PRAISED

I wasn't in the popular group,in high school.Rather,I was always on working committees,and functions,but not on the "Miss Popularity" list!
I had alot of friends,and cheered throughout highschool,and college.In high school,I was in FHA, and did things with our year book and our newspaper,so on our Senior awards day,I was shocked to find that I was given the award for the most decorated senior!Two of those awards stood out in my mind and meant so much to me,even after all these years.One was The "Babe Ruth Sportsmanship Award",and the other was,the Honor Society's "Character Award".
Good character means alot to me.
"As a man thinketh in his heart,so is he."...... "There are six things the Lord hates;seven which according to scripture,are an abomination."......"A haughty and lying tongue;hands that shed innocent blood;a heart that devises wicked plans;feet that run rapidly to evil;a false witness who lies and one who speaks strife among brothers.
These characteristics make up a person's character....Good,or bad!I don't know about you,but I'd rather be known as a woman who fears the Lord, because she shall be praise!
Becky

JIM

Since David has been going through these treatments,he has been unable to mow,and with all this rain we've been having,not very many people on the Branch have been mowing either.Even the road into where we live, is almost impossible to drive on!
This has bothered David,and I said as much to my neighbor,Marla,who lives next door,and drives down from Spartanburg when she can.Marla must have said something to her husband,Jim,because in a day or so,he showed up and mowed our yard!I couldn't believe it!This dear man travels back and forth to China and all over,and yet,he knew that an unmowed yard would bother David,so he took it upon himself to spruce up our yard,as his gift to David.God placed it upon his heart to reach out in a big way,and it has touched my sweetheart in more ways than he will ever know.
What a blessing to be a recipient of God's gift of love.......
Becky

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas,and all through our house,
There was food everywhere,so surely a mouse!
David's in his chair,and I'm fixing something for me.
As we both get ourselves ready,to watch Fox on TV!

When out on the deck,the arose such a clatter, We jumped from our chairs to see what was the matter.
When what to our wondering eyes did appear,
But the birds at the feeder singing a song,loud and clear!

As they flew out of sight,their sweet song we could hear.....
Merry Christmas from the Branch,and a Happy New Year!

May this be a wonderful Christmas and New Year for all of you....
Becky & David

AFRAID TO DIE?

Grandmother and I use to sit on her little porch and talk about her sisters Ann and Grace.I don't remember the others,but she'd tell me stories about what it was like growing up in Holland as a little girl.She had a dog named "Nita" and somewhere down the road,her folks owned a black Willis,for a car.She grew up in Gronigen,Holland,and Grandaddy was born in Rotterdam.I'm not sure how,or when they came to America,but my Mother was born in Harrisburg,Pennsylvania,in 1910,so they must have been there sometime before then.I know that Grandmother adored her Mother.Her love for her Mother,was how she reassured me that she was not afraid to die.She was so confident in scripture,that she was going to Heaven,that when I asked her if she was afraid to die,she said...."Why no!I'm gonna see my Lord and my Mama!"Those were mighty powerful words to a five year old girl, and still are today!
There's not much else to know about Reina Ryskamp Bouterse,except that she absolutely adored her Lord,but then,I think that about says all you need to know about her!
Becky

SCRABBLE

When I play Scrabble,I love to see how many long words I can come up with, but when I try to move them all around,they become a jumbled mess,and alot of confusion abounds.Nothing comes of those words that I attempt to make either,especially if I am desperatley trying to place a word on a triple word slot,and have all consonants, or all vowels......Ugh!That's when I am reminded of scripture,where we are told that our God is not a God of confusion,but one of order,so I will sit back;take a deep breath and it seems like a word will just come to me,everytime!
Yes,this God of ours does delight in order,but He also enjoys fun too.I think He enjoys planning moves as much as the next person.Only,His moves are worth wating for,and could quite possibly be used in a quadruple word slot! Infact,I could possible not need consonants,or vowels, when using His plays.I would be using the Breath of Life!
Becky

IT'S YOUR TURN!

Sometimes I think our God is a God who enjoys games.I know He must enjoy "It's Your Turn".When He gave me a choice for everlasting life,He left me with the next move. The decision was now mine,so........."It's your turn!
I choose Everlasting Life!
Becky

NOEL

If you truly know what Noel means,then there will be "No_ell" for you!
Becky

I WANT YOU!

Growing up in the 1950's,I got use to seeing all the Uncle Sam posters around town,that showed a formidable Uncle Sam,pointing his finger at you,and saying.....
"I WANT YOU!"
I wasn't sure that I wanted to,if that picture wanted me to go,but go I would,if my country needed me.
There's another picture I have in my head,and it brings a smile to my face.
It's a picture of my Lord,and He's pointing to me,and He's saying.....
"I WANT YOU!"
You don't have to ask me twice on that one!
Becky

TAG,YOU'RE IT!

When I was a little girl,and we played games on the playground,one of the ones I loved the best,was "Tag."I just loved running up to someone and tagging them,and saying "Tag,you're it"and then running like crazy to get back home!
Someday,our Lord and Savior is gonna say,"Tag you're it" too,and I hope we run straight into His arms,and Home with Him to Heaven!
Becky

A JOYFUL NOISE

After singing in the Christmas musical,this past week,I was reminded of playing in Mrs.Bennet's musical band,and how we all made a joyful noise unto the Lord!
What different sounds we all made in second grade,and what a beautiful tribute we all made to the Lord this past weekend.I'm sure Mrs.Bennett thought her second graders were great too,but in retrospect,I'm not too sure we really were,but the ears of our Lord are different.Anything offered up to Him in love,is a fragrant aroma of love drifting up to Him.
It's been fifty five years since I was in second grade, and I still remember that little musical band and those melodies we played.It hasn't been too long since my Heavenly Father heard that musical we sang to Him.Even if my part was a joyful noise of love,I know He will remember it for a long,long time,and smile.......
Becky

SOUP

I read a beautiful book today on going through the grief process.....and it made so much sense!
A man and woman,writing team from Oregon,wrote a book on grieving,called "Tear Soup".I thought the title was so catchy,but when I started reading it,....oh did it ever make sense.
Each time dear,sweet Grandy revisited her pain from her loss,she was adding tears to her "pot of soup".They might have been sad tears at first, which turned into angry,or even bitter tears later on.Years later,she would be walking down that road of pain,the memories would resurface,and her tears would flow again.Sometimes,she would even wail! So she added them to her "Tear Soup too."
She had a full pot after many years,but one day,she realized that she wasn't hungry for "Tear Soup" anymore.She could smile again and feed on something else.It was then that she realized she could take some soup out of her container and freeze it,incase she needed it down the road .....at a much later date!
The memories gave off a wonderful aroma,always making the journey back,just a wee bit easier!I grew up reading Stone Soup,so this really caught my eye.Now that I have given back a son to God,I can truly relate to a soup of tears!
Becky

A GOOD ONE!

(To my best recollection,this happened our third grade year.Apologies,if not!)

When I was in the third grade,one of my classmates,Jimmy,lost his Father in a car acident.I adored his Father and Mother and both of his parents were quite close to my folks as we were growing up.JB was even my social dance partner in jr. high school.
When we had our 40th class reunion back in 2005,I was amazed at how much Jimmy reminded me of his Father.
In the same way,Jesus told us that if we have seen Him,then we have seen the Father too,for He and the Father are one!
We are representatives of our parents in more ways than we know.We are disciples of Christ,just as He is of His Father.
Let's be a good one!
Becky

THE LION & THE LAMB

Close your eyes and visualize what this will look like.
One day,there will be no more sin,so,there won't be any more tears!
There won't be anymore aches or pains,and we will be able to see without glasses,and walk without crutches,or limps!We will be able to walk and not grow tired and run and not grow weary! We really will be able to mount up with wings like eagles!There will be no more killings or hating!No homeless or street people!
No floods,or Tsunami's!You won't have to have body replacement's,and we won't have to have fire drills!There won't be anymore diets;heart attacks;cancer;alzheimers!
Every imaginable thing you can think of,that causes pain,was a result from the fall of man in the Garden Of Eden.When we are restored to the New Earth,and our Lord is King Jesus,it will be so exciting to see all the side effects of sin,vanquished forever!
He said that one day,the lion would lie down with the lamb.
In our old sinful state,we were all lions,(in a way)and we were all roaming around,seeking someone to devour,but now that Jesus is within us, we will be the lions who layed down with the lamb of God!
Becky

THE WORD

I thought these words well worth repeating.
I loved to read as a child, and I remembered so many of the stories I read, because my parents read to me all the time.They spent days and nights reading to me as a little girl.My brother Michael would often prop me up on his lap in the slipper rocker we had,and read stories to me.I loved any of those he read too!
When my children were growing up,I read to them too,and for the most part,all of them love to read now too.Our minds grow,when we read,and one of the benefits,is that a child will grow;learn,and listen better,when they love to read books!
As you grow older,it's a challenge to learn things,but when you are younger,it's a breeze!
Find a quiet,peaceful place to spend time reading,especially if it's God's word.
If you really want to make a difference,spend some of that time reading those Bible stories to your children,and answering questions for them.Walk them through some of the experiences in the Bible,in a conversation format.This is a super tool to use when you are showing you your child how God converses with His children.That is a special time together reading the word of God!
Only later on will you know if they were just learning to read the word,or if they were learning the word!
Becky

THE PERFECT COOKIE

Every year I have a cookie swap at my house,during the Christmas holidays.
Every imaginable type of cookie arrives and we all have so much fun visiting with each other.I served sausage balls;a pineapple cream cheese ball;punch,and cookies,of course!We all went home with 5 dozen different cookies.
Before we left,we called Nellah and sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" to her, on the speaker phone, since she couldn't come.
This is what the body of Christ looks like. They may all be in different shapes and sizes, and God may have created them at different times.However,when they come together in fellowship,with Him as the main ingredient,the batch that is served is a pretty good representative of the perfect cookie!
Becky

FRACTURES

Prevent a fracture of your heart
Get the facts!
Talk to God about His Son!
Becky

ADEQUATE SIGNS!

When the Tsunami hit a few years ago,the weathermen said that we were unable to receive adequate weather forcasts ,or information concerning a Tsunami. The systems were just not prepared for such a catastrophy.
It was simply inadequate!
On the other hand, we have a more than an adequate source of information for our future happenings from God's word......The Bible.
When a book predicts something for over 2000 years, with 100% accuracy,then it's a pretty safe bet that whatever it says for the future,is gonna be 100% accurate too!.........Wouldn't you think?
A Tsunami doesn't have to hit us,either,to figure that one out!
Becky

THE SPECIFICS

God says that when we are weary,we can come to Him, and He will give us rest.
I find such a resting assurance in that,knowing that I can trust Him to do just what He says.Everything He says He will do,......He will do!
Our lives have been ordered by the Lord and His wisdom in doing so, is even evident in how He created the animals.He created an elephant to rise with four legs,while a horse rises with its front two legs,and a cow rises with its back two legs........Creative,huh?
Our God was even specific with the food we eat too.He took things like the watermelon and gave it an even number of strips on the rind,while He gave the orange an even number of segments.Each ear of corn has an even number of rows,while each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.He even orchestrated the waves of the sea to roll in to shore 26 to the minute,in all kinds of weather.
This God of ours is so orderly and specific that we can count on Him to do just what He says! So when God says to you,"Come to me,all you who are weary and heavy laden,and I will give you rest",He means rest for you, and every grey hair on your head, because He's counted them,and He WILL give them a rest too!
Becky

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Gift!

Martha and Bob had a big Santa sitting in a chair on their front porch, and when I would stay at their house,Mrs Traverse taught me how to decorate miniature sugar cubes. She had a lovely smile,and very dear laugh.
Carolyn and Glenn were golf friends of Mama and Daddy's and were sweethearts from way back.They were the stately couple.Mary and Howard held many lake front gatherings at their home,and they let us go swimming off their dock,until the untimely death of his sweet wife in 1965,at age 46......She was a sweetheart too.Ross and Elizabeth were my "Other Mother" and my "Elder".She taught me just about everything that Mother didn't teach me,with the exception of maybe OB. This was Tara's Mother and Father, and we were introduced at the age of one and have been best friends,ever since!(61 years now!)
Millard and Jewel(Known as OB)were friends with Mother and Daddy from way back! Millard was probably Daddy's best friend,and Daddy was the last person to see Millard before he died.Millard had Reid's service Station,and sold Daddy my 1940 Plymouth Road King,in 1964,with the original tires on it! Jewel was more affectionally known to my Daddy as "OB",so that's what I called her.(His term of affection was different than mine!) She was another special Mama to me too!I still have a pair of gloves she gave,me when I was thirteen,and when her son Charles died,it broke my heart.She rescued Tara and me from a flower arranging disaster in the church sanctuary,one year,when our attempt at flower arranging fell apart.Her daughter Janice came to be with me when David jr.died....something her Mother would have done for my Mama too!
Mary Lib and Bob were the sweethearts in the group,and their son,Bill was my childhood sweetheart too.He has since gone Home to be with the Lord. Bob took us water skiing and "fast" speed boat riding in his boat on Lake Gertrude, and they hosted many picnics down at the water.Mary Lib made the best coconut cake and taught me alot of flower arranging along with OB.
Ethel and Bobby sparkled in the group.He was my dentist,and the only thing I learned from him,was how to take care of,and have good,sound teeth! Mrs.Wells gave me a wonderful recipe for "Ethels Oatmeal Cookies",which I still use to this day! I learned to swim in front of their house,along with the water mocassins.They had a dog name Jingles.
Mama and Daddy had some pretty remarkable friends,and they were some of the reasons I had such wonderful memories growing up.
These were just a few of their regular friends.There were the Brook's(whom I loved dearly);the Bryants(whose son I still write too!);
Oh, and so many more......You can't help but grow up in a small town and not know everybody and be loved by everyone.
Friends and family meant so much to Mama and Daddy.....
This Christmas,as I gather with my David,George;Melissa;Josh;Olivia;Isaiah,and Araya will come down,along with Kelly and Josh(and her bean sprout), I want to take the time to wish to all of you God's richest blessing's this Christmas.
Mama & Daddy's friends realized that God;family and friends made Christmas what it was.
I think my friends understand that too.
Our Savior has blessed me with a multitude of wonderful friends.
You all are my Christmas treasures.May you all have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!......
Merry Christmas!.......Becky and David

A LINGERING FRAGRANCE

I listened to Matt as he led us in prayer today,while we practiced for the Christmas musical.What a blessing,folks,to have a choir director who humbly seeks the Lord's blessing for this musical,and for everything he does pertaining to his music.
It is sheer joy to be singing,while watching Matt's eyes light up with excitement for the Lord, and he does it with so much enthusiasm,that we reach our best in performance for the Lord.It is so evident that Matt loves the Lord,which makes all of us reach to the peak of what we didn't think we had to give to God...... What a joy!
Matt often reminds us that we are singing to the King of Kings and oh,does he ever do a great job of that.I make a joyful noise unto the Lord,but the noise Matt makes is sheer joy to not only the Lord,but to all of us!
This has to be a fragrant aroma drifting up to the Lord,because it surely has lingered in my heart!
Becky

FACING CHRIST!

When I put on my DHC makeup,foundation in the mornings,it gives my face such a glo,that people have commented on how good my face looks.
In the same manner, when we put on Christ,and carry His attributes around, we too will glo with His love so much,that the aroma of Christ will permeate everyone we meet, and linger long after we have gone.They will know us by our works,and might just think the christian walk looks pretty good too!
Becky

FELLOWSHIP

Breaking fellowship with God,is like being in the same House with the Father,only having to be in another room.
Becky

TIMES OF TROUBLE

When I have my annual cookie swap,I usually make my Forgotten Cookies.
They are merengues that have chocolate chips and nuts folded into them,and dropped by teaspoonfuls onto a foil lined cookie sheet and placed in a 350 degree oven. The oven is then turned off over night! The next morning,they are wonderful, melt in your mouth cookies!You simply put them in the oven,and forget about them....hence the name!
When God takes us through the furnace of affliction,and the heat is turned up,God doesn't forget about us.Even when the heat is turned off,His word says He will not forget or forsake us!No matter what the difficulty,there is nothing that is too big for our God!We won't be the forgotten cookies in God's batch, 'cause He loves us with an everlasting love!
He will be our very present help in time of trouble, and we are just as important to Him,as Daniel was,in the lion's den!
Becky

TRICOLOR FRIENDS

I'm sure by now,you've figured out that I love people,and that my friends are one of the most imoportant things to me.
You've heard me mention,my best friend,Tara,and the times I get together with Beth and Phyllis.You'll remember how I've spoken about my church friends from Aiken,and what a blessing they always are to me.......Edie;Beth;Angela;May...Oh just too many to name,but there's a certain group I only get to mention at this time of the year.
I started out with these ladies some thirty years ago,as Sunshine Garden Club.
We were kind of the black sheep of the garden clubs in Aiken,because we didn't conform too well,to the more mature clubs,but we could cook,and we tried our best. We took on the soul responsibilty of the flower division of the Aiken County Flower Show,way back when, and it has been our project ever since,along with the Jaycees.
Some thirteen years ago,after my brain hemorrage,my first outing was to this dinner.Mary Bess picked me up and we went to Jane Talbert's for our dinner. These ladies all clapped for me,when I walked in the door!Her grandson served us our meal,and even though I don't remember what it was,I know it was wonderful!After dinner,we celebrated with a chinese auction,and one that any sane person would NEVER get involved in.(But I'm not sane when I get with these ladies!)
Fast forward thirteen years......
Mary Bess;Betsy,and Jan have gone Home to be with our Lord, and we all sorely miss them,but Mary Bess gets to see her son again,so she's happy.Boo still snorts;Betty still steals everyones gift(along with half the garden club!);we still go to Jane Talbert's,or Jackie Heath's,as was the case this year(but invited Jane to come as our guest!);
Somebody always has to get the key for the Dollhouse during Christmas.....
There are just numerous events that happen.Somebody always gives a special prayer and blessing,and I think that's what makes this group so dear.
There is probably more laughter that goes on here, than anywhere I have ever known!
They all love God;family and friends,in that order and it is so evident.
Nothing has changed with these friends,and yet everything has changed.
These ladies have lost children;husbands;suffered cancer; mishaps,and disease;all kinds of things, and yet we have been there for each other,and that is what has made these friendships so endearing.
"I thank my God in all remebrances of you"....and you and you and you and you.......
and yes,we really did win a tricolor ribbon using a tuna fish can for a container!
Becky