Enough Is Enough

An 87 year old auto worker who came to America 55 years ago, is fighting deportation. Supposedly, the information given on his initial applications in 1952 was not correct. He received citizenship in 1958 and it was revoked in 1981, restored in 1998 and revoked again in 2002. The government initially claimed he was the notoriously sadistic guard at the Treblinka camp known as "Ivan the Terrible." He was extradited to Israel in 1986 and was under a death sentence, until Israel's Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that he was not the same man as the guard known as Ivan. He then returned home to America and his citizenship was restored, again. You may click on the below link for the entire article.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20071129/D8T7EUA00.html
My question is this - when is enough, enough? This average American does not have a criminal record, has a family he loves, and even after spending seven years in Israel and Israel clearing him, returned to America believing he was home. Now at 87 years of age, someone is again trying to accuse him, this time of being another guard. Who has it in for this man? We have thousands crossing our borders who make no attempt to apply for entrance to America. This is seemingly ignored while thousands of dollars and hours are being spent on a man who tried to do it right and has been tormented for over 30 years by a vacillating government. I say let the 87 year old finish his final years in peace.

May I Introduce Harry?

His name is Harry and, as you can see, is quite a character. He is a traveling evangelist traversing over land and sea with stories bigger than Dallas. He frequently is half of the duo, Harry and Larry. Their songs are popular, and very entertaining. Aiding his sermons, is Karry. Now when Harry and Karry get together, the stories become even bigger and often Harry gets emotional telling his tall tales. Thankfully, Karry jumps in and corrects all his misconceptions. The above pictures were snapped when Harry and Karry spoke at that same KIDZ rally you heard Blake speak in Visalia. The kids love Harry and his many ridiculous costumes. Sometimes it is hard to believe Harry has another life as Bryce, that good looking, bass singer in the WAY Quartet.

What A Weekend!

What a weekend! WAY Quartet arrived Friday for their final practice before their recording. They rehearsed 12 hours Friday and 14 hours Saturday. These guys are really committed to their project! WAY Choir director, Ken Fitzpatrick, spent these long hours with the boys helping fine tune their parts. This morning, the quartet gave an hour long concert for our morning service and it was fabulous. They sang some of their original songs with only the grand piano for accompaniment and it was so beautiful. Simply put, it was so great that I now believe when the orchestrations are added, it will be an over-the-top project. About 10:30 Saturday night, they felt the presence of God strongly in their rehearsal. Right then and there, they all four stopped and wrote new verses for "Jesus Loves Me." Each one is heart-felt and it will become the bonus track on their CD.

P.S. The pictures were taken a few weeks ago. Even famous people relax and act silly sometimes. LOL Chloe Watts, WAY Quartet, and Karen Harding all sang for a service. The quartet sang back-up for Karen on her song "Graceland." It was a highlight moment for the boys.

Have A Nice Day With Jesus

Thanksgiving day began with an 8 a.m. church service. This is a very special service where we have communion and old-fashion footwashing. It is a tradition that many churches have eliminated. Personally it is not my favorite thing to do, but I feel God honors my willingness to be a servant to another saint and keeps me humble. The service began with a beautiful time of praise and worship lead by Bryce. This was followed by a special testimony and song by Sis. Myrtle. She is one of my favorite soul singers and has been a "pillar" of our church about 50 years. This past year, we prayed many prayers for God to protect her son while he was in Irag. He is a career navy man and made it home safe but not without injury. He had back surgery about three weeks ago and is still in need of healing. It was particularly special to have him with us today. I'm sure he enjoyed his mother singing, "All The Way." Her song was followed by offering, Bryce singing "Keeper," my husband giving a wonderful Thanksgiving message, communion, and, finally, footwashing. After everyone returned to the auditorium, we sang another song as everyone hugged and gave wishes of a happy Thanksgiving before leaving. The family of God is so wonderful. I want to share our traditional departure song which I believe was written by Lanny Wolfe.

Have a nice day with Jesus, Have a nice day,

Have a nice day with Jesus, Have a nice day,

You may wish the sun would shine a little bit brighter,

But when you have the Lord, He'll make your load a lot lighter,

Have a nice day with Jesus, Have a nice day.

After service, we went to my mom's where we ate too much, left to take a nap, returned about 8 p.m. for seconds, played a game of Scrabble (I won!) and now it is time to drift into dreamland.

I hope your day was as wonderful as mine.

Happy Thanksgiving

My friend Mark sent us a text message and

I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it with you.

Enter into the kitchen with Thanksgiving,

and the recliner with ease.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day.

Lttle Things - Big Things

Enjoy the little things in life,

for one day you'll look back and realize,

they were the big things.

Have a wonderful week of Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today, she is 82 years old. In a little while, we will pick her up and take her to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Yes, she does look good for her age. The above picture of her and Bryce, was taken six months ago on Mother's Day. In a nutshell, she is a shopaholic, classy, loves style, fiercely independent, a critic (don't take that wrong - she was my critic that helped me sing my best), loves to laugh, defends the underdog, great cook, a closet junkie but thinks she never eats sweets (there are always candy bars hidden somewhere), ornery, whispers LOUD, loves God, the best altar worker I know, a mother to two girls (I am the much younger sister LOL), grandma to five, and great-grandma to three. She denies bragging about her age, but loves to repeat all the stories of people who tell her she looks soooooo good. She is my mother and I love her.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This has been a very busy weekend! WAY Quartet sang at MoMENtum, a men's conference for the western U.S. in Tulare, California, and gave an awesome performance for the grand finale Saturday morning. After a quick lunch, they rehearsed a couple hours and headed to Hanford, California to Jubilation, a youth concert. Bryce was a featured artist and also WAY Quartet. We just arrived back to Delano at midnight and dropped the boys at the Holiday Inn. They have about four hours to sleep and shower and then, Brian will pick them up to drive to San Diego, California where they have a performance Sunday morning. Lawrence and Tyler will catch a flight from San Diego to Sacramento so Tyler can get back to lead praise at his Sunday evening service in Citrus Heights. Lawrence will then drive to the tip of California to be at work Monday morning. Brian and Bryce will leave San Diego and drive to The Pentecostals of Orange County in Tustin, California where Brian will speak for their evening service. Do you feel tired just reading this?!?!? LOL Me? I chose to keep Bryn and Blake home for their Sunday School classes. I think I might just get a Sunday afternoon nap for the first time in a long time. :) There are some thoughts running through my tired brain, but they will have to wait til Monday. Have a blessed Sunday!

Continue

They may see the good you do as self serving.

Continue to do good.

They may see your generosity as grandstanding.

Continue to be generous.

They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.

Continue to be warm and caring.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway.

- unknown

P.S.

Last night my husband attended our district men's conference in Tulare and Bill Davis, who is from Georgia, was the evening speaker. He told the men that it started raining, hasn't stopped, and was raining when he boarded the plane to fly to California. Awesome, God!

THE RAIN FELL! THANK YOU, LORD!

The rain fell. Thank you, Lord.
edit-11:11 a.m.
The Associated Press did, in fact, report rain and gave Governor Perdue's modest response. We know that God answered prayer and are continuing to pray for more rain in Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) - A storm crashed through the Southeast and brought up to an inch of rain in parts of drought-stricken Georgia, but forecasters said the storm likely did little to ease the state's historic drought.The rain late Wednesday and early Thursday brought some precipitation to the parched hills of northern Georgia. The showers began a day after Gov. Sonny Perdue led a prayer service on the steps of the state Capitol to beg the heavens to end the drought."Certainly, we're not gloating about it," Perdue said from a trade mission in Canada. "We're thankful for the rain and hopefully it's the beginning of more. ... Frankly, it's great affirmation of what we asked for."

Power In Prayer

Yesterday, many people prayed for rain in Georgia and, since my faith is expecting rain to fall, I thought I would check the weather in Atlanta. Below is the report for tonight. Do you think God is answering prayer?

Tonight
Low: 52 Showers and thunderstorms likely in the evening...then occasional showers after midnight. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.

I'm Praying for Rain

Too often good news is left out of our daily feed from the media and I was actually surprised the article below made it to mainstream news without a negative twist. Regardless of your religious position, I believe Governor Perdue should have the right to pray. That is truly allowing "freedom of religion." If you do not believe in prayer, no one will force you to join this time of prayer. Your freedom to choose not to pray is the same freedom that allows me to pray. Personally, I feel prayer is powerful and should not be stifled. It would make me feel very happy to know the windows of heaven opened and poured rain onto Georgia today. Maybe I will even start singing, "Rain on us, Holy Spirit, rain on us..."

By SHANNON McCAFFREY

(AP) Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue speaks to reporters at the Interior Department in Washington.
ATLANTA (AP) The governor will host a prayer service next week to ask for relief from the drought gripping the Southeast. "The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power," Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday. Perdue's office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday. Perdue has several times mentioned the need for prayer - along with water conservation - as the state's drought crisis has worsened. Over the summer, he participated in day of prayer for agriculture at a gathering of the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon, Ga. Perdue, a Baptist, has enjoyed strong support from Georgia's Christian conservatives. The Southeast has been suffering from an intense drought in recent months that has threatened supplies of drinking water. Georgia has been locked in a battle with Alabama and Florida over how much water should be sent downstream from the state's dwindling reservoirs. Governors from the three states reached a temporary agreement after meeting with Bush administration officials in Washington. The prayer service will be held outside the state Capitol on Tuesday. Unless, of course, it rains.
"Then we'll move it inside, thankfully," Brantley said.

Too Busy to Post

This past week-end was busy, hectic, and nerve-wracking. Friday, we took Bryce to Sacramento to be there for an early Saturday morning practice. The WAY Quartet spent the day rehearsing and sang that evening in Citrus Heights for their missions conference. We traveled back home Saturday night and arrived home close to 2 a.m. Following our Sunday morning service, we took our kids to Disney On Ice then returned home for our evening service. The service was one of those extra special times and our spirits were strengthened. Monday morning, Bryce was scheduled to return to Sacramento for another rehearsal. Although we were all exhausted, we got up at 4:30 a.m. and sleepily took off. Bryce spent several hours practicing and we then drove to San Francisco to see our very dear friends, the Bishops, and give them our love. Their 24 year old daughter, Bethani, had acute liver failure and had transplant surgery yesterday. We arrived back home shortly before 3 a.m. and we began this day at 7:30 a.m. Please join us in prayer as we continue to pray for Bethani and her recovery. A blog has been started to keep everyone informed of her progress. Drop by and leave an encouraging word. www.bethaniroam.blogspot.com We have been privileged to travel with Bethani on Youth On Missions and Brian and I sang at Bethani's wedding a few years ago. She is a darling wife and now mother to seven month old Wyatt. We consider her family to be close friends and are praying for their strength.

Hopefully, I will get back on my posting track soon.

Finally, The Award

A few months ago I wrote about my childhood Sunday School teacher, Jane Johnson, and how she had received a letter stating she was chosen teacher of the year for the Western Region. Well, it took us a while, but we finally pulled off a great surprise service in which she was honored. Although the award was given for this year, she has been teaching at our church for 50 years. Hey, she is not only a great teacher, but she is a classy lady, too. The recently retired district education director, Stephen Allard, brought the award (a beautiful crystal apple on a pedestal that had her name engraved on it and "Teacher of the Year") and presented it to her. We also had a young man, Monte Albalos, who was one of her students during the 70's. He gave a beautiful speech in which he told his life story of being a foster child and how much Sis. Jane influenced his life. He now works with The Lollar Foundation and they have established a "Jane Johnson Birthday Day" that provides birthday parties to underprivileged children each month. These children are selected by school teachers. This young man was inspired to do this because Jane always remembered his birthday and baked him a cake when he was a child. He presented her with roses and also awarded her with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from congressman Jim Costa, certificate of recognition from Senator Dean Flores, and another from the California Legislature Assembly signed by assembly woman, Nicole Parra. The church added a beautiful scrapbook that contained numerous letters of appreciation and pictures from small children, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens. This was all topped off with a $200 gift card to her favorite specialty store, Olcotts. Jane has influenced thousands of people and is such an inspiration to many. Following the service, there was a reception and Jane insisted on serving the cake and greeting each person. What a woman! Words are not sufficient to describe how much she has impacted my life.

Perfect Attendance

Bryn, and Blake too, came home from school showing off certificates of Perfect Attendance for the first quarter of the school year. Hip, Hip, Hooray! Bryn rushed into her room, quickly changed into a skirt she just received for her birthday and announced I needed to take her picture. She then ran up a few stairs and struck a pose. After I snapped the picture, she hurried into the living room and sat in a chair for a "different" pose. Oh, my! She is hilarious, but so much fun!

What's Your Flavor?

A couple weekends ago, my husband performed a wedding ceremony for a young couple and we had to leave before the wedding cake was cut and served. Just before we left, I snapped a picture of the cake and my mind started whirling as I wondered if every layer was a different flavor, did the layers have fillings, and if so what kind. Have any of you been to weddings in the last few years and had "wedding cake" as in white cake? Everyone seems to want specialty flavors and fillings. Do you ever miss white wedding cake? The top picture is my wedding cake in 1979 and it was white decorated with fresh flowers. The second picture is the cake at the wedding I recently attended. I will have to admit that some of the specialty flavors and fillings are quite delicious, but there is just something special about white wedding cake. A thing of the past and something I miss.

Thank God and GPS

About five this morning, Bryce was leaving to drive to the bay area and I had a huge wave of fear and nervousness come over me as he walked out the door to his car. Although the sky was clear, I had been apprehensive the night before because we have had some foggy weather. (If you are not familiar with the central valley fog in California, let me assure you it is one of the most dangerous seasons.) I expressed my nervous feelings to my husband and he said, "Well, let's pray." We begin to pray and after a while we decided to return to bed and catch another hour or two of sleep. Later, we traveled south to take care of some errands and we got the news that there had been an enormous wreck on the 99 north of our town near Fresno with over 100 vehicles involved, dozens injured, and a few fatalities all due to the fog. (story here: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20071104/D8SMJIJ01.html) One of the main thoroughfares in California was now closed and looked like a littered junk yard. Here's what I am really trying to say - the last time Bryce traveled to the bay area we gave him directions that took him north of Fresno on the 99 and crossed through Highway 152 to get to Interstate 5. Since that last trip, we bought Bryce a GPS for his car. The GPS unit instructed Bryce to take Highway 198 which is about 30 miles south of Fresno. Therefore, he took off the 99 before reaching the huge wreck that he most likely would have been involved. When I realized this must have been why I felt so nervous, I quickly said, "Thank you, Lord, for directing him out of the path of danger." And thank you GPS for choosing the alternate route.

P.S. Another friend has joined the blogging world. Check out her page at www.khopper.blogspot.com

WAY Quartet

A couple weeks ago, WAY Quartet sang at Section 11 Prayer and Bible Conference in Citrus Heights, California. They decided to try out an accapella version of "Jesus Loves Me." They asked Brian to record them so they could hear their mistakes to help make corrections. The song still needs some polishing on a few spots, but I thought you would enjoy it anyway. Hopefully, they won't be too upset with me for posting this video. :)

Beautiful Roses, Beautiful Girl

Couldn't resist adding this snapshot. Bryn loves roses, especially pink. I saw these at Costco and got them for her birthday party. I love this girl!

That's Practically All I Have To Say

Last week-end, Blake (my 10-year old) was invited to speak at a KIDZ rally. The theme was Jesus, The Light of The World. This rally featured young children singing, doing dramatic sign language, instruments solos, and speaking. Blake was one of two speakers and I thought it was cute enough to share. We all got a huge kick out of his last line.

Happy Birthday, Bryn-Anika!

Today, my princess is a big SIX years old. She has been so much joy to our home. Constant dancing, singing, and talking to her imaginary friends keeps me entertained. Some of the conversations are too cute. Her spirit is sweet and gentle. Time has flown so fast! She is now in first grade, at the top of her class, sang her first solo with Kidz Choir last Saturday night, and so beautiful she takes my breath away. I still have a difficult time trying to understand how Brian and I created such beautiful children.

To Bryn- Anika......

Happy Birthday, my doll! I love you more than chocolate!

Hearers or Doers

King James Version - But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
New International Version - Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Have you ever heard a parent say something such as, "Don't just stand there. Get busy." I wonder if God ever looks at people sitting in the house of "worship" and wants to say, "Hey, don't just sit there. If you came to the house of worship then worship me!" Next time you are in a church service, consider if you are just listening or if you are acting. I'll let you in on a secret - it is so fun to be a doer.

P.S. As soon as my husband can figure out how to get YouTube to upload some video clips, I will post the WAY Quartet singing and Blake speaking at a recent Kidz Rally. Blake was too cute! And, Bryn sang her first solo with Kidz Choir. Maybe he can get that one to upload, too.

Small Moments, Great Moments

Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.- Phillips Brooks

Just maybe someday, if I always grant attention in the small, minute, day-to-day activities, I will develop a good character and it will blossom into a really great moment. Regardless of whether I have a "great" moment, the important thing is to make right choices and have good character in every detail of my life. I'm working on it.

Life Is Fragile

Recently, my dear friend went into premature labor from complications brought about by Preeclampsia. It was a very traumatic experience with mom and baby boy nearly dying. I paced the floor for days consumed with worry because my friend was far away on the east coast and I could not get there. God answered the many prayers and mom and baby are now home and doing well. The picture is of him while in hospital.

Last week I received news that another friend who went to high school with Bryce, delivered her baby nearly three months early. The two pound baby seemed to be progressing quite well until yesterday when it developed a severe bleed in the brain. It breaks my heart to see infants hooked to so many wires and machines because I know that the parents are not being allowed to hold their baby close and their minds are troubled. Thankfully, the baby will not remember this stressful time. We know that babies are resilient little fighters for life, yet life is so fragile. Will you join me in prayer for this new mom and dad and their tiny daughter?

To Infinity and Beyond

Okay, I hate to see a sad baby, but something about this face cracked me up. After reading the quote, I really had a good chuckle. What an oxymoron to have a picture of a baby complaining about a length of time! Of course, the picture then got my brain to spinning. I got to thinking how we get so impatient with ourselves trying to achieve certain goals, but in the scheme of the "big picture" we have only been working a "few seconds" on our life. I wonder if God laughs at us when we are so silly? We need to reach for things that are beyond making ourselves successful, but rather strive to leave something of a greater value. All the things I personally achieve come to ought upon my death unless I have done things to help those tagging along behind me. Maybe I won't be so impatient with how long it is taking me to become. Of most importance, is the direction I am leading my soul. I think I will just work on things that I know will last beyond me. To infinity and beyond.

Is Failure An Opportunity?

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.- Henry Ford

Ten to 15 years ago, my husband preached a message at our district youth camp titled, "Your Failures Are Not Fatal." It was a tremendous message in which he shared some of his failures as a young person while living in France and how he got drawn into the "wrong" crowd. This sermon was presented in an era where it was not popular for ministers to admit to any failures and it was quite a vulnerable thing for my husband to do, but the results were surprisingly positive. Even after all these years, he has young people approach him and tell how that message changed their life. Then yesterday, we had Larry Carter in service with us and he told a story of a minister who told him, "Larry, God doesn't remember the last time you fell, He only remembers the last time you got up." Too many times people believe a failure in their life is the end and turn to a life of distruction, but in reality failures are an opportunity. The next time you are disappointed with yourself, just tackle the task again. You will find the negative experience will have taught you and the entire scenario can make a positive change. In fact, the whole thing will probably end up better than you ever imagined.

20,000

Thank you to all my blogger friends for helping make my blog a success. The counter has now exceeded 20,000 hits in less than 10 months. It has been fun and I look forward to many more conversations with you.

My Shout Out to Apostolic Tabernacle of Merced

Sunday before last (Oct. 7), I was invited, along with several other guests which included the WAY Quartet and Nancy Grandquist, to sing at Apostolic Tabernacle in Merced, California for their "Sunday Singsation." This is a "happenin'" church and the congregation is quite culturally diverse. I couldn't help but think how wonderful the world would be if all churches, communities, cities, states, and governments, would embrace one another with such love and respect as the church family in Merced. If anyone would like an example of a place free of racism and prejudice, Apostolic Tabernacle is the place to look. Please take time to visit their website http://www.upcmerced.org/ and view some of their video clips. I might add, their choir sings the "Star Spangled Banner" better than any other performers I have heard. (On the home page of their website, there is an ad for video clips of Praise On The Mountain. Click there to view their performance of the "Star Spangled Banner.")

Before Sam Emory became the pastor of the church in Merced, he was a frequent guest speaker at our church. One of our fun memories was on a New Year's celebration when Blake was less than a year old and we were doing our traditional thing by going out to eat at 1 a.m. Blake was so mesmerized with Bro. Emory that he fought sleep to be able to watch Bro. Emory. Little Blake's eyes would shut, his head would roll sideways, and then he would suddenly jerk up and look straight at Bro. Emory. Blake is now ten years old, and Sam Emory is one of his heroes. Our family is greatly honored to count Sam and Shirley Emory as some of our dearest friends. We love them and we love the church they are now pastoring.

P.S. The genius behind their music is Mark Yandris, a highly sought after musician and director.

Have Faith With Me

My dear friends - I am inviting you to expand your faith and join me in prayer for my very dear friend, Jolene. She has been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. Please visit her blog and leave her an encouraging word. She has posted some thoughts about living with a brain tumor. Actually, I think you will be encouraged by reading many of her thoughts. Her blog is at www.jolenejmendoza.blogspot.com