$20.00
Sometimes we just need to be reminded!
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked:  “Who would like this $20 bill?”

Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.  He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill.

He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, “What if I do this?”  And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.  “Now, who still wants it?”

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.  It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.  We feel as though we are worthless.  But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to God who DOES LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.

You are special- Don’t EVER forget it!

I got to see my newest Grand Kitten over the Thanksgiving Holiday.  His name is Spot.  Yeah, I know … it sounds like a dog name.  But I think Chase picked the name Spot because the kitten has a little white SPOT on his back.  Anyway, he’s a cutie.  He’s about 7 or 8 weeks old??  Not sure.  I only know he’s a little rambunctious thing!  He and our cat, Spike, played and played all weekend.  They wrestled and growled and pounced on each other almost non-stop.  This morning, Spike woke up and was looking all through the house for Spot.  And all day he’s been roaming the house like he’s bored.  I’m sure he is.  Our other cats are old and don’t want to play much.  Anyway, here are a few pictures I took.

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  My family came to my house for dinner on Thursday and it was really nice.  Not all of us could be together but that’s okay.

Erica and I did not venture out on Black Friday, as it is called.  I was NOT going to fight the crowds just to shop.  I used Friday to get caught up on my rest … which was badly needed.  The Thanksgiving Outreach ministry at church is over and now I’m facing the Christmas Store … so I needed to try to get ahead on my rest, if there’s such a thing.

Saturday, me, Mike, Chase and Erica went to a store called Fry’s … if you’ve ever been to one of their stores you know what I’m talking about.  If not, you really need to find one and go.  It’s like a GIANT candy store for grown ups.  Anyway, we got some good ideas on what to get each other for Christmas.   Then Chase drove back to Longview later that night.

Well that’s about all for now.  I’m watching a football game … Texans vs. Jets … not looking good for the Texans … maybe I’ll just take a nap.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.  Remember to count your blessings!

True to the title of this forum (Whine Bar) I intend to whine a little. Well, not exactly whine as much as just blow off a little steam. So if you don’t want to read it, leave now. This will be a LONG entry …
My new job … working as a secretary at my church … is WONDERFUL! I love it! I want to make that clear right at the start. I’m not whining about my work, okay?
Here goes … our church does a Thanksgiving Outreach each year…or rather we have for the last four years. We start taking names of needy families around the 1st of November. As of today, November 20, we have 98 families signed up … a total of 502 people, counting adults and children. What we do is cook a complete Thanksgiving meal for each family. This includes turkey, dressing, veggies, dessert, rolls, etc. etc. The families come to our church on Thanksgiving Day between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm to pick up their fully cooked meals and take it back to their house to share with their family. We also offer to deliver meals to families who have no transportation to get to our church to pick it up.

The main problem I’m having is with my attitude. I know I am not supposed to judge people as to whether or not they’re truly “needy” or not. So I try to put my personal prejudices or whatever, aside. But I know without a doubt that there are some people on our list who are just looking for a hand-out. They’re good at working the system, if you will. And that makes me angry because for every family abusing our generosity, that means there’s a family truly needy that we can’t help. Arrrrgggg!
For instance, we had some folks come in the office a couple of weeks ago that we were pretty sure were trying to be deceitful. They said they weren’t related to each other but yet (in their stupidity) they all gave the same address for where they lived. (I’m guessing they thought we were as stupid as they were.)
Anyway … when I started some serious sorting and organizing last Friday, of course I immediately saw the discrepancies. So I got on the phone and called this one lady. I had spent about 20 minutes talking to her the week before and felt that she was on the up and up. I noticed that 3 of the people who came in the office at the same time she did had listed her address as their place of residence. So I asked her: “Mrs. Williams, how many people actually live in your household? We’re trying to get things straightened out with the Thanksgiving Meal list.” She told me that it was herself, her husband, and 4 foster children she keeps. So I asked her about the other 3 people who had listed their address the same as hers. And just like I thought, they had lied. While she knew who they were, they didn’t live at her house nor had they ever lived at her house. She was pretty ticked off that they had tried to use her like that. Long story short, I thanked her for clearing up things for me and told her that we’d definitely make sure she and her “family” got their meal.

So I then called the other 3 people … one at a time … and let them slip the noose around their necks before I yanked the chair out from under them! (No, just kidding…I didn’t really hang them, okay?) But I did question them very firmly and bluntly about exactly WHERE they lived and exactly HOW many people lived with them. Each of the 3 families, in addition to saying they all lived at the same address, said they needed a meal to feed 4 adults and 6 children. (First red flag, don’t ya think?) Do the math folks … that’s 12 adults and 18 kids for one family … hello??? (I figured they just decided to invite all their friends over for Thanksgiving at our expense!) I got conflicting stories from them. It was kinda interesting, actually, because for once they weren’t all in the same room at the same time and one didn’t know what the other one had told me, etc. etc. So I finally got that straightened out and I told them that if I hadn’t straightened it out, they would have been responsible for maybe 2 or 3 other families not being able to have a meal Thanksgiving. (I figure laying on a little guilt never hurts!) And don’t worry. I have their names on my “list” for next year … that is, if they have the nerve to call back! So you can see my dilemma.
And you can add to that that approximately 3 or 4 people come into the office each day asking for financial help to pay their electric bill or rent. Our benevolence minister (Theresa) prays over each request before deciding yes or no, and if yes, how much to give toward their need. She also counts on me and the other secretary in the office to give her our “gut feeling” on the individual’s request … because let’s face it, at this point in time, I’m getting to be a pretty good judge of whether someone is feeding me a line.

So that’s it … that’s my whining for now. But, like Arnold says, I’ll be back. Because the Christmas Store ministry is coming up next and we already have 105 families on that list that will come and “shop” for free for toys for their children.

“Hasta la vista, baby … “

I’m so glad it’s Friday.  I’m exhausted … more mentally than anything else.  We’re so busy in the office getting ready for Thanksgiving Outreach.  We’re providing fully cooked meals  with all the fixin’s for 468 people, counting adults and children … 90 families.  They will come to the church at 11:00 on Thanksgiving Day and pick up their meal to take home and share with their family.  We need 90 turkeys to be donated.  So far, we have 38 turkeys.  Should be interesting.  Of course, I will be at MY house Thanksgiving Day because my sister and brother-in-law and my nephew and his wife and 2 teenagers are coming to our house for dinner.  I’m excited about that!

Lots of things have been on my mind of late, too.  Mostly I’ve been worried about Erica’s friends Courtney and Josh.  They lost their baby boy last week and had the funeral a couple of days ago.  Courtney was 6 months and 1 week pregnant when the baby lost it’s heartbeat.  So her doctor induced her and she had to deliver him.  Erica went to the funeral but I was so swamped at work until I couldn’t get away.  I felt bad about not getting to go.  Anyway, please give your thoughts and prayers to Courtney and Josh.

Gotta go for now.  Like I said … I’m tired.  I plan to check a little more email and then check my eyelids for light leaks … night night ya’ll …

I’ve always been told to count your blessings ... and growing up in a small, Baptist church, I remember singing a song called “Count Your Blessings.”  I don’t think I ever really thought much about the words in that old hymn.  But this last week I was reminded of it and I realized some things.

When I whine about having to clean my house, I’m reminded of people (like my sister), who lost their house to a fire, a storm, or don’t even have a house at all to live in.  When I wake up feeling like I can’t get out of bed because I’m getting old and my muscles hurt, I’m reminded of people who can’t even feel their muscles, let alone get out of a bed or a wheelchair unassisted.  And when I start thinking about how rough life is and all the problems I have, I’m reminded of some news I heard Thursday at the office.

I was working at my desk when my pastor came down the stairs from his office.  He told me that he and ***** , his wife (I’m not writing names in this post, ok?) were heading over to the home of the ******* family because someone had called him and said they heard that this family’s youngest son (33 years old) had committed suicide.  My pastor wasn’t sure if it was a rumor or the truth since it came to him from someone who heard from someone, who heard from someone else, etc.  So they decided to go over to the house just in case.

They got there and nobody was home.  The husband was at work and one of the neighbors said that the wife was at her mother’s house.  A phone call was made and without giving out any information, it was determined that if the son had indeed hung himself, the parents didn’t know about it yet.  So my pastor and his wife returned to the office to wait. It was about an hour and a half later that my phone rang and it was a detective with the ******** police department.  He identified himself and asked to speak to my pastor.  He said he had just finished investigating a death scene and had been asked to call my pastor.  So we knew then that the news we had heard earlier was not a rumor.  It was fact.

So you see, learning that a family close to my heart had lost a son to suicide, really put my problems in perspective.  I can’t begin to imagine what they are dealing with.  I can tell them “I’m sorry for your loss” but I can’t tell them “I know how you feel” because I don’t.  I’ve been spared that type of grief.  Yes, I’ve lost people in my life … people I’ve loved … and I know I’ll lose more eventually … but God has spared me the grief of dealing with a suicide.

With the time of year that we’re entering into … Thanksgiving and then Christmas … I think we all need to stop and reevaluate our lives.  We need to focus on the good things that we have … and not so much the material things … but our families, our children, our co-workers.

It’s time to COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.

(Everyone needs a good laugh occasionally … this is my contribution for today …)