Must Be Fall

Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was having to walk earlier before it got too hot? Well, now I'm having to wait a little while for it to warm up a bit....must be Fall. And, I am getting into that new routine that includes Wednesday morning Bible study. I'm really enjoying that.

Because I love walking so much, I have the opportunity to pick up the aluminum cans tossed along the side of the road. Back in the summer, I encouraged the youth at church to assist in picking up the cans on the country roads near the church. I am pleased to say that after redeeming the cans for cash, the youth were able to see the fruits of their labor this past Sunday evening. Their leader treated them to a pizza party at the church. I hope they also were gratified to know that the country roads looked so much better and none of those cans ended up in a landfill.

I am reminded that God is the king of recycling. He collects us, battered and discarded, and gives us the opportunity to be new again. Sometimes he does this over and over. He's saving us from ending up in a place that we would consider to be much worse than a landfill, if you know what I mean.

I'm continuing to enjoy my daily upperroom reading. It's wonderful receiving guidance through the experiences of other Christians around the world. I pray that you have a great day, luv, Susan

Monday, Already

These weekends come and go so quickly, who am I kidding, each day comes and goes by a warp speed. Anyway, Monday, I'm behind, as usual. I love being in a Bible Study, but I fall behind right off the bat, so I've got to get caught up on that. Don't even ask me all the things Mark thinks I should be getting done. And, then there's just my regular stuff, my UpperRoom, etc. all behind as well. So, this will be quick.

Today is starting off really wonderfully. GMA has James Taylor on and he sang, my personal favorite, Sweet Baby James. I remember when he came to Western back in the 70's. I applauded through the first two encores, until he finally came back and performed it. I would have been greatly disappointed if I attended his concert and he didn't sing Sweet Baby James. Well, now, thanks to DVR, I am listening to it over and over, for the next half hour or so. They're coming from Stockbridge, Massachusetts. I looked it up near the New York State border. We lived not far from Sturbridge and Southbridge. I figured it would be nearer the cape since he now lives on Martha's Vineyard, so I learned something today about Massachusetts and James Taylor. Also that the song is about his nephew.

The game at Commonwealth Saturday was crazy to say the least, especially the ending. I, as I'm sure many, was praying for our quarterback, Mike Hartline, because I knew he needed a good, solid performance. He did great. Too bad the rest of the team didn't do as well. Dicky Lyons, Jr. had an outstanding day, he made a really miraculous catch that was just crazy, like I said.

And, FYI, if you go to the stadium, please note, once you leave the stadium, you can't come back in. I did not know that. But, alls well that ends well, being pitiful works, at least it did this time. It would have been worth it cause I got to see one of my little neighbors from years back. He's a freshman, now, and stands about 6'3", not so little any more. So, it was an impromptu reunion out front of the ticket booth......I love reunions.

Well, I best go email my sister, James Taylor's #1 fan, and tell her about my morning, she's gonna be so jealous. Have a great day, luv, Susan ps, it sounds like there's going to be an interesting story on ABC's World News Tonight about the power of prayer, I think.

The Right Path

There's no better feeling than knowing for certain that you're on the right path. The sun is shining, God is smiling down and you just simply feel confident about the direction your life is headed. Life is not always like that, we get a lot of things thrown at us to get us off our walk with Christ. I've been there, struggling to figure it all out. It takes prayer, Christian friends, Bible study and trying over and over to do what God is trying so hard to tell you. I wish it were simple and my prayer is for each person struggling to get on the right path to consistently pray for guidance and wisdom and then to pay attention to how God is leading. He really will open doors for us when we are to go through and he'll close those doors that He doesn't want us to enter. Do you feel like you're beating your head against a closed door sometime? Maybe he's closed that door.......look for the open door or window. It's always there, maybe just harder to recognize.

Read a daily devotional, the Upperroom is wonderful for guidance and encouragement.

Persistence pays. Remember the Bible verse of the persistent widow and the dishonest judge. Doesn't the Bible say that if even this judge gave this widow her justice, won't God do that for us?

The game Saturday was a lot of fun. We especially enjoyed seeing all the servicemen there at the stadium enjoying the festivities. And I want to make one thing clear.....I did not boo Mike Hartline. I was actually getting a cold drink at the time. Shame on anyone who boos a Kentucky player. I believe it had to be a small minority who did that. I look forward to seeing both quarterbacks improve and blossom into confident experienced leaders just like Andre Woodson did.

It was a lot of fun seeing Jacob Tamme catch a pass in the Colts game last night. I pray that Andre is given his chance in the pros. I know one team in particular who needs a leader on and off the field. I don't know anything about the Cincinnati Bengals except that they seem to have a lot of problems. It would sure be nice to have Andre playing close to Lexington. I believe his fan base would swarm to see him play. It wasn't too many years ago that I was telling everyone I knew that Kentucky should hire this really charismatic coach that I got familiar with while in Rhode Island. I'm still glad that someone higher up knew about Rick Pitino. I think Kentucky benefitted from that. I have good suggestions from time to time.

I think I'm done, you have a great day. I'm ready to start contacting my classmates about next years reunion, be ready. Have a great day. luv, Susan

Nudges

I've always enjoyed the story about the little boy trying to get someone's attention to help with his little brother. He throws pebbles, then rocks and finally, he hurls a brick at a passing car to get it's attention. The morale is, don't wait for God to throw a brick, pay attention to the pebbles. I'm trying to do that in my life, even with the small stuff.

I took my dogs for their walks this morning, two by two. It's dangerous to walk more than two malti-poos at once, they'll wrap you up with those extension leashes faster than you can even imagine. Anyway, the first walk with my best walkers, Roy and Pepper, was wonderful. It was nice and cool early. The second went well with Riff and Taffy as we ventured a different route than we usually walk. We've had to be careful that way due to confrontations between my dogs and others that live that direction. So, I decided to get a third walk in. That is for me and the two young 'uns. I figure we need the extra workout. It started out fine, but started to sprinkle. Then it got a little heavier, and finally, we were in a deluge of cascading water. I tried to keep going, but figured the prudent thing was to turn back, so we did.

I've been needing to bathe these dogs for weeks, but have put it off for this reason or that. Well, looking at these little wet white rats, I knew I had no choice. I bit the bullet and placed them in the tub. I'm so glad to now have two fuzzy, white, baby powder smelling little dogs now. I really did need that nudge.

I hope you enjoyed the first UK football game as much as we did. Our little group of tailgaters was a nervous bunch at the start of the game. When the guys complained about the inexperienced offense, my sister and I reminded them of our very experienced defense. Hadn't the defense against #1 LSU been the number one highlight on Tom Leaches 25 top ten highlights the previous night? Pam and I knew our defense would be the key, and they say women don't know football.

We are very excited to be attending the first home game tomorrow....Go Big Blue! Now that my summer is over, it's time to get back into a routine. My Bible study starts Wednesday. It's a study of one of Stormie Omartian's books. I used her The Power of Praying Parent when my children were in high school and college. I'm pleased to say....they made it through those really difficult years with flying colors. I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer!

You have a great day!!! And thank you God, for the rain and for nudges. luv, Susan