Sunday, April 1
Happy Easter, Everyone!!!
We were up and out of the house very early this morning to begin the new day, week, and month. For several years, Yantis First Baptist Church has held an Easter Sunrise Service at Swearingen Park on Lake Fork, and that's where we were headed...right after we stopped at the donut shop in Quitman to get a few boxes of goodies as our contribution to the breakfast following the early service.
It was sprinkling as we approached the south end of the Highway 154 bridge over Lake Fork, but the rain backed off, even if the clouds didn't. We got to the park early and began to prepare for our part of the morning's activities. Barbara was the photographer, and I would begin the service by playing a trumpet arrangement of "Morning Has Broken."
We were starting to wonder if there would be enough light for me to see the music or Barbara to get photos...
But as the clock rolled closer to 7:00 am, the light started to break through, and the congregation began to gather...
At 7:01 I began playing "Morning Has Broken," but just as I sounded the opening notes, a gust of wind hit the music stand and blew the stand and music into my face...not a great beginning, but I found out later that since everyone was still talking, they didn't hear the boo-boo (or at least they were kind enough to not admit it). Barbara came over to hold the stand while I started the song all over...
Brother Craig presented a beautiful sermon about the Resurrection, and he and Brother Chad led the music...
Following the service, many of the folks adjourned to the dining hall in the activities Center at the church to enjoy a potluck breakfast.
At 10:00 am, the congregation and visitors gathered in the sanctuary for the morning service, including our children's sermon...
An
Emoji Easter
JIM: Holidays and special days can bring out a lot of different feelings and emotions for each of us. We even have special words or sayings to express what we are feeling during those times, like Happy Birthday, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy Easter…you’ll hear that one a lot today.
Modern technology has given us a new way of expressing our feelings and emotions without using words. We now have little pictures called Emojis that are facial expressions to show our feelings about something. We used to call them smiley faces and sad faces, but now there are emojis that show every kind of feeling.
We’ve all heard the words that tell the Easter story, from the happiness when Jesus entered Jerusalem to the terrible sadness of His death on the cross, and the great surprise and joy when the angel at the tomb told the women that Christ had risen from the dead.
This morning, before Mrs. Little and I tell you the Emoji Easter story, you need to be prepared to help us. Mrs. Little what do you have for the kiddos this morning?
BARBARA: We
have made each of you a copy of the story we’re going to tell you this morning
and you’ll use your emoji sticks to help us. Are you ready? Easter is about Jesus coming to pay for our
sins because he loves us so much! (hold us heart
eyes)
JIM: Christ had to die on the day we call Good Friday to pay for all the
times we sin and disobey God. (tears)
BARBARA: After
Jesus died, he was in the tomb for 3 days before
something amazing happened. (bandage)
JIM: About the time the sun was coming up on the third day, some of Jesus’s
friends went to the tomb not knowing what they would find. (sunglasses)
BARBARA: When
Jesus’s friends got to the tomb, they found an angel
who told them Jesus was alive! (angel)
JIM: All of Jesus’s friends
were surprised and happy when they found out he
was alive and saw him for the first time! (surprised)
BARBARA: Soon
after Jesus came back to life, He went back to heaven and his disciples watched him go. (look up)
The praise and worship was led by Brother Chad, Melaina, and the praise band, there was a beautiful offertory by Ashley Vance singing while her mother signed, and the Brother Craig preached a powerful and moving Resurrection Day sermon.
Following the service, several of us drove to Mineola to attend a showing of "I Can Only Imagine" at the historic Select Theater. Because previous showings had been to full houses and people were turned away from the box office, we made sure to get there early enough to be first in line,,,even if it was going to be a long wait.
Being the group we are, there was no shortage of joking and clowning around, as well as lots of picture-taking.
A lady in the line behind our group was enjoying our antics, and soon became a part of us as we men welcomed her to our bunch. We found out that her name is Paula, and that she fit right in with us, even to the point of having some of us send her photos so she could share them with her family.
The movie was fantastic, and we all had a great (and teary) time.
When the movie was over, we all drove back across town to enjoy Easter lunch together at Whataburger...our restaurant of choice (especially when everything else is closed).
And when all was said and done (and eaten), we said our goodbyes and Barbara and I got in the car and headed off to McKinney to begin our 24th anniversary celebration. It was a good drive, but the weather started changing for the worse and by the time we found our hotel, the temperature had dropped into the low 40's and the wind was howling out of the north...not a great start to the celebration.
Luckily, there was a highly recommended restaurant just across the parking lot from the hotel, so we bundled up the best we could and trekked over to see what there was to see.
The recommendations for the Blue Goose Cantina were well justified, and we enjoyed good food and excellent service at a very reasonable price. We'll definitely have to start looking for the Blue Goose in our North Texas travels.
Once back in our room we settled in for the night...Barbara read and I watched the new stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
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Monday, April 2
Happy 24th Anniversary to Us!!!!
Barbara began our special day by posting this on Facebook...
Life with you, Mr. Little,
continues to bring new adventures, unbelievable contentment, and sometimes
roller coaster rides (which you know I detest)!
It’s summed up (by this
unknown author) this way, “No relationship is all sunshine, but two people can
share one umbrella and survive the storm together.” Thanks for sharing your
umbrella!
Have a happy 24th
anniversary day and know you are loved! 
💚💚
💚💚We recently heard about a place near Pilot Point called Texas Tulips. After doing some reading about it, we decided that's where we wanted to go for our anniversary. After finally getting up and around this morning, we headed off for a new adventure, enjoying the North Texas scenery along the way...
And found this...
Because it was cold, windy, and the tulips were ending their season of blooms, we didn't have to pay admission, but still had free run of the place. It was beautiful today...just can't imagine what it looks like when all the rows are in full bloom...
We purchased some tulip stands, made an order for a dozen Texas Flame bulbs for delivery in December, and promised to be back for the December fair to get a better feel for what Texas Tulips is all about.
We drove back to McKinney to do some banking, then found a Panda Express that just screamed for us to have our anniversary dinner there...
We got back home late in the afternoon, unpacked the car, and settled in for a nice quiet evening at home.
Later, I posted my Anniversary photo and wishes on Facebook...
Mrs. Little...Anniversaries are far more than just dates on a calendar. They mark neither beginnings nor endings. Rather, they mark continuation in the journey of our marriage. I believe that marriages, like life, are journeys, not destinations.
The photo I chose for this post depicts us not at any of the fun places we stopped at today, or the new adventures we had in those places, but us enjoying the journey this morning.
We've traveled through some dark places and across some bumpy roads on our 24-year adventure, but by navigating together, we've always come out into the light on smooth highways.This journey has been fun and exciting, and I awake each day not to see where we are going, but to see how we are going to get there.
Thank you for your love, compassion, and patience (yeah, we are both still learning about the patience part) as we continue this journey of ours.
Happy 24th Anniversary! Here's to us, the car, Taz, and Big V, and the wealth of family and friends we have accumulated during those 24 years!!!
What a great day!!!!
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Tuesday, April 3
We usually take photos of the yard and flowers on Easter, but since we were away from the house before sunrise Sunday morning, and didn't return until late yesterday, we got out this morning to take some shots to show that Spring has sprung at our place...
After that little bit of fun, we got busy doing some serious house cleaning. With everything else going on lately, the house took a back seat, and it was beginning to look like it.
This afternoon we prepared for a special "babysitting" job. Some church friends, Keith and Whitney, wanted to celebrate Whitney's birthday this evening by going out for dinner and then seeing "I Can Only Imagine." Our birthday present to them was to volunteer to watch daughters Aubrey and Rivers for a few hours. So, we went into full Grams and Gramps mode to get ready for a fun evening.
This afternoon we prepared for a special "babysitting" job. Some church friends, Keith and Whitney, wanted to celebrate Whitney's birthday this evening by going out for dinner and then seeing "I Can Only Imagine." Our birthday present to them was to volunteer to watch daughters Aubrey and Rivers for a few hours. So, we went into full Grams and Gramps mode to get ready for a fun evening.
I had already started a couple of grills to cook hamburgers and hot dogs when Keith, Whitney, and the kids arrived. Rivers had fallen asleep on the ride to Mineola, so they put her on the couch to finish her nap. Meanwhile, Barbara and Aubrey started building an ice cream cake while I started grilling the meats...
When Rivers woke up, Barbara took them outside, gave them some chalk, and they were off to the races doing chalk drawings on the front sidewalk...
Taz rides, of course (Rivers wasn't as enthusiastic about Taz as Aubrey was, but she was a good sport...)
And then dinner and ice cream cake dessert...
Followed by more Taz time and chalk drawing until it was too dark to see what we were doing.
We moved back inside for Aubrey's first trumpet lesson (Rivers wasn't a bit interested in trying)...
And then there was some TV time and free-play time until Keith and Whitney returned to the house, where the girls surprised their mother with the ice cream cake and a resounding rendition of "Happy Birthday."
And soon it was time for their family to return home, and for us to sit and savor the time we had spent with some special people.
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Wednesday, April 4
Today was just an ordinary day in the life. Barbara went to Naturally Nails to get a pedicure from Leslie this morning. While she was doing that, I went shopping to find items for our children's sermon this this week and ran a few errands.
We went out to Yantis for the church's Wednesday After-School program, and I had praise band rehearsal.
When we got back to the house, we just rested until it was a decent time to call it a day and go to bed.
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Thursday, April 5
Happy 78th Birthday to Aunt TJ!!!!
We aren't fancy vase people, so Barbara found some interesting bottles on the counter and set a couple of the tulip stems that we got Monday in them for display in the kitchen.
We had a lot on our plate for today. I spent a big part of the morning sorting out bids for homeowner's and vehicle insurance while Barbara checked to see what bills needed to be paid.
Later in the morning we went to Autumn to see TJ, give her a little gift, and wish her a Happy Birthday.
When we went with the community band to Dallas last week, we had a chance to visit with the charter driver for a few minutes. When we told him that I had driven charter buses as well as road coaches for the school district before retirement, he suggested that we contact his employer about doing some driving. He said that Chuck's Coach and Travel had 13 of the newer Van Hool road coaches, but they were down to only none drivers, and Chuck was looking for more help. We said we'd consider it, but last week was unbelievably busy, so we didn't do anything about it.
Today we just drove over to Hawkins, had the best Sonic meal we've had in 5 years (even called the manager to praise the team for good food and fast, courteous service), and then drove down Highway 14 toward Tyler to find the coach yard and talk to Chuck. Well, it was a good idea, but poor timing. I talked to Chuck's wife and found out he was on the road to Carthage today, but she said she'd give him the message and he would call back tomorrow.
Since we weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, we took our time driving back up Highway 14.
When we got to the four-way stop at Highway 16, Barbara noticed a sign for Jellystone Park, so we turned to the east, drove a couple of miles, and found one of the best kept secrets in East Texas. Kyle, the manager, welcomed us to the property, answered some of our questions, and then let us roam the property at will to see what they had. And this is some of what we saw...
It was fun to wander around the park and think about how much fun it would be to go camping with grandkids, family, and friends...Just made us more determined to work out some of the bugs with Big V and get back on the road again.
Farther up Highway 14 we pulled over at the Sabine River, which is also part of the county line between Wood and Smith counties. We've tried to shoot pictures as we drove or rode over the bridge, but never had luck because we couldn't slow down, so we decided to take this opportunity to see what we could see.
The Sabine is still running full from the recent rains, so we got some pretty good shots of it and an adjoining pasture, complete with grazing cattle...
By the time we got back home, we had just enough time for a quick nap and some supper before I was scheduled to go to band rehearsal.
Just as I was heading to the garage, we got a Facetime call from Michael and a chance to see Ava, Jack, and Benjamin in action. The photos are small because we answered on the phone instead of the IPad, but we had a lot of fun listening to Ava read, seeing Benjamin's art work, and watching Jack do his super hero moves.
Rehearsal tonight was intense, but satisfying. Director Mike Holbrook has chosen a very challenging program that requires individual practice (we called it wood shedding back in the day), as well as serious rehearsals (well, as serious as a bunch of amateur musicians can be).
Today was the unveiling of the poster for advertising the second concert of the 2018 series in May.
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Friday, April 6
I started the morning working on the text for our children's sermon for Sunday. When the first draft was done, we got started on our activities for the day. Most of it was all about straightening the house, dealing with insurance companies to get quotes for the house and vehicles, doing laundry, checking bills, etc. etc. etc. Nothing very interesting, but everything very necessary.
Before going to Yantis this afternoon for a church committee that Barbara chairs, we stopped at Walmart to search for the materials we wanted to give the children Sunday morning. We had several ideas floating around for something that would go with the sermon on the life of Joseph, son of Jacob, and finally settled on Play-Doh, and Jello Jigglers.
When we got to Yantis, the ladies did their thing to work on the church directory project, and I was able to get in a good practice session on the trumpet.
Just before we left the church, Barbara received a text from son John who was responding to receiving a gag gift that we had mailed Carol and him. They both fell in love with corn chips that we can get only from Brookshire's (which isn't in San Antonio), and John was laying claim to both packages.
Major thunderstorms rolled in this evening, so we spent the night watching newscasts and weather stations. Luckily, we got only some brief strong winds along with about a half inch of rain.
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Saturday, April 7
The cold front that dropped our temperatures to the low 40's rolled in this morning, providing some great sleeping weather. We both had separate spells of being awake during the dark hours of early morning, but managed to get over them and sleep until mid-morning.
From then on, it was serious business. Barbara was in the kitchen preparing
a casserole dish for lunch, and making up pans of Jell-O to use as learning aids for the children's sermon tomorrow.
Once the Jell-O was cooled and set up, we went to work cutting shapes for Jell-O Jigglers, then bagging them for the kids. We put small cans of Play-Doh in other bags, and Barbara designed labels to print and attach to the bags. This was one of the more complicated sets of handouts that we've devised, and the kitchen and dining room table were a wreck by the time we had everything finished, but teamwork prevailed and we got everything cleaned up and back in place in time to enjoy the casserole and salad that Barbara prepared.
This afternoon and evening we took time to catch up on a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds, get some trumpet practice time, revise the children's sermon script, and actually practice it before we packed it up to take to church in the morning.
Tonight...mindless TV time and work on the May Journal/Blog. For the record, this may be the first time since we started the blog several years ago that the first week, complete with photos, collages, and text are up-to-date except for the proof-reading. The rest of the month may not go this well, but we'll take the time to pat ourselves on the back this one night!
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Sunday, April 8
Barbara woke up this morning feeling really under the weather, but since the children's sermon we had written required both of us, we got dressed (Barbara trying a new look:
and drove out to Yantis and toughed out praise band rehearsal and some practice on the sermon before the morning service.
and drove out to Yantis and toughed out praise band rehearsal and some practice on the sermon before the morning service.
Pastor Craig told us he was beginning a series on Joseph, Son of Jacob, this morning, so we designed our children's sermon to give a very brief overview of Joseph's character.
The Story of Joseph – Overview
BARBARA: The song Mr. Little just played is called
“Have Thine Own Way,” and the words are a beautiful poem: “Have thine own way,
Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the
potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make
me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.”
JIM: Our lesson today is the first in a series on
the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
And that song describes Jacob’s life, and what our lives should be.
The
most important thing to know about Joseph is that he had a very close
relationship with God; and because his faith was so strong, he was always a
witness for God, no matter what his conditions were. Joseph was never flexible about his faith in
God, but he was always flexible enough in life for God to mold him and make him
into the man who would be His faithful servant, no matter where he was, whether
he was a young shepherd in the fields, a slave for 11 years, a prisoner for two
years, or the ruler over all of Egypt.
He didn’t ask, “God, why am I here?”; instead, he asked, “God, what can
I do for you here?” Even the pharaoh
asked his advisors, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the
spirit of God?”
Over
the next few weeks we will learn how to be more like Joseph in showing God’s
spirit as we learn and grow in the faith and as we allow God to mold us into
the people He wants us to be.
BARBARA: What do I have in my hand this morning? Right
it’s Play-Doh. What do you do with Play-Doh? You make things, don’t you? You
can stretch it, roll it, squish it. That’s exactly what God does to us, doesn’t
he? Though the Bible doesn’t talk about Play-Doh, it does say we are like the
clay and that God is the potter who molds the clay.
Another
reminder that just as we are like the Play-Doh we’ve given you, we also have
some Jell-O Jigglers. We took regular Jell-O and gelatin, mixed it with water
and once it was ready, we used cutters like this to make pieces for you. Again,
this is a reminder that if we allow God in our lives and have faith in him, he
will mold us and make us into something special.
JIM: Father God, our prayer this morning echoes
the words of that beautiful hymn. We ask that you have your own way with us.
You are the potter and we are the clay, so please mold us and make us after your
will, as we come before you, yielded and still.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Following the children's sermon I played in the praise band and did a trumpet solo for the offertory, and then we packed everything up to get back to the house as soon as possible in order to avoid passing the "bug" along to anyone else.
I did go back to Yantis for a couple of hours this afternoon to participate in some committee meetings, but then returned home to be with Barbara this evening.
Ending the day on a really nice note, I did see our first hummingbird of the season hitting on the feeder in the front year, but was unable to get a camera in time to take a picture. I hope to do a better job of documenting our little visitors this season than I did last year.
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Monday, April 9
This morning we drove over to Autumn Wind to spend a few minutes with Aunt TJ and see how she was doing. When we left, we drove back to Hawkins and down Highway 14 to Chuck's Travel for an interview and some information gathering with the owner, Chuck Roach.
I've been in love with the idea of driving charter coaches since I took my first high school band trip in 1960, and even realized part of the dream when I worked for Coach Travel Unlimited the last summer I was in Colorado Springs. And then, of course we logged about a kazillion miles driving the road coach activity buses for band, choir, and Odyssey of the Mind teams in Liberal, Kansas.
It was when we went with the Lake Country Symphonic Band to Dallas in March that I started thinking seriously about returning to driving on a part-time basis. Barbara and I talked about it quite a bit over the last week or so, and this would be the time for us to learn what it would entail before making a decision.
Chuck and his wife were really great, and made what was supposed to be an interview into a meeting of new friends. We even found that Chuck was baptized at Yantis First Baptist Church when he was eleven years old...small world!
After an hour and a half of visiting with new friends, we left with an armful of application forms and policy and procedures manuals with an offer to come back Wednesday morning for a road test and an appointment for a Department of Transportation physical.
Following our visit with Chuck, we drove to the PGR Guard Shack near Winona to give a box of military insignia packages to Norma, the owner/manager and chief seamstress.
We got back to Mineola in time for me to drop Barbara off at the house and then go spend an hour or so at Dr. Bankhead's office with Cousin Angela and TJ...Another busy day in retirement life!
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Tuesday, April 10
Barbara and I talked quite a bit last night about the pros and cons of taking the bus driving job, and thought about it most of the night, getting very little sleep. This morning I prayed on it some more and decided that as much as I think I would like to do that again, we have so many other obligations that it wouldn't be fair to Chuck to not be able to count on me when the chips were down. It was with a heavy heart that I called the office this morning, thanked Chuck's son, and explained that we appreciated the time Chuck and Jean had spent with us yesterday, but that it wouldn't be fair to Chuck to not be able to depend on me being there when certain trips came up, and that I needed to cancel the road test and DOT physical for tomorrow morning. Chuck's son was as gracious as his mom and dad, and with that, a dream was gone. If I had done it five years ago, I think we could have met the challenges quite easily, but the time for that lifestyle has passed us by.
To get over the disappointment, I geared up and went outside for the rest of the day to mow and trim the yard and begin cleaning out flower beds that had been too long neglected...fresh air and sunshine were the medicines of the day. (A bonus in all this though is that we had gotten a call from our special friends, Joyce and Gary, and they care coming to see us next Tuesday!)
When I had done all that my knees and hips would allow me to do outside, I came in, took a shower, and then tackled the job of cleaning and straightening our desk, and putting away all the files that had accumulated during the tax season.
Tonight...Sit back, relax, and enjoy a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds.
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Wednesday, April 11
Barbara was still under the weather from whatever allergies of illness she's had the last few days, so we kept the day fairly simple. We got haircuts this morning (long overdue). When we got home, I set out some jalapeno plants in a small bed at the end of the sun room. That's something we've talked about for at least four years, so no one can accuse me of making a snap judgement about it.😁
Tonight was our weekly trip to Yantis to help with the After-School youth events at the church, and then have praise band rehearsal.
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Thursday, April 12
Today was hardly worth writing about. The weather was iffy most of the day, so going outside wasn't much of a choice. Instead, we stayed inside and Barbara worked on keeping our finances in order while I did odd jobs around the house. (I know I talk a lot about Barbara doing the finances...it's not that we have lots of money or bills; but! Barbara is a believer in "hiding back" monies for upcoming expenses and bills so we're never caught unaware. This is one reason we are able on our limited incomes to enjoy adventures now and then.)
The afternoon turned out a little nicer, and since it is supposed to get bad tomorrow, I got the mower out and tackled the North 40 for the first mowing of the season. Between the overgrown weeds, wild flowers, and wild grasses and me being out of shape for this sort of thing, I was pretty much a wreck by the time I finished, but I still had enough oomph to get to the middle school for our weekly band rehearsal.
When I finished with rehearsal, I went to the local Dairy Queen, got a caramel malt for Barbara and a peanut butter malt for me and we celebrated surviving another day.
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Friday, April 13
Friday, the Thirteenth may have been bad for some, but since we took the day off from doing almost anything except working on the children's sermon for tomorrow, we can't say that it was much worse than any other day. We almost called the preacher last night to tell him that we couldn't come up with anything for the children's sermon, but when we finally got up and moving around this morning, it all fell into place.
Once we got the nuts and bolts of the sermon down, we stopped long enough to let me get a couple of recipes of jalapeno/sausage balls mixed up and cooked.
Barbara still struggled with breathing and I was tired from thinking too much this morning, but I did finally go across the street and mow neighbor John's part of the North 40; finishing just as the rain started to fall. Timing is everything!
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Saturday, April 14
We spent the morning putting the finishing touches on the children's sermon (believe it or don't, a driver/drill came in handy for this one)
and then Barbara got ready to pick up Cousin Angela and the two of them went out to Yantis for a Ladies Tea and Fellowship afternoon.
Me...I stayed inside and did absolutely nothing of any consequence for over three hours...and I didn't even feel guilty!
Tonight we drove up to Quitman to attend a special program featuring the Quitman United Methodist Church Choir and their guest singer, a special friend of ours, Sydnee Hawkins. We first met Sydnee and her parents at the Folds of Honor Sportsman's Challenge last fall. Sydnee sang the National Anthem and I sounded a variety of bugle calls as the evenings rolled along, finishing out the program with the sounding of Taps.
Among Sydnee's fans was Chuck Roy, Editor and Publisher of The Community Chronicle, a really great area news publication (who, by the way, got us involved in the Sportsman's Challenge last fall.
Sydnee was in great form tonight as she dazzled the audiences with her vocal talents.
The program tonight was a fundraiser to help send the choir to New York in November to perform at Carnegie Hall.
A good time was had by all, and all certainly enjoyed the variety of Methodist pies, cakes, cookies, and other assorted tasty desserts.
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Sunday, April 15
This morning found us up and running all over the buildings at Yantis First Baptist Church. Barbara and her Pictorial Directory committee were busy setting up to do sign-ups for portrait sitting times in May, and I had our regular Sunday morning praise band rehearsal. Following the rehearsal, We got to practice our children's sermon, and as soon as Sunday school classes started dismissing, Barbara's committee was hard at work helping folks pick out times to have their portraits made.
Our children's sermon at the beginning of the service was about Joseph (of the coat of many colors) prior to his being sold into slavery by his brothers. This lesson was designed for children ages 5 - 5th grade, but for the second consecutive week, we had no children attending. So, some of the teen-aged youth, who are really good sports, sat in for the sermon about Joseph, the brash, cocky, conceited, and arrogant teenager. Sometimes we think God has an amazing sense of humor!
Genesis 37: 1- 11 Joseph the Bragging Teenager
JIM: Last week we talked a little about how Joseph,
the son of Jacob, was a man who had a special relationship with God. God had a plan for Joseph from the very
beginning, but Joseph had a lot of lessons to learn before he could fulfill
that plan.
We
don’t even meet Joseph in the Bible until he was seventeen years old, and then
we find that even though God had a plan for his life, Joseph was just like a
lot of teenagers today; he was conceited, cocky, and arrogant, a real
know-it-all…not what you might expect from a young man whom God had chosen to
be a leader of a nation.
Unfortunately,
Joseph’s attitudes and arrogance were promoted by his father, Jacob, who made
it clear to Joseph’s ten older brothers that Joseph was his favorite son. Not only did Jacob say this, but he showed it
by giving Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors…something that a king might
wear, while the older brothers had only work clothing for herding sheep.
It
is clear to us now that this family had a lot of problems, and the problems
continued throughout their lives. But,
the real lesson for us is this: It doesn’t matter where we come from or what
our family problems might be, God has a plan for each of us, and if we turn to
Him for guidance, He will lead us through the problems and into that plan.
BARBARA: A few days ago, Mr. Little and I listened to a
sermon about how God has a plan for each of us, but before we can become what
He wants us to be, we have many lessons to learn…just like it was with
Joseph. In his sermon, Pastor Michael
Todd explained how we first see our lessons as obstacles…something that blocks
us from becoming what we think God wants us to be. But, there is another way of looking at the
obstacle; we can (and should) see it as an opportuanity to learn and grow by
getting around it or through it with God’s guidance. The easiest thing to do when we meet
obstacles in our personal and spiritual growth is to just give up. But, the
wisest thing to do in those times is to turn to God and ask for His wisdom,
strength, and guidance to overcome the obstacle and turn it into an opportunity.
This
lesson really hit home this week. As I was making cookies for the ladies’ tea,
my great idea of making chocolate chip cut outs turned into a disaster, and
there I was with a bunch of cookie crumbles and nothing to do with them. At the
same time (which maybe is why my cookies didn’t do right), I was trying to come
up with a lesson about obstacles and opportunities.
When
Mr. Little asked me what in the world I was going to do now, it came to me. Oh, yes, I could build little chocolate chip
trifles, and use them to hold my Turn Obstacles into Opportunities signs....
And, that’s how we turned my baking obstacles into an opportunity to teach a
lesson.
JIM: Dear Lord, as we each are faced with
obstacles in our spiritual growth, may we turn to you to teach us how to turn
them into opportunities. And it’s in the
name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
After church we drove back home to Mineola, had lunch, took a 1-hour nap, and then returned to Yantis for a 4:00 o'clock rehearsal with the praise band to prepare for a church/community sing-along service. Barbara and her committee manned the directory sign-up table prior to the service, and then we all went into the sanctuary for a fun, music-filled worship and praise experience.
And after that, we adjourned to the fellowship hall to do one of the things that Baptists do best...spending time in fellowship while enjoying ice cream and ice cream floats! It's a good thing that church food, after it is blessed, doesn't contain calories😀
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Monday, April 16
Happy Tax Day!!! "If you make any money, the government shoves you in the creek once a year, and all that don't get wet, you can keep." - Will Rogers
Okay, we got that out of our system...now on to the news of the day.
Wait...there isn't much to report. Barbara was sick nearly all day and the medication kept her asleep most of the time.
Our friends Gary and Joyce from Houston are coming for a short visit tomorrow, so I used the day to do a deep-cleaning of the house...nothing exciting, but very time consuming.
Barbara did get up for awhile this evening to build an ice cream cake for dessert when Gary and Joyce get here (tomorrow is Joyce's birthday, so we wanted to have something special for her).
We've learned through experience that ice cream cakes are much better if they sit up for a day, so after Barbara got it all made, we popped it in the freezer to do its thing.
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Tuesday, April 17
We got up early this morning so I could get a start on Joyce's birthday dinner. I decided on my world famous (well, in my little world) Brown-in-Bag Chicken, which needs to set up for several hours before baking. It's one of the simplest dishes in the world, but oh, so and tasty!!!
After getting the kitchen and dining room all cleaned up, we rested until Gary and Joyce arrived.
The friends are so special that even though we might not see each other for a couple of years, we can pick up a conversation right where we left off the last time. Barbara has been friends with them for over 47 years, so they have a lot of history.
Gary wanted to go out to Our Little Lot at Holiday Villages of Lake Fork. They stayed in Big V the last time they visited, which, we realized was when Mother was still living in the house. They wanted to see the improvements we had made over the years and check out the properties in the village.
On the way home, we stopped at Autumn Wind to visit with Aunt TJ so she could see Gary and Joyce again.
When we got back to the house, dinner was ready...
so we sat down to eat, talk, eat some more, talk some more, and then celebrate Joyce's birthday with ice cream cake and a few hands of 60-Second Slam before switching to 99 which all of us enjoy because we can chatter and play at the same time.
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Wednesday, April 18
We needed to take TJ to Tyler for an MRI this morning, so the original plan was for Gary and Joyce to leave when we did and continue their journey to Shreveport. But, they changed their minds after we told them about the shops in downtown Mineola and decided to "tour" our downtown area and meet up with us for lunch.
We were fortunate that we didn't have to wait long for the MRI and were able to return to Mineola in time to get TJ back to her apartment at Autumn Wind and then join Gary and Joyce for a meal and more visiting at Jalapeno Tree.
A look at the photo of the four of us shows that Gary and I were apparently too tall😀 (But, since the gal at the check-in desk volunteered to take the picture, we weren't about to complain. Besides, Joyce and Barbara always say Gary and I have only a half of brain. Guess they are right.)
We said goodbye to our friends and got them on the way to Shreveport before we headed home for a short nap and then our Wednesday trip to Yantis for youth activities and praise band rehearsal at the church.
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Thursday, April 19
Several weeks ago we took photos and video of our friend Karen Libs during her 60th birthday celebration at the church. Today, Karen's mom, Jeanetta, and our friend Maylene came to the house to go through the pictures, see which ones needed to be copied and printed, and to build a memory book (one of Barbara's photo publication specialties).
The ladies were great at what they were doing, but the assistant photographer (who shall remain unnamed, didn't get a photo of them while they were working. However, I (I mean he) did come to his senses in time to get a shot of the three ladies before the party was over.
After all the excitement of the past week, this afternoon was a rest and relaxation time.
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Friday, April 20
Chief among our activities for the day was to write a children's sermon for Sunday, and that took quite a bit of time to put together.
After being inside the house all morning, I took advantage of the beautiful weather this afternoon to mow and trim the North 40...and after all these years, finally decided to take some photos of it from different angles and locations...
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Saturday, May 21
Today was a day of miscellaneous activities. First on the agenda was to mow neighbor John's part of the North 40, since it was a relatively nice morning and the weatherman was calling for rain later in the day.
Next was some more work on the children's sermon, including another trip to Dollar Tree for handout supplies (and to find out that I had evidently lost my Discover Card sometime between last night's visit to Dollar Tree and this morning).
Once we finished the sermon handouts, we tore the house and car apart, but couldn't find the Discover Card. Barbara scanned our charges on the computer and found that no one has been using the card, so that was a ray of hope that maybe it just got thrown away...or something.
The promised rains came in just as we were leaving to join some church friends at Whataburger...
And then all go to Jamcat Sound for a rousing gospel sing by Cross County Line. Rain and a gospel sing = refreshment for the heart, mind, and soul!
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Sunday, April 22
Sunday morning activities at Yantis First Baptist Church this morning included praise band rehearsal, a rehearsal of our children's sermon, and Barbara and her committee working the table in the foyer to get folks registered to have portraits made for the new pictorial church directory.
In her spare moments, Barbara also got a photo of our ministerial team, Pastor Craig Vance and his wife, Stacy, and Youth / Music Minister Chad Ferrell and his wife Melania. Melania assists Chad with youth activities and plays piano for the praise band, and Stacy plays bass and sings with the praise band, We are truly blessed to have these families ministering to our congregation and community.
She also got this photo of two of our regular children's sermon attendees, Aubrey and her little sister Rivers...
Our children's sermon was loosely based on Genesis 37. We let Pastor Craig handle the heavy duty stuff, while we used passages from Jeremiah and Isaiah to focus on the fact that God has special plans for each of us.
Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah
30:21 - Following God’s Plan
JIM: We’re going to take just a little break from
studying about Joseph, son of Jacob this morning, and talk about God’s plan for
our lives. The Bible doesn’t say this, but we’re pretty sure that Joseph never
planned to have his brothers take away the fancy coat his father gave him,
throw him in a pit, and then sell him into slavery. But, God’s plan was to use Joseph’s
experiences, and Joseph’s willingness to have faith in God, to grow into a very
special leader for his family.
BARBARA: Mr. Little and I were teachers for 37 years,
and an important part of our jobs was to plan lessons for our students. We knew what we wanted our students to know
and be able to do themselves at the end of each lesson, month, and year. But, just because we planned the lessons with
each student and class in mind didn’t mean all of them learned what we tried to
teach them. Some students learned quickly,
some had difficulty learning, and others just didn’t want to learn some lessons
at all and ended up having to learn the hard way…or maybe never learned them.
God
has plans for each of us here today, and HE
has lessons to lead us into those plans.
But we are often like the students Mr. Little and I taught, and don’t
want what God wants for us. When we keep
ignoring God’s lessons, He will use someone else to do what He wants done, and
we will miss out on wonderful blessings.
JIM: God knows everything about us. In Jeremiah we read “For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
God
has a plan for each of us. He has a path that He wants us to follow and He
wants us to be successful in reaching the goal that He has for us. As
we face each new day and try to follow the path that God wants us to follow, we
may find that it is a lot like trying to solve a puzzle. We may face
difficult choices in deciding what God wants us to do. We may have to
make changes in the direction we are going. Sometimes we may
find that we have made a wrong choice and we have traveled down a dead-end
path. When that happens, we have to back up and start over
again! Following the will of God for our lives is not always easy, but
there is help available. God is always there to help us if we will just
ask Him to guide us.
BARBARA: When we left Joseph last week, his brothers
had stripped away his coat of many colors and sold him into slavery. But, what his brothers did for evil, God
turned into something wonderful for His people.
Our
special reminder today is a pouch of many-colored Life Savers that represent
Joseph’s coat. And when the Life Savers
are gone, just as Joseph’s coat was gone, we pray that you remember that God
has a special plan for each of you if you will just turn to Him and
listen.
Mr.
Little, would you like to remind us of what God said about His plans for us?
JIM: Yes, Mrs. Little, I would. “For I know the plans I
have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Let’s
pray....Dear Lord, as we travel through our
lives, we ask you to help us to follow the plan that you have for our lives. When
we don't know which way to turn, help us to listen for your voice as you give
us direction. Amen
We were both wrung out from the week's activities, so when the sermon was over and the directory committee had finished with their work, we put the tables back in place, said our goodbyes, and headed home to spend the afternoon and evening.
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Monday, April 23
We spent the morning cancelling our Discover Card and finalizing our homeowner's insurance to a new company. We have been with Hartford the last few years, but their premiums took a gigantic leap this year, so we searched until we found a plan that was better and still had a lower premium.
At 11:00 we picked up Angela at her house and went to Autumn Wind to get Travis and take her to a neurologist appointment in Tyler.
First, though, was lunch time at The Catch, a popular seafood restaurant in Lindale...
Then we were off to Dr. Hennagan's office in south Tyler for a couple of hours.
When we returned to Mineola, we stopped at Brookshire's to get a prescription and a few items TJ needed before we took her home to Autumn Wind.
It had been a long day, so we took Angela home and then returned to our house to rest from the days adventures.
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Tuesday, April 24
I got up early this morning to go to Yantis for prayer meeting. The sun was just coming up as I crossed the Lake Fork bridge on highway 154, so I pulled off at the park and got these photos of a Lake Fork sunrise.
After prayer meeting, I stopped at Holiday Villages to do some work on Big V. Annual inspection time is quickly approaching and I needed to get the tires aired up and check all the lights.
While Jim was doing his thing today, I began making the prayer cubes to give the children that Diane and I work with on Wednesdays. We have found that our 2nd graders are eager to pray; but lack the training and understanding of how it's really just a daily conversation with God. We're hoping these cubes will help them and make praying a part of their daily lives.
While Jim was doing his thing today, I began making the prayer cubes to give the children that Diane and I work with on Wednesdays. We have found that our 2nd graders are eager to pray; but lack the training and understanding of how it's really just a daily conversation with God. We're hoping these cubes will help them and make praying a part of their daily lives.
When I got home, we had breakfast, and then I spent a big part of the day working on a couple of articles for the National Band Association.
This afternoon we prepared a couple of packages for mailing, went to the post office, and made it to Sonic just in time to take advantage of the 2 for 1 drink special.
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Wednesday, April 25
It was a slow day around the house...some light cleaning, some laundry, paying the bills, and taking care of the business of life. Also, Barbara finished up her prayer cubes and the tags on them for her 2nd graders.
Tonight we went to Yantis for the weekly youth after-school activities and praise band...it was a relatively quiet day for us.
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Thursday, April 26
Today was the day. We haven't done much with Big V for the past couple of years, but under the by-laws of Holiday Villages, we have to drive her off property once every twelve month. So, we tie that day to the annual state vehicle inspection. Big V has had some other problems that we haven't been able to fix on our own, so we took her to the new Ford RV shop in Mineola for the vehicle inspection and repairs on the hot water system. We don't know how long she'll be in the RV hospital, but we do know there are seven patients ahead of her.
Since they couldn't do the inspection this morning, we weren't able to do the registration at the tax office, but we were able to get the new sticker for the cargo trailer we pull behind Taz. Now we need to plan a serious Taz trip, but that won't be anywhere in the near future.
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Friday, April 27
Today was all about getting caught up on some sleep we've been missing, and catching up on the journal/blog. The deadline for publishing and posting the April issue is fast approaching, and we've been kind of slack about keeping up with photos and text on a daily basis for the last two weeks, so we thought we'd better get busy.
Our "outing" for the day was to take a slice of ice cream cake to Autumn Wind Assisted Living Center for Aunt TJ as well as to spend a few minutes visiting and getting her caught up on what has been going on with us.
While we were there, we got this shot of Travis and Patty...
Our "outing" for the day was to take a slice of ice cream cake to Autumn Wind Assisted Living Center for Aunt TJ as well as to spend a few minutes visiting and getting her caught up on what has been going on with us.
While we were there, we got this shot of Travis and Patty...
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Saturday, April 28
One of the things we noticed last night at TJ's was that her apartment isn't being cleaned by the staff in a way that we feel is necessary. TJ's illness has robbed her of the ability to take care of her home the way she used to; so we decided that today was going to be spent cleaning for her. We didn't realize that she was going out to lunch with friends; but, really, this made the day's activity easier for us. After about an hour and a half, we prepared to leave taking some blankets that needed to be washed.
Once the laundry was finished, we folded it and drove back over to Autumn Wind where we delivered her "missing" blankets. (She had called earlier and mentioned her appreciation for the clean house but where were Patty's and her "blankies" ...once finding they were going to have clean ones, she quit being alarmed. lol)
While there, she mentioned that she needed some items from Wally World and some cash. (Unfortunately, TJ isn't able to shop due to confusion of what she can and cannot buy.) Since we were going anyway, we offered to get the items she needed.
By the time we finished shopping for ourselves and TJ, we were exhausted and it was 7:30 PM and we still hadn't had supper. But, that was quickly remedied with leftovers and a new episode of Criminal Minds.
One of the things we noticed last night at TJ's was that her apartment isn't being cleaned by the staff in a way that we feel is necessary. TJ's illness has robbed her of the ability to take care of her home the way she used to; so we decided that today was going to be spent cleaning for her. We didn't realize that she was going out to lunch with friends; but, really, this made the day's activity easier for us. After about an hour and a half, we prepared to leave taking some blankets that needed to be washed.
Once the laundry was finished, we folded it and drove back over to Autumn Wind where we delivered her "missing" blankets. (She had called earlier and mentioned her appreciation for the clean house but where were Patty's and her "blankies" ...once finding they were going to have clean ones, she quit being alarmed. lol)
While there, she mentioned that she needed some items from Wally World and some cash. (Unfortunately, TJ isn't able to shop due to confusion of what she can and cannot buy.) Since we were going anyway, we offered to get the items she needed.
By the time we finished shopping for ourselves and TJ, we were exhausted and it was 7:30 PM and we still hadn't had supper. But, that was quickly remedied with leftovers and a new episode of Criminal Minds.
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Sunday, April 29
Today was chock full of church activities. We were at Yantis FBC by 8:45 so I could help Barbara set up the tables and get the materials ready to register folks for portrait appointments for the new church directory. When that was done, it was time for our Sunday morning praise band rehearsal.
Today's service included Pastor Craig's sermon and the observance of The Lord's Supper, so we didn't have a children's sermon due to space and time constraints. Craig delivered another powerful sermon on the life and character of Joseph, son of Jacob, and got us to thinking of how we would continue our series on Joseph with our next children's sermon.
By the time we got home, there was just enough time for a short nap and a bite to eat before heading back to Yantis for the evening service. Since the weather was so nice, we decided to ride Taz and get some wind therapy along with our spiritual refreshment.
The scenery was gorgeous...
And, we had another wonderful session of praise, worship, and learning...
We noticed a visitor at the service tonight, and when it was over, Barbara saw that she was eyeballing Taz as we were getting our helmets on. Mary came over to introduce herself and Barbara asked her if she wanted a ride...Taz is a great "friend-maker," and Mary got to experience the thrill of a Taz ride around the neighborhood.
When we had said our goodbyes to everyone and cleared the parking lot, we headed back to Mineola, stopping at Subway to pick up a meal to enjoy while we closed out the evening watching TV. (Wanna guess what we watched? Yes, we are creatures of habit and even Criminal Minds beats the news any day of the week as far as we're concerned!)
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Monday, April 30
This was supposed to be an outside work day, but that never happened. There was an early heavy dew, so I couldn't mow or trim anyway, so I decided to get some computer work out of the way and then go back to bed for a while (waking up at 5:00 can be a real pain sometimes). When we woke up for real, I went back to work on some National Band Association documents, and Barbara worked on sorting out the schedules for the upcoming photography sessions at our church.
Then, it being the last day of the month, we both began proofing, editing, and otherwise enhancing the journal/blog to get it ready for publication. We really have been trying to keep it up to date so we didn't have so many last-minute things to do with it, but this one has so many photos that we had to check carefully to make sure we were telling the correct story about each one.
We could use a lot of words to describe the afternoon with Taz, but we'll let the photos speak for themselves (most of the time)...
First stop was the neighborhood mail box station to gather the day's junk mail...
Then to the post office to send off some mail...
A trip to CVS to restock some prescriptions...
A ride through downtown to Sonic to take advantage of the daily 2 for 1 special...(and gather pennies that were all over the place)...
Back around the loop and past the schools to Sears...We actually ordered a water filter for the refrigerator online today, but it didn't make as fun a picture as going to the store...
A short ride up the loop to the bank to make a deposit and withdraw some cash (after all, isn't that what banks are for?...
And then across the highway to the Murphy Station at Walmart to get gas for Taz (too bad THEY don't have a 2 for one special for afternoon fill-ups).
Taz and I were really good drinking buddies today...
Next was a ride down the main drag to Brookshire's to get things we couldn't find at Wally World the last time we visited there.
And returned bearing the last two packages of bagels in the store. Yay, Mike...You made us a couple of very happy campers!!!
We saddled up again and rode down to Dollar Tree to get some sour cream that we really like, and ended up finding what we think will work well with an upcoming children's sermon...I had made one of my dumb jokes about what we could give the kids as reminders of the lesson points, and Barbara took me seriously and said she thought we could make it work.
We finally got out of the store...posed for one last photo of our afternoon adventures...
And headed home...What I didn't know was that Barbara was shooting a series of photos as we got into our neighborhood, so we ended up with these stills of our ride down the last block...
And our arrival at Our Little House...
Wow...A Taz ride and we finished our shopping (for a few days)...It doesn't get much better than that as a way to close out a busy month.
Tonight...Get the journal/blog prepped for publication tomorrow morning, watch Criminal Minds while we enjoy a bowl of Frito Pie (with my world-famous chili), and just chill out.
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Closing out a very "taxing" April at our home in Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsie
