HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Every now and then,God gives us a creation that just touches our hearts so much.
He fashions it, to absolute perfection in our minds eye,and gives it such beauty that we can't even descibe.To that creation,I'm sure they they think are one in the garden of many flowers, but they will never be matched in their beauty. Not everyone gets to witness this beauty either....
Sometimes God polishes it off with the countenance of grace that He gives only to those who love Him with abandon.This special bloom has flourished under the love of such a Father,and we have benefited from knowing this blooming presence among us.
This flowering bloom will celebrate her birthday today,and many of her well wishing fellow blooms want to wish her the very best in the garden for this upcoming year.
We love you,Nellah.You are the very best of God's creation and we love you so very much!
Happy Birthday sweet lady and very dear friend!We are playing "Happy Birthday To You" using "God's Trombones"..........
From all of us to you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HE IS ETERNAL!

Have you ever noticed how everything in life needs replacing or changing? I don't think there's one single thing in life, that doesn't wear out, or doesn't need replacing.
Think of it...... tires;light bulbs;hairspray;radio;tv's;cars;toothbrushes;glasses;bodies;houses;roads;bridges...
I can't think of a single thing that doesn't need to be replaced or upgraded.....
Except one!
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
He is Eternal and the best upgrade you could ever get!
Becky

REACTION

We were always told growing up,that for every action,there was an equal and opposite reaction. If you try to take action in your christian growth and aren't careful,you will learn this very quickly.I guess I started out with faith first,because without faith,it is impossible to please God,and you can add virtue,or character,to that. Your character is one of the most important things about a person,and speaks highly about what you think is important.To your virtue add knowledge of God's word that will anchor you in truth and in your personal self control.To your self control,you can add perseverance,or patience,and patience is the trademark of a godly person.
Godliness causes a humbleness and humbleness is pleasing to God.
These are actions that cause alot of reactons,but if you leave out any of them,you will have alot of reactions too.
Some of them are the: "I can't;I don't know how;why me? oh no;I can do it; you'll never do it;
they'll never see me take it;go ahead and cheat.....
Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see which one you'd rather be around,does it?
Becky

WHAT IF YOU DIDN'T?

Can you imagine standing before someone and confessing Jesus to them?
And then in the next instant,you find you are standing before Jesus,Himself,and He is confessing you before His Father?
Wow!
But what if you didn't confess him to anyone?
Becky

DEPEND ON IT!

Whenever I park in the front of the church,I always walk in the side and the same three men are always sitting in the chairs by the cafe'.It never changes!They were always there and I could depend on them being there like clockwork.I always enjoyed seeing them every Sunday, but this last Sunday, God decided that one of these men,Bill Wilkinson, needed to to come Home,and spend that Sunday with him in person!
Now, when I go by those chairs,it won't be the same.
I know the heartache of losing a dear friend,just as the disciples lost their dear friend Jesus.We have His blessed assurance,though,that we will see those loved ones again one day,and that makes a wonderful promise for us.
As much as I will miss depending on them all being there,they will always be a reminder to me that God's word will always be here, and I can always depend on that!
It's not going anywhere!
Becky

MEMORIES

Once again,God has seen fit to bless me beyond anything I deserve. My Mom's all went behind my back and prepared a memory book for me,of all our weekend's together. Each Mom wrote about their child,complete with pictures and memorabelia.
I was so overcome,that all I could do was cry!I had already been weeping from gratitude,after Edgar's Bakery delivered all their wonderful goodies, and now this! Talk about people showing the love of God!Their love has been poured back on me and I am once again refreshed."He refreshes those who are themselves refreshed."
I guess when you are doing what God wants you to be doing,He showers you with His blessings. Goodness knows,I've had my share of blessings for the past few days and I am so grateful and thankful.
Becky

BALANCE

Before my brain hemorrage,I had such good balance.It was almost perfect,in my mind.
I could balance beautifully,standing on one leg,and never wobble.It's so funny,though,what a major alteration in your life can do to your entire system.I'm no longer able to do any of the things I could do when I taught Physical Education.I can't do cartwheels;handstands,or headstands,which I still did up to my hemorrage.I can't even ride a bike anymore,because of my balance!Talk about humbling me!
I'm thankful for this unknown part in my life though,because it has made me rely on God so much.It has made me call out to God for help all the time too.I'm unstable in alot of areas and need His help,and He's always there when I call out to Him.
As long as I'm standing on the promises of God,I can't possibly be off balance!
Becky

THE CREATOR

Kelly sent me a picture text today, and I nearly lost it folks!
To the ordinary person,it would have looked like a blob on a screen(because the natural man cannot understand the ways of God),but to a Mother,....well,you would know that this was the beginning of life!
Somewhere in that picture,God placed the most wonderful makings of a child. Pretty soon there will be hands and feet and .....other indications of whether they will have a boy or a girl.
Only such creation could come from the Master Creator!
Becky

THE ENEMY BELOW

When I was twelve,my folks gave me a birthday party at the Princess Movie Theatre,in downtown Mount Dora.I could invite my friends to see "The Enemy Below". I only remember that it dealt alot about submarines,because at that time,I was more interested in the boys,than the movie.However,the boys enjoyed the submarines more! :p)
As I reflect back on that movie,I think the title,"The Enemy Below" tells us something.
Our enemy,satan,is below,.....and everywhere,and he's just waiting for us to join him in his "hell" of a horrible party.
Let's all RSVP....."NO WAY!
Becky

"TIRED" OUT

When Tara and I were in high school, we found a "huge" truck inner tube, and we found some old chopped up broomsticks and used them as our oars.We took all this down to Lake Gertrude, where we began a journey across the lake......I'm not sure what we thought we were accomplishing,except that we could do it.If we had thought about all the alligators in the lake,I'm not sure we would have even thought about such a venture,because we are two of the most "chickeneyish" creatures on the planet!
Well, we paddled,and kicked,and we reached the first half of the lake,and we rocked our way through the middle part of this figure eight lake. When we got to the second half,I think we realized what we had done! This was the bottom half of a figure eight lake, and we were stuck!We had to finish, but we were dog tired.Somehow,we managed to finish paddling with those broomstick oars and find our way to the edge of the beach where my house was being built.Now, once we got there, how do you think we were getting home folks? Do you think that two girls who could come up with doing something like this,would remember to leave a car there,so they could drive home?
We thought they should have too!!!....Only they didn't!
Thankfully about that time,my sweet Daddy arrived to rescue us!
Isn't that always the way our Heavenly Father does too?
He always comes through and rescues us too,doesn't He?
Becky

A NEW EARTH

We have been given rainbows,but can only imagine.
We can witness the glory of the stars,but can only wonder.
The seas come forth,yet they always know just when to return, and this puzzles us.
The sky is blue,but is it really?
The sunset glows with the brilliance of red hues,but does it really?
The songs from the birds are crystal clear,or are they?
When we walk upon the earth,that our Lord created,we think it is the finest of all creations.It is indeed fine,but since it is filled with man's best attempt at "sin",it will never be the best of what God wanted.it is flawed.His blue sky must be the most perfect blue we could ever imagine! The stars we see now will pale in comparison to what God has in store for us,for there will be no night or day, and I imagine that God's glory will far outshine any of the stars.We see things as though through a darkly colored glass,right now, but one day,things won't puzzle us,and we will understand many of these things.For now,it's okay just to trust in a Mighty God who will care for us all.
And just think of the glorious notes from all the birds we will hear one day. That will be sound filled with Heavenly music. Things no ear hath heard;nor eye hath seen,and we have a taste of it,right here on earth..... right now!Just wait'til we see the real thing one day!.....Woo Hoo!
We must wait for the best of what God wanted for us IN THE BEGINNING,but the best is yet to come,and the wait will be worth it,IN THE END!
Becky

REFRESHED!

I know you all delight in seeing 'ole Bec get her "just due", and I certainly did that yesterday!After our morning session with David Jeremiah,the Prime Timers took the bus to have lunch.We stopped at "Mel's Diner",where we had eaten last year,and since I wasn't too hungry, I ordered a light Taco Salad,and a Root Beer Milkshake. I knew I wouldn't have time to eat before going to see President Bush that night,so the salad would have to hold me!
Lo and behold,when that salad arrived,my mouth just about dropped open,along with everyone else's in the restaurant!I have NEVER seen such a big Taco Salad in my entire life! I could have shared it with a football team!Ofcourse Ron had to take a picture of it and is posting on the CBC website.People were coming up to my table,just to look at it.I was so embarrassed folks!...... You have no idea!
If that wasn't enough for them to gawk over, you should have seen them when the waitress brought my milkshake! :p)
"He refreshes those,who are themselves refreshed", and boy howdy was I ever refreshed!
Becky

HOLD US UP!

After I packed up from the Celebrator's Conference,I pulled my suitcase along to the elevator and brought it downstairs to put on the bus.Benny wasn't ready to load up yet,so I sat on a large group of smooth rocks,along the edge of the sidewalk. The polished surface of the rocks,reminded me that we are smoothed over into new and beautiful creatures,by Grace,and transformed by the firm foundation of His word, and able to withstand anything,with the help of God's strength!
Just as those stones held me up,the Word of God will never fail to hold us up either!
Becky

THIS HAS BEEN......

This has been the best Celebrator's Conference ever folks!
Secret Service were everywhere,and we filed in by two's on Wednesday evening;Purses were searched,and we were told that once we sat down,we were NOT to approach the stage for any reason,or we would be arrested.If we had to use the restrooms,we would have to exit towards the rear of the building,and then remain in the back of the facility for the rest of the program, because we would be returning in a forward movement and could be arrested,if we did so.
Prior to the President's arrival, we were treated to the absolutely breathtaking voices of the Bellevue Choir, from the Bellevue Baptist Church,in Memphis,Tennessee, which was Adrian Rogers's church.Charles Billingsley sang in his wonderful and fun filled way, and Phil Waldrop gave us a light message before hand, and introduced a special tribute to all the branches of our military...A special thanks to all of you!
Then the moment we all had been waiting for......
Former President George Walker Bush walked on stage with his gentle smile and waves to everyone,and 10,000 people went wild with a standing ovation!
There had intentionally been NO reporters asked to attend,but the Celebrators invited one of their own to report, but I never saw him.President Bush impressed me more than I can say,folks!He spoke on what it meant to be an American, and what it was like to be in the oval office.He was thankful for our support of the troops,and very humble in our response to him that night.I could see the love of God shining out in our former President.He even took some humorous jabs at himself!
Ordinary life for a President isn't ordinary though,and he told us some funny stories about life as an ordinary Texan for a former President.
I'd put seeing him this night,right up there with me meeting Elisabeth Elliott, and that was something else for me!
Charles Billingsley capped off this Celebrator's time on Thursday morning,,by singing a song that he had written. It was one he sang with Natalie Cole at the Lincoln Center.I didn't think Wednesday night could be topped, but when he performed this song,belting out the words,I nearly lost it! They were the most beautiful words of glory to our Lord,I have ever heard!It was entitled "Bless This day", and you might be able to check it out online......
At the end,Phil Waldrop gave a special thanks to all the police'sheriff's departments,and all those responsibble for the smooth execution of this program.A special thanks was given to the secret service and that was kinda cute! The Secret Service man who accepted his award even smiled! :p)
Ofcourse the bus ride and Benny as our bus driver was special too, and we give alot of thanks to Ron and Sandy Voegeli for putting all of this together.Ron is a gem for doing this!
Thanks Ron!
We were told they only had one incident.A man tried to get in,but didn't have his ticket,and they wouldn't let him in.We all knew they were NOT gonna let anyone in,if you didn't have your ticket.He was turned away,until he said he was Secret Service,doing a check on the security systems!(lol)
Becky

WHAT A BLESSING!

What a blessing the Celebrator's Conference has been for me!
Once again,God has given me just what I needed for encouragement this week! I've been so overwhelmed,since that deposition,and thinking about the future court date,and then God provides 3 full days of David Jeremiah speaking on encouragement and the hope we have in God's word........Boy howdy,did I need that! He ministered to me through the music of Charles Billingsley too, by the words to his songs;the wonderful messages from Phil Waldrop, and in seeing Dorothy Mooney again,whom I met at last years conference! When I overheard complete strangers talking about getting older and not being able to remember dates and places anymore,I knew God was trying to remind me that He will take care of me during my court date!This was the exact thing I had been concerned about and God saw fit to cover my concern with His solution!
God gave me comfort with their words.He always sends the Holy Spirit with the exact words of encouragement to comfort me...... Yes,Jesus is a Rock in a weary land, ..... and a Rock for a weary Becky too!
Becky

PRIME TIME FUN!

The Prime Timers leave at 7am on Monday morning for Sevierville,Tennessee. (That's up neat Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.) We will hear David Jeremiah on Monday;Tuesday and Wednesday,and drive home on Thursday.We are being treated to hearing former President George "W" Bush on Wednesday,and I can't wait!I'm sure the bodyguards will be everywhere!
I have a feeling David Jeremiah will be talking on his newest book:"Living In A Chaotic World." Hope to get him to sign my copy.It is the nicest treat to be on this bus,with Leroy as the bus driver.There is such a feeling of kindness,when we are all together, and the atmosphere on the bus,is one that overflows with God's love. There is such joy with everyone,and it just overflows.Ron does such a great job of cordinating this entire trip,everytime,and Leroy is a joy for a bus driver.Everyone riding the bus is an extention of this wonderful body,....the body that we know as the body of Christ!
One of the joys of being a senior citizen is getting discounts when you go places......
Another joy of being a senior citizen,is that you can "discount being a senior citizen",when you go places,........because you never act your age! :p)
I never do!
Becky