Great A Senile Cat

Boy was I tired yesterday. My precious cat Elliott kept me up all night. Don't know what his problem is but it seems like he knows when I have to get up early because he bugs me all night long. He kept on pulling my hair and trying to get me up. After awhile he won and all I had to do was walk him into the kitchen so he could get his food. A friend of ours said that older cats can also have moments of senility and go through periods of being lost and just need someone to help them out. Great and I thought only Rodger and I were going through that. Now I have a cat with senior moments.

My 2 year old Sunday School class went great. The kids liked my version of Jesus' Parable about two men who built their houses - One on sand and one on the rocks. Well I used two little pigs instead of two men and one built there house on the beach and the other on some rocks. I even had pictures to go along with it. A big storm came and knocked the house on the beach down but the house on the rock stood tall and strong - it did not fall down. I had their attention and little Emmi verbalize her feelings my saying - Oh No when the storm came. They were so cute. And they wanted to hear the story again. I ended the story with a picture of Jesus with kids around him and told them to be as strong as the house on the rock they had to have their Mummy's and Daddy read them their Bibles. For our craft they did a picture of a house on a rock and had their picture glued into one windows and Jesus in the other. They thought that was cool and were excited to show their parents of the house with their picture in it. All went well but by the end of the day I was ready to go to bed very early.

Today is the usual household chores and grocery shopping. I did my laundry on Saturday so that it is out of the way.

Tomorrow the man from Lowe's comes by to measure the rooms for carpeting. I am having new carpeting installed in the living room and the upstairs bedrooms. Then the remodeling in the house will be done. Wood floors in the kitchen, dining room, hall way, and foyer were done last month and now we get the carpeting done. Can't wait.

Rodger is doing good. His incision on his head from his surgery healed up and we have not heard anything about the biopsies they sent out to be further tested. So I am guessing that everything is alright.

Yesterday we had our first Sunday service in the new Worship Center. Everyone was excited and from what I heard the choir sounded great. I was unable to attend services because we were busy in the Nursery. But I did get to see it last week when we had our closing prayer and alter call there.

Well that's it for now.

Have a great day.

Weekly Devotional - "Prayer Changes Things

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.. James 5:16

There are times in life when our hearts cry out to God in prayer because we know there is nowhere else to turn… when we know that only he alone can help.
If you have had such a moment, you know what I mean. If you have not, you will some day. But the Scripture is full of such stories that strengthen your faith and mine, stories that rally us to cry out to our God in our time of need.
For example, many parents can relate to Hannah, who cried out to God in prayer because she was childless. In his time, God gave her a son whom she named Samuel, and Samuel became one of the great prophets of the Old Testament.
Now, you may say, “Wait a minute. Hannah was a hero of the faith. She was a great prayer warrior. I can’t pray like her!” But you can, as today’s verse tells us: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
What I want you to remember today is that prayer changes things. It changes people. And it changes circumstances. So never doubt the power of your prayer as a child of God!
”THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON HAS GREAT POWER AS IT IS WORKING” (JAMES 5:16).
Jack Graham Power Point Ministries

Cooking Tip - Apple & Sausage Stuffing

I made this stuffing one year for Thanksgiving Dinner and now this is a must on the menu.

According to Taste of Home it has a 5 star rating.

Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 package (14 ounces) seasoned stuffing croutons (stuffing mix)
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 large tart apple, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and celery over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add the chopped apple and saute for about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and seasoning and bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients. Place in a greased casserole dish and place in 425 oven for 30 minutes Yield: 12 servings.

No room in the oven - try slow cooker method.

To make in slow cooker: After cooking sausage mixture. Transfer to a greased 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through.

Beautiful Weather in Tennessee

The weather here has been great. Nice clear sunny skies with temperatures on the cool side.
Rodger and Pops have been busy trying to keep the leaves raked up. But until all the trees shed their leaves they are having a losing battle. They rake up some when down come more. The good side is the County where we live will be having scheduled leave pick-up so Rodger doesn't have to worry about burning them or paying someone to haul them away.
As for me I keep myself busy in the house. Today I have been working on a project for the 2 year old Sunday School class. Their lesson has to do with the parable Jesus told in Matthew 7:24-27 about 2 men who wanted to build houses - one on sand and the other on rock.

The child's picture will be pasted in the window next to the picture of Jesus, Home Sweet Home cut out and glued to top of House. Under the picture will be "Jesus is My Foundation." Then they will glue it to piece of construction paper.

Yesterday we picked out the carpeting we wanted for the house and the service rep from Lowe's is supposed to be coming to our house to measure and set up a scheduling date to have the carpet laid. I am so excited about it.

Saturday and Sunday is Ashley's last show days. We are hoping we can go but it will depend on when the guy from Lowe's comes. Well that's it for now. Have a great weekend.

Weekend of Rain and Fun

We had a great weekend even though it rained all day Saturday. Not many Trick or Treaters were out because of the weather but we had a great turn out at our Sweets and Treats Festival at our church. The kids had a great time playing games and winning handfuls of candy. There was also popcorn and pop to snack on and outside was a fire pit for roasting marshmallows to make Smores. It was a great time for not only for the kids but also the adults seemed to enjoy themselves. Jayme and her friends the Duncans were Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Allie was Snow White and the rest of the crew were the dwarfs.
We had all kinds of costumes from Lady Bugs for the little girls to Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. We were in such hurry when we left I forgot my camera so missed out on some great pictures.
Yesterday was church and after services we went to see the new Sanctuary. We were to have our first service in it yesterday but the fire Marshall was not scheduled to come in until today for inspection. So next Sunday we will be having our first services there. We are all excited.
The church is a smaller version of Golden Hills. It will have a seating capacity of 700.
Today is house work, laundry, and grocery shopping.
Tomorrow I watch my friend Ethan. It will be my last day watching him until next March. His Mom is due to have their new little guy around my birthday. Then come March I will be watching both Ethan and Eli once a week. I will miss the little guy but at least I will see him at church. He is such a joy and keeps me and Pops laughing. It reminds me of the days of watching Brent when he was little.
Well that's it for now.
For daily short updates check Rodger and I out on Face Book.

Weekly Devotional - Power of Words

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
Proverbs 25:11

For years, when daylight saving time ended in the autumn, my heart sank. As every day got darker earlier, so did my spirits. “It’s depressing. I hate the dark in the winter,” I told my sister last year.
“Oh,” Jeannie said, “I think it’s cozy.”
Cozy. I’d never thought about it like that. Suddenly I saw my winter blues in a whole new light. Now when it got dark at four thirty in the afternoon, instead of feeling sad, I clicked on lamps with a warm glow and pulled a nubby blanket over me while reading or watching TV. It was cozy.
The power of words never fails to amaze me. A few months ago when I was bemoaning a difficult work project, an acquaintance surprised me by saying, “That sounds like fun!” Once during a European trip, the airline I was traveling on went on strike and I was about to panic, until my traveling companion announced, “Guess we’ll be having an adventure.” Hmm, a different way of looking at things.
Best of all was several years ago, when I was making changes in my life from a nine-to-five office job to freelancer. I e-mailed a good friend and told her several times how scared I was. When I later reread the e-mail, I was shocked to see a recurring typo: Instead of typing scared I’d typed sacred. Once again my perspective took a turnaround: from being scared to opening my horizons to a whole new sacred dimension in my future.
In fact, that’s why I sometimes write words to myself on index cards and tape them around my apartment. This morning I woke and through my bleary eyes saw the word Rejoice taped to my bedroom wall—another sacred fun adventure of a cozy winter day coming up!
By Mary Ann O'Roark Guideposts

Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf

Don't like Pumpkin Bread. How about one with a twist. "These moist chocolate loaves, with a hint of pumpkin and spice, have been a favorite for years," writes Kathy Gardner of Rockville, Maryland. "They can be sliced to serve as snacks or dessert."

SERVINGS: 48
PREP: 15 min.
COOK: 55 min.
TOTAL: 70 min.

RATING: *****

INGREDIENTS
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 can (29 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1-1/4 cups canola oil
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, oil, chocolate and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips.
Transfer to three greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans.
Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Wrap and freeze for up to 6 months. Yield: 3 loaves.

Taste of Home