to show all the pictures or name all who were involved in the drama. Just know, you are appreciated for all the time you spent making this a special Christmas!

Christmas Drama Today!

I will write more about this later, but I just HAD to put these pictures on today! This is Joseph Ouellette



being "Grandpa" in the drama our Sunday School Department put on today.
"Christmas Is A Time for Love" is the name of the drama, and they did an incredible job. "Grandma" is being played by Linda Howell, our Director of Education and Drama Director! We love you Sis. Linda!

Wedding Bells

This weekend Wendell, Andrew, and I went to Austin, TX for a wedding of one of the young men who grew up in our church, Darin Cash. Darin received his "doctorate in music" recently and we are very proud of him. Congratulations Darin! While in college at the University of Texas he met Carla, also a music major, and she will be receiving her doctorate soon. Carla is a sweet young lady and she adores Darin. Darin has applied for work at several universities around the nation. We wish the best for Darin and Carla as they pursue their careers. Both of them are very talented in their own field of music. I have not yet had the privilege of hearing Carla play the piano, but I am looking forward to it. Darin can "tear up" a trombone! Dr. and Mrs. Darin Cash we love you very, very much! May God lead you and guide you through your life. Jimmy and Betty Cash, Darin's parents love Carla and are very happy to finally have a "daughter"! They were so gracious to us and invited us to sit with them at the dinner reception. We had a great time of visiting with them, family and friends.