Friday, December 1
We suppose it could be fitting that we would spend the first day of the month cleaning house and cooking...not a whole lot of fun, but maybe fitting. Anyway, that's what today was all about as we prepared for an evening of food, fun, and fellowship with church friends Jerry and Diane Nickerson.
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Saturday, December 2
After all the efforts yesterday, we mostly took it easy today except for the part where Barbara whipped up a dessert to take to Yantis tonight to share with the community members participating in or observing the annual One Holy Night celebration.
When we were finished in Yantis, we returned to Mineola to get a treat at Dairy Queen and walk around the train station plaza to see our local decorations.
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Sunday, December 3
This morning found us back in Yantis for Sunday School and the regular morning service at First Baptist Church.
Our children's sermon continued with the lesson that Pastor Craig was using from Luke 1:76-77 regarding the prophecy about the Christ Child.
Sharing the Prophecy
JIM:
In last week’s lesson, we learned that Zechariah, the father of John the
Baptist, was told by the angel Gabriel that he and his wife would have a son in
their old age. Zechariah didn’t believe Gabriel,
and because of that, he was unable to speak until the baby was born.
In
today’s lesson we find that when Zechariah was once again able to speak, his
first words were to praise God because He was sending Jesus to be our savior. Zechariah then said this about his own son,
John the Baptist, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most
High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him.
What
does this have to do with us today?
Well, I’ll tell you…as Christian believers, we are to be like John the
Baptist and spread the good news of Jesus, our savior, and his forgiveness of
our sins, to everyone we meet. The story
of salvation through Christ is the greatest story you can ever tell.
This
morning Mrs. Little and I have some pencils.
Pencils can be used to write a story, but we’re going to use them to
tell a story about what Christ did for us.
BARBARA:
Just look at all these pencils! They are different shapes, sizes and colors,
but they all have one thing in common…the eraser is worn off of every one of
them! That shows that I make a lot of
mistakes. When I make a mistake, I erase
it and start over and over again, until I get it right. I don’t know why I keep these pencils,
because as many mistakes as I make, a pencil without an eraser is pretty much
useless.
JIM:
Mrs. Little, those pencils remind me of people.
People come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, too, but we all have one
thing in common…we all make a lot of mistakes!
That is why God sent Jesus to die on the cross…to erase our
mistakes. When we do something wrong, we
can ask Jesus to forgive us and because of Jesus, God will erase our mistakes
and we can start over again, and again, and again. Unlike these pencils, God’s eraser never
wears out.
BARBARA: Peter once asked Jesus if he should forgive
someone who sinned against him seven times seven, or 49 times. Jesus said, “not seven times seven, but
seventy times seven.” I think Jesus knew
that if we forgave others seventy times seven times, we would never be able to
keep count and we would just forgive over and over, the same way he forgives
us.
It
doesn’t matter if we are short, tall, skinny, or fat, red, white, black, brown,
or yellow, we all need God’s forgiveness, and we need to forgive others as well. Just as God forgives us over and over, we
should forgive other people the same way.
That is the message of love and forgiveness that Jesus died for.
Our
lesson of love and forgiveness needed a reminder and treat, so this is what we
came up with? During this time of year,
you often see snowmen all over the stores, don’t you. Did you know that the
white of a snowman represents forgiveness? And since we’ve also talked about pencils, we’ve
mixed snowmen and pencils together to make your treat. And, by accident, when
we put them together look what they made. Awesome, huh?
JIM: Heavenly Father, we all sin and fall short
of your glory. Thank you for sending
Jesus to die to forgive our sins. Help
us to forgive others the same way, over and over again. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Following church, we returned home for a quick lunch, and then hopped on Taz for a short ride to one of the local churches to join Patriot Guard Riders from around East Texas honor and celebrate the life of one our own members.
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Monday, December 4
Our adventures for today included a trip to Sulphur Springs to do some Christmas shop-looking, attend a movie with Ladd, Angela, and Jahrhett...
And then go to a local nursing home to visit with Marilyn, one of our church and Sunday school members.
Tonight was a dress rehearsal for the annual Christmas Concert by the Lake Country Symphonic Band.
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Tuesday, December 5
While Barbara stayed home to pay bills, make sure our finances were in order for the month, and make plans for our upcoming trip to Dallas for Snowball Express 2017, I drove to Yantis for the weekly prayer meeting and then went to Our Little Lot at Holiday Villages of Lake Fork to start winterizing Big V.
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Wednesday, December 6
A month or so ago we did an interview with Tumbleweed Smith, a syndicated columnist and broadcaster who covers almost everything Texas. Today one of the Suplhur Springs radio stations aired the interview. Since we can't get that station in Mineola, we didn't know it had been aired until I started getting messages from fellow buglers in the area who heard it.
This evening we made another trip to Sulphur Springs; this time to join some of our church members and others at a visitation for the husband of one of our church members.
This evening we made another trip to Sulphur Springs; this time to join some of our church members and others at a visitation for the husband of one of our church members.
Following the visitation at the funeral home, we drove downtown to join friends Jerry and Diane for a day-early birthday dinner for Diane.
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Thursday, December 7
Lest we forget...Today our nation remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought us into World War II on this date in 1941.
This morning Barbara prepared a dessert to take to the funeral luncheon at our church in Yantis. When that was taken care of, we spent the rest of the day packing and preparing for our trip to Dallas tomorrow.
Tonight was the final dress rehearsal for the Lake Country Symphonic Band concerts scheduled for Sunday and Tuesday.
While I was at band rehearsal, granddaughter Randi sent us a message with a photo showing her enjoying the highly unusual snowfall in San Antonio.
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Friday, December 8
We ginned around early this morning to get the last of our items packed and loaded into the car, then struck out for Dallas.
Our first stop was at Lakehill Preparatory School, where Heather works and Alexander and Abby are students. One of the first persons we saw was Mr. Perry, the headmaster, who gave us a grand tour of the new additions to the physical plant (and a visit to Abby's classroom).
Following the tour, we went to the cafeteria to join local nursing home residents and senior citizens in the annual Christmas lunch provided by the school and served by the Junior class.
This evening we met with Andy, Heather, Alexander, and Abby for dinner at a local restaurant, and then returned to the school to watch as Abby starred in an original drama class production.
All-in-all a great and fun day!
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Saturday, December 9 - Tuesday, December 12
These days were a blur of activity as we participated with East Texas Patriot Guard Riders and others who were working in the sewing room to provide motorcycle vests to give to children of our fallen military warriors who are attending the annual Snowball Express at the Anatole Hotel in Dallas.
The stories we could tell are too numerous to relate in this journal/blog, but the photos tell our story far better than words ever could...
From reuniting with PGR friends and SBE Gold Star Families, to meeting new friends, laughing when two young men showed up wearing vests they got the first time they came (they thought maybe they needed new ones since this would be their last year as they were aging out)...plenty of salutes, hugs, and fun!
From reuniting with PGR friends and SBE Gold Star Families, to meeting new friends, laughing when two young men showed up wearing vests they got the first time they came (they thought maybe they needed new ones since this would be their last year as they were aging out)...plenty of salutes, hugs, and fun!
One of our favorite parts of Snowball Express is catching up with friends that we have made through the past years. We are especially attached to a family from Hawaii that has "adopted" us. This year they gave us some very special gifts to show their love and friendship.
This evening was the second performance of of the LCSB Christmas Concert (I missed the Sunday performance because of Snowball Express), so after getting a short nap and a light supper, we drove downtown to the historic Select Theater and prepared for the performance.
To add to the celebration of the season, director Mike Holbrook announces winners of Outstanding Student Band Member and the Outstanding Musician (Olean Humphrey Award) for the year. Tonight I was honored by receiving the Olean Humphrey Award as outstanding musician, selected by the band members...what an honor and humbling experience!
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Wednesday, December 13
Today was all about getting our lives back together after the adventures of the last week. There was laundry to wash and put away. Specialty items for Snowball Express to be packed., and a house to be put back together after taking care of everything else.
This evening we drove out to Yantis to re-introduce ourselves to our fellow church members at Bible study and praise band rehearsal.
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Thursday, December 14
It seems like it isn't an official day anymore unless we go to Yantis for something. We drove up there around noon for Barbara to meet with some of the ladies and then go out to lunch together.
Meanwhile, Jerry Nickerson came to the church to pick me up and we went to the senior citizens center to have lunch.
This evening we went to the ETMC Rehab Center in our neighborhood for me to do a personal workout while Barbara went through all the paperwork of joining the center for her own workouts and getting a personalized tour of the various machines.
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Friday, December 15
Today was a day of several different activities. First was some shopping at Walmart and Dollar Tree, then some work on our Children's sermon for Sunday, and designing labels for Christmas cards to distribute to church members through the church's Christmas Card Post Office.
Finally, we "treated" ourselves to a workout at the rehab center as the highlight of our evening (it doesn't take much for us to have a good time).
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Saturday, December 16
After lounging around a bit this morning, we went to work finishing the script and preparing the handouts for the children's sermon tomorrow.
This afternoon we joined some members of our Sunday school class at the church to decorate our class table for tomorrow's Christmas banquet. The theme of our table was Christmas Angels.
Tonight...Rest and relaxation time in our own home, surrounded by our own Christmas decorations.
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Sunday, December 17
If driving to Yantis makes it an official day, we certainly went all out to make this one super official.
This morning we drove out for Sunday school and church, and to present the children's sermon during the morning service.
Matthew 1:18-25 – Joseph---Messed and
Blessed
JIM:
As we get closer to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, we’re going to spend just a few minutes talking about one of the
most important men in history that we know almost nothing about… a man whose
life was both blessed and messed. That
sounds strange, doesn’t it?
The
man was Joseph, who became the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Joseph and Mary had planned to be married,
but when Mary told him that she was going to have a baby, he knew the baby
wasn’t his, and according to the custom of the time, he could break the
engagement. But, when an angel of the
Lord came to him and told him that the baby was the child of the Holy Spirit
and Joseph should not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, he decided he would believe
and honor God, and go ahead with the marriage.
In
doing this, Joseph knew he would take a lot of criticism from other people, but
he was a righteous man who was true to his word and who believed, served, and
honored God through his words and actions, and when Jesus was born, Joseph became
his legal and earthly father.
The
Bible doesn’t tell us much about Joseph.
In fact, after Jesus was 12 years old, Joseph isn’t even mentioned. But, in those 12 years and the years beyond
them, Joseph set the standard for an ideal stepfather. He treated Jesus always as if he was his own
son, he made sure that Jesus received good spiritual training in their hometown
of Nazareth, he took the whole family to Jerusalem each year for the Passover
celebration, and he trained Jesus in the family business of carpentry. When Joseph and Mary later had children of
their own, they raised them all with equal love and respect.
Even
with the qualities that Joseph and Mary showed as a couple and as parents,
Joseph’s life was never accepted as normal by most of the people of the
time. In fact, it was often a real
mess. Joseph was criticized and
humiliated by people who thought he should never have taken Mary as his
wife. And when Jesus was proclaimed to
be the Son of God, the insults became even worse.
But,
Joseph was a man of strong beliefs. He
was prepared to do what was right, even though he knew it would cause him great
pain. But he also had another trait that
was important. He not only knew what was
right, he tried to do it in the best way possible. His life may have been a
mess; but he was still blessed!
Barbara:
Now how could I explain this “mess; but blessed” to you children using modern
day events. What immediately came to mind was something that happened to me at
a church dinner, much like the one we are having tonight. I had gotten my food
and decided to go to a table where a new couple was sitting. I wanted to get to
know them. But...just as I started to put my food down, my plate folded over
and the food fell all over the table! Oh, my!! That was a mess! Mr. Little
quickly helped me clean up the mess; but I felt like everyone was laughing and
thinking I was a real klutz! However, that isn’t what really happened. Instead
this nice, new couple became some of our great friends. So out of that mess, I
was really blessed!
Your
treat today is a reminder that whenever your life is a mess, you still can find
something good in it. Let’s see if you can find the good hidden in this mess!
JIM:
Heavenly
Father, we pray that when something happens in our lives and we find ourselves
in a mess, we will have the wisdom to remember that you are God and the Good in
our lives, and that we need to continue to always turn to you for truth and
guidance. And it is in the name of Jesus
we pray, Amen.
After church we went home and then returned to Yantis to join fellow church members at the Christmas banquet.
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Monday, December 18 - Tuesday, December 19
After all the excitement of the last couple of weeks, we decided that it was time to take a break from the world. The problem was, how were we going to do it?
All of the kids and grandkids were going to be busy with their own activities, so we decided we'd be spontaneous, select a place to go over Christmas to just get away from our regular world.
We thought, thought, and thought some more, mentioning places and then shooting them down, but we finally decided we'd go to New Orleans. We'd been there before, but only for a day or two, and never during Christmas, so that was going to be it.
These two days were devoted to planning basic details, such as how long we'd be gone, which route we'd take, what clothes to pack, etc. We usually focus a lot on small details when we go off, but this was going to be a (mostly) spontaneous experience.
So, we laid out a few things we thought might be absolutely necessary (never thinking that a heavy coat just might be one of those things, but more about that later).
Everything was caught up around the house, so we just enjoyed a couple of days of spontaneity as we thought about the trip.
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Wednesday, December 20
Happy 73rd Birthday to Me!!!!!
And that, family, friends, and neighbors, is what this day was all about...having my first cup of coffee in the sun room, and enjoying a mostly quiet day at home.
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Thursday, December 21
Happy Birthday to daughter Heather Little Dondis!!!!
With takeoff for our New Orleans trip scheduled for tomorrow, we spent most of the day preparing and packing for the trip.
We had told Chad and Melaina at church that we wouldn't be there on Sunday, so they agreed to do the children's sermon. Part of our time today was spent preparing the handouts for them to give to the kids, since they were going to be busy with their own Christmas activities, as well as their church duties. Brother Craig gave us the scripture and topic, and we came up with the treats and handouts.
This evening we went to Ladd and Angela's house for the Mineola family Christmas with Ladd, Angela, Jon, Maddey, Jarhett, and Aunt TJ.
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Friday, December 22
We finished our packing and car-loading this morning, drove out to Yantis to give the children's sermon materials to Chad and Melaina...
And then returned to Mineola to take care of some last minute business before we headed off on a new adventure.
The trip across I-20 to Shreveport and then south on I-49 was uneventful (thank goodness), and since we weren't in a hurry to get to Alexandria to spend the night, we found it to be a pleasant trip with several well-timed stops for comfort and stretching. Whether moving or stopping, Barbara always finds ways to have fun with a camera...
We got to Alexandria in plenty of time to get checked in at our hotel and get things set up for the night's stay. We asked the manager for suggestions for eating, and she recommended Copeland's New Orleans, just a block or so from the hotel.
The recommendation was spot on, and we enjoyed a delightful meal in a cozy New Orleans themed restaurant.
Then it was time to go back to the hotel, have some Photo Phun, and settle in for the night.
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Saturday, December 23
After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we packed the car and began the next leg of our journey, from Alexandria to Opeloussas to Baton Rouge, and then to New Orleans.
It took us a little while to get settled in at our hotel in New Orleans, but as soon as everything was put away and the room was set up the way we wanted it, we went downstairs to talk to the concierge about the best way to see the things we wanted to see. We did book a tour bus for tomorrow, but struck out on our own this evening for a self-guided walking tour to see what we could see. Unfortunately, this happened just as an unseasonable cold front swept into the area...too bad that those coats we had thought about were still in Mineola!
A few blocks behind the hotel was the Roosevelt Hotel, a glittering Christmas showcase...
Across the street from the Roosevelt is St. Peter's Cathedral, a marvelous piece of religious architecture.
A short walk brought us to a trolley stop and a shorter ride to the end of the line at the Mississippi River. After walking around and seeing the night sights, we wandered over to Christmas on Fulton Street and were treated to the sight of man-made snow blowing down the street, Christmas carolers, and every kind of vendor imaginable.
We were wrung out after all the walking, so we voted to get a pedi-cab ride back to our hotel, where we crashed for the night.
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Sunday, December 24
Today was "Tour New Orleans Day." First off (after breakfast, of course), was to catch the tour bus that the hotel concierge booked for us. And we have to say that this was one of the best touring experiences we have ever experienced. The guide was a young man who grew up in New Orleans, and was also a history major in college, so he was very knowledgeable and was a great teacher.
The tour included many of the major sites around the city, including one of the famous cemeteries, a stop for coffee and beignets (Beignets must be an acquired taste, and we aren't interested in acquiring it), as well as up close and personal lessons about where and how Hurricane Katrina affected the area.
We went out later on our own to revisit some of the places we had seen this morning on the tour, (and have some more Photo Phun)...
and then located First Baptist Church, where we attended the Christmas Eve service.
When we got back to the hotel, we found that we had received photos from Alexander and Abby, thanking us for the Christmas gifts we had sent them...
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Monday, December 25
Merry Christmas From She and Me to All of Thee!!!!!
Our day was slow and easy. We rested around the hotel for awhile and then went out in search of more adventures. We eventually caught a trolley and rode it to the end of the line...caught another trolley and rode it back to the stopping place closest to the hotel, and walked back to the hotel...nothing very exciting, but very interesting and informative.
The highlight of the day was a Face Time Christmas visit with Mike, Kelly, Ava, Jack, and Benjamin...
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Tuesday, December 26
We decided that since today was our last day in New Orleans, we'd explore the French Quarter. After riding a couple of trolleys (and missing our stop on the second one), we began our French Quarter in the area of the famous Cafe du Monde, and proceed from there to experience the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of area.
We were worn out by the time we finished in the French Quarter, so we walked back to the hotel to get some rest and then begin packing for our trip back home tomorrow.
Barbara's sister Carol had been doing some Christmas traveling with her granddaughter Kimberly and her family, and decided to come through New Orleans to see us on their way home to Houston. Once they were in place, we caught a cab to their hotel (it was only a short distance, but it was raining, so we opted out of the walking option), and had a nice visit.
And then it was time to head back to our hotel to call it a day and get some sleep before heading home tomorrow.
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Wednesday, December 27
Happy Anniversary to daughter Leah and son-in-law Ryan Mcquitty!!!!
Happy 14th Birthday to grandson Alexander Dondis!!!!
Today was a Point A (New Orleans) to Point B (Mineola) day for us. We thought about splitting up the trip home, but then decided we'd just tough it out and drive all the way in one day. New Orleans was fun, but it was time to get back home.
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Thursday, December 28 - Saturday, December 30
The downside of going off and having a good time is returning home and reestablishing the daily grind. These three days were all about unpacking, doing laundry, getting the house back together, getting the car serviced, and preparing our children's sermon for Sunday.
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Sunday, December 31
It's New Year's Eve...Time to say Goodbye to 2017 and Hello to 2018!!!!
As we wrapped up 2017 this morning, our children's sermon at Yantis First Baptist Church focused on writing a new chapter in our lives for 2018.
Jeremiah 2:22 & Psalm 51:7 – A New
Beginning
JIM: Do you know what this is? Yes, It’s a white board. Most classrooms today have white boards that
replaced the black boards and green boards that Mrs. Little and I had in our
rooms when we were students, and then when we were teachers. The nice thing about white boards is that you
can write on them using different colors to make certain words or designs stand
out and get someone’s attention. As you
are writing, if you make a mistake or don’t like the color you chose, you can
just wipe it out and start over again.
One
thing we have noticed about white boards is that after they are used day after
day, they start to show stains…not bad ones, but you can tell that the board
isn’t pure white anymore, even if you wash them with soap and water. Luckily, someone invented this special
whiteboard cleaner. You just spray it
on, wipe it, and it completely takes out the stain and old marks and makes the
board look just like new again.
What
does this have to do with our lesson today?
Well, here is what God had to say in Jeremiah 2:22…”Although you wash
yourself with water and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is
still before me.” When our lives are
stained by sin, there is nothing we can use to remove the stain; we need the
special cleaning that God provided for us through His son, Jesus Christ.
Mrs.
Little will tell us even more about how we can have a new beginning, just like
the year 2018 will have a new beginning tomorrow.
BARBARA: Tomorrow is the first day of a new year. It is
time to erase the mistakes of the past year and begin again with a clean slate.
We do that by remembering to turn to the Lord before we make choices that can
take us down the wrong path. Brad Paisley (the singer) said, “Tomorrow is the
first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” What he meant was that
each day of the year is like a page from an unwritten book. What you do, how
you act determines what your book is about. Therefore, Mr. Little and I have
bought each of you these books. What do you notice about them? Right, they are
blank...you are going to be the author of your own book for this year. You can
draw, write, add stickers, copy quotes or Bible verses you like to fill your
book. You don’t have to do this in one day or a week...you can take a whole
year to fill your book. Just remember...Write a good one.
Jim: Dear Lord, we are thankful that as we
start this new year, we can truly start with a clean slate as we as you for forgiveness
in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The rest of the day was all about rest and relaxation, and then tonight we made our traditional New Year's Eve phone calls to Gary and Joyce Whitaker, Barbara's friends from many years ago, and Max Johnson, a friend of mine since my junior high days in Artesia.
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Wrapping up 2017 from our home in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
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ADDENDUM
This is the point in our writings where we traditionally summarize the events and activities of the past six months. That tradition comes from the first few years of our retirement when we actually wrote and published a paper journal that we bound and distributed to our kids and grandkids. The six-month interval was a practical matter, since that was about as thick a book as we could publish.
If we had kept track of our various mileages for the last six months, that would also be reported here, but since we didn't do the one, we can't very well do the other. However, one of our New Year's resolutions is to fix that "little" problem.
To summarize the last six months, we would have to say that July - December was much like January - June in that we were unable to follow many of our dreams (Taz and/or Big V trips) due to multiple doctor visits, illnesses, and medical procedures, as well as the deaths of special friends.
Still, we were blessed in many ways and are pleased to be able to continue with the journal/blog, the record of our retirement journey (even if we did get way behind in our publication schedule due to so many unfortunate circumstances.
As we close out 2017, we thank God for His many blessings, and ask that He continue to guide, guard, and protect each of you (and us) on whatever journey each of us takes through 2018.
Happy New Year, and God Bless each of you!
Jim and Barbara
December 31, 2017
Mineola, Texas
