Looking back over February

February has come to an end and it has felt like Spring here in Kansas recently.  The ground hog did see his shadow which means 6 more weeks of winter....(if you believe that). A cold front did slide in this weekend bringing icy conditions. The NE is still covered in snow.  

Recapping February:

A verse I wrote out and set on my counter to remind me to "walk in His ways" is Eph. 4:29:

     "Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."

We missed senior days for both of our granddaughters.  Boo hoo for living long distance.

We were able to get to Arkansas for our Ark teens' homecoming.  Eli was the sophomore representative.  Here he is with the sophomore girl representative.

Family picture

We watched the ballgame. I got a chuckle out of these various coloured shoes.  I didn't get the pink ones in the shot.  It is not like how the guys did it the 1970s. 

We went out to eat after the game.

This is so weird and a little spooky.  Dan, Staci's dad, was playing around with Grok and they took one of our photos and made it into a video that is absolutely fake.  Never happened.  You can see how AI can tell lies.  What can we believe anymore?

Being Valentine month, the kids had their doors decorated with encouraging words.  I'm assuming Staci put these up for them.  Or were brother and sister encouraged to write them and put them up on their siblings' door?  A good idea to do this!

Saturday evening was the school dance.  Eli got all ready for his first date.  Mom and Dad made sure he cleaned out the car, got flowers for the girl and gave him instructions on how to treat a girl right.

Eli's class met at this place (a cemetary with a beautiful chapel) to take pictures.  Parents and grandparents came to take photos of their kids too.

We drove a short distance away to get photos of Emeri where she was with her classmates.

Another fake video.

Josh used AI to turn the kids photos into 1980s styles.

What a hoot!

And I think it was Eli that asked the computer to make up their future families.  Oh my.  

We 3 couples went out to eat while the kids spent the evening with their friends.  We also went to see the movie "Solo Mio".

When we got home, Jobi wanted to sleep on our bed, but he was sent to the laundry room where his bed is.  Sorry, bud.

Incidently, Eli had parked his car at the cemetery.  They had carpooled with friends to go out to eat and to the dance.  When they went back to get his car, the cemetery had its gates locked so they had to wait until the next day to get it!  

On Sunday after church, we went out to eat for the 3rd time.  We rarely go out to eat so 3x in one weekend was a treat.  Eli stayed home.  He was running a fever.

We drove home Sunday afternoon.   When we got home, we half-way watched the superbowl.  Packers or Chiefs weren't playing so we didn't care. 

We enjoyed the Olympics several evenings.  Jordan Stolz, the speed skater who won 2 gold and 1 silver is from Kewaskum, Wisconsin, not too far away from where our daughter's family lives!  I also enjoyed watching the Japanese skaters who medaled.

  

Valentine's Day:

The hospital put out Valentine's pictures.

Al wrote me a love poem.  

On Valentine's Day, I fixed a special meal.  Steak, potatoes, asparagus. We chose to stay home.  As we were doing the dishes, I said "This would be a perfect night for Nehemiah to propose to Hannah."  Not even an hour later, we got a Facetime.

                                            He did!  And she said YES!

My first granddaughter will be getting married!!  Later that week, we got another facetime and this picture.  She said "Yes to a dress!"  They made me promise not to show the dress.

Another milestone - our youngest grandchild was potty trained this month and can now go to preschool with her older sister!  That is quite the accomlishment!

       Kaia painting Cinderella                                 Tenley

My "friend" - can I call her friend now? - gave me this very difficult puzzle.  Doesn't look hard, but it took us most of the month to do!  The shapes were all very wierd which made it so hard to figure out.

We attended a Grandparenting vision luncheon after church.  Our community life group will be doing the Grandparenting Matters study this summer.  We want to be intentional in praying for our grandkids!

"How vital prayer is - abound in it!"  - Spurgeon

Study with the older women at church continues on with "The Gospel on the Ground" by Kristi McClelland.  We will finish up this month and plan on finding another study.  I also am going through the book "Sacred Marriage" with our younger moms.  An excellent book!  On Wednesday nights, I love teaching 3-5 year olds Awana Cubbies.  I love being creative, like holding up 2 sheets for them to "walk through the Red Sea".  I am also really enjoying the classes I take in Wichita with World Bible Seminars. What a privilege to be able to dig deep into the Scriptures!  Again, all this not for head knowledge, but to draw closer to Christ.

My key verse:

"Love the LORD your God,

     listen to His voice

             and hold fast to Him.

   For the LORD is your life!"

                    Deut. 30:20

The reason I love to study the Word:  "The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the LORD have they who fear - revere and worship - Him, and He will show them His covenant, and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning."  Psalm 25:14 Amplified, Classic

We don't always understand hard things in life.  A friend's son, age 37, was killed in a farming accident this past week.  So tragic it seems, and yet for believers, there is hope - a "homegoing" to be with our eternal Father.  He leaves behind a wife and 4 young children.  Another friend's son suffered a stroke. He's only 40.  Another is struggling with nightly fevers.  A young friend is separating from her husband.  There are many, many more prayer requests.  Many to lift to our Heavenly Father.

"'Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.'  We often want God to lift us out of there, but His purpose may be to join us there.  He joins us in illness, deaths, breakups of marriages.  We have to learn to navigate miracles and nonmiracles.  Everyone goes through this stuff.  He dignifies suffering with His own suffering on the cross.  He empathizes with us, walks with us through the valley of the shadows, hears our prayers, gives our suffering meaning and purpose and gives us hope!  Don't abandon God.  Unbelievers suffer hopelessness and are utterly alone."  - P. Greig

"I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake you, not relax my hold on you, assuredly not."  Heb. 13:5 literal Greek

We ended the month on a good note.  We had a party with Japanese friends and people with connections with Japan!  Several called that they were sick and could not come but we still had a good many come, several new people.  During introductions, we had everyone put a sticky note on the map where they were from.

Everyone brought yummy delicious Japanese food to share.

A joyous time to finish this month!

January Recap

January has slipped by so rapidly!  The children returned to their homes in their various states. Christmas decorations were all put away. 

I gathered up my Christmas cards and put them in a basket. Each week I am pulling out a new one and praying for that particular family. So far I have prayed for 4 different families and began praying for another family this week.

My friend, Carolyn, from California got me into choosing a word for the year.  Here are a few I've had in the past.

As I contemplated what word to choose for this year, I kept coming back to Prayer. ...to sit more in His presence, talking with God.  

In particular I love to pray back Scripture as I read it. God speaks to us from the Word, the Bible.  And I pray back to Him as He speaks to me. It is a 2-way conversation.  A relationship with Him.  

I pray for people as they come to mind; while doing dishes, or even in the middle of the night.  But I had been hurrying lately in praying through my prayer list; getting on to my "to-do" list for the day.  I sensed God wanted me to spend more time here, interceding for others.  I love it when someone says to me "I prayed for you this morning."  What a bond to pray for others in the Body of Christ.  And to pray for those who don't know God at all!  I especially love to see how God answers these prayers.  I printed off these Request/Answers pages.

"Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people)."  Ephesians 6:18, Amplified

I have seen suggestions on how to do this.  I have my own categories that I use, but these are good ideas.

We went to a conference with Paul Miller, who shared this method. 

I did it for awhile, but I went back to my notebook method.

I came across this prayerbook and had to get it since "prayer" is my word this year.  I had already decided that I would read through the Bible again this year so it was perfect! I hadn't read through the Bible in 3 years. This year I would read it in the Amplified Version and I have found it so enriching!

This past month I also started attending a class on "Learning to Accurately Handle the Word of Truth" by Dr. Jim Martin, Biblical scholar and founder of Bible World Seminars.  We went to Israel with him and also on Paul's Missionary Journeys.  We meet twice a month on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.  On the off week, we have small group zoom classes where we "yeshiva", have interactive discussions.  

A scroll of Joshua

Dr. Wave Nunnally - He is Emeritus Professor of Early Judaism and Christian Origins at Evangel University.  He completed an MA in Hebrew language at Jerusalem University College on Mt. Zion.  He is recognized for making specialized scholarly research on the Dead Sea scrolls accessibe to people.  Our son went to Israel with both guys and does video work for Dr. Nunnally.

The purpose is not to study for information, but to SEEK Him; 

head knowledge versus knowing God.

Psalm 25:14, Amplified, Classic

"The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the LORD have they who fear - revere and worship - Him, and He will show them His covenant, and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning."

"My heart will know no rest, until it has found Thee." - St. Augustine

We've seen some spectacular sunrises and sunsets this month.

A couple in our small group from church had several wooden puzzles.  They come with fun shapes!  What fun it was to put it together!

We went out to eat with our friends, Dave and Marilyn.

Our freezer gave out.  It was 21 years old.

That meant shopping for a new one.  All our kids have the french door style and like it so that's what we got also.  I do like the bigness of the frig.  Jury out on the freezer part.

It should probably last until it is time for us to move and downsize.  Allen's parents bought this frig the year they got married.  1946.  It still works!

I'm continuing the slow process of going through old photos.

    My family, 1959 - we had to have formal pictures every year to send back to the                 churches in America that supported us.

Wasn't Allen so cute in first grade?  

Well, I would say he STILL is cute!

Kansas got hit by a snow storm.  We had to cancel my older women's Bible study due to the single digit cold.  We had to cancel my younger mother's study due to illness that has hit the area hard also.

Luckily this wedding was not cancelled but it made for some rather scary driving out of town! 

We helped at the nursing home with wheeling the residents to hymn sing.  We enjoy it just as much as they do!  The words of hymns are so rich!

All the Way My Saviour Leads Me....He does!  This is my prayer for 2026, that I would follow Him in the way He would have me go.