Thank you, Lord!

I thank Him for sparing me yet another root canal, or a re-do of an "old" one. The endodontist, who always calls me "hon" (loves me for my money, I am sure) found no cause of my discomfort, and put me on the "watch list". I have to call there in the morning tomorrow and let them know I will not need to come back in for a follow-up. I am brave in saying that as I have not yet slept tonight, things can change overnight, or during the night, it seems. And, there was no charge for yesterday's series of x-rays taken in search of the offender.

*

As I was heading in to see him, the ladies from the office next door, my regular dentist, were going to lunch, and suggested I come see them when I was done. These offices are both in my former office building, the endo being my suite. When I left, I went next door and visited with them a bit, making an appointment to get the previous root canal "topped off" as I had never done that. It seems Justin has neglected his teeth so I made an appointment for his teeth cleaning to be done as well. I will tell him eventually that plans were made without his input....Hey, he is a big boy now and should be on top of this himself, but dropped the ball. He is only 10 months late for his cleaning, so I am glad they mentioned it to me.

*

(Warning) When I came in, Yvonne asked me how long it had been since Timmy died, and I gave my standard answer of "nearly 9 years or it could have been yesterday." I guess the one "girl" did not know about Timmy so she must have been filling her in. Others must be thinking about Timmy, too, with all the news about Somer Thompson and such, and most of this staff knew him. In fact, once they asked me to bring in his scrapbook and kept it a couple days to make sure all had a chance to look at it. It was easier for them to not have me there when they did look at it, and I respected that.

*

Today, Martie and I went into Great Hang Ups and the first thing Julia asked me was how many years it had been since Timmy died....There was a new client sitting at the counter and Julia was telling her about him. This lady, Kathleen, had brought in a sizable piece to be cleaned and re-glassed, a painting done by her son, now deceased. She did not say how or how old, just that he was much older than Timmy. After six years, she still has trouble controlling the tears, and I told her the rule was to just let them flow. Kathleen said it bothers her husband which is too bad, but I think some people, men in particular, are just uncomfortable about the open expression of sorrow or loss. Martie did not hear all our conversation and wondered later if this woman knew the Lord. I told her that I tried to share my faith in the Lord and how it gives me great comfort. I told Kathleen my tears are for me, not for my son, because he is forever with the Lord.

*

This a.m. I had to fly around my house to get ready, as Martie called, wondering if I was prepared for our day. Um, what? I had totally forgotten she was going to see my dear friend, Carol the massage therapist, to get her back worked on. Rats! She had not yet left her house so I got ready in record time, dressing as fast as a fireman, and was downstairs before she pulled into the parking lot. We got up there in plenty of time and Martie was given the tour of the place by the manager. Leaving Martie in the caring hands of Carol, I headed to Wal*Mart to pick up my prescription and did a little extra shopping. Really? At the door were tiny bags of pretzels in individual packages for Trick or Treat which I bought for the preschool kids. They are having a Fall Party Friday and this would be a good addition. Not too expensive either. While driving up there I had decided to not buy any more DVDs but sure enough---the $4 bin got me!

*

Justin had sent me a message to report a good buy on soda so I went over to Walgreens to take advantage. He is a good sale spotter!!! They were four for $10 which is quite a decent price, like we were used to paying. My car is now loaded and should take me at least through the weekend, and then some. It depends upon how much I am out---I drink more when I am home, go figure! When I got back to get Martie, she was not quite done so I waited in the car to listen to the radio and read through the Bible study for tomorrow. I had not grabbed my Bible though so could not look up the passages. If I had an iPhone I could have but alas, will have to do that later, I guess. Carol came up front so I went in to talk with her. We were comparing notes on the movies I had, as we had this conversation in the past. She and her hubby do the NetFlix and just love it. Dee buys her movies as do I so we can exchange between our collections or lend them out, without time restrictions. Because of Martie's "treatment", she had to walk down to Hang Ups so off we went to see the ladies.

*

Julia had to stay in the shop through lunch so I offered to bring her back a bento box from Koko's. Martie and I had a very nice lunch, prepared by Huang, of which I brought most home with me. The waitress asked me if I wanted double rice and also brought my to-go box at the appropriate time. Some of my chicken was shared with the dogs in the shop when we delivered Julia's lunch and then Martie and I came back here to watch a movie.

*

Much to my delight, "Freedom Writers" was in the $4 bin and that was what we watched this afternoon while Martie "marinated", according to Carol's directions. Oh, we sobbed like babies and I said over and over again, "I love this movie!". I cannot wait to share it with Linda. Do any of you out there remember seeing this movie with me at the theater???? I just cannot remember who I saw it with but do not think I went by myself to this one. Help me out, here, I am getting old!

Looking forward to seeing my friend...

....the endodontist yet again! Yes, once more I have a tooth giving me hints of trouble, one which had been on the list for repairs before but put off taking care of the tooth when it settled down. Over the weekend I noticed that it was feeling sort of "active" and this morning it was clear I should make the call. Like an expectant mother waiting for the right time to call, the same applies for me and my goofy teeth! This rather makes the decision for me of whether or not to go stand along the street in respect of Somer Thompson. Twila and I were in the thinking stages of doing this, not attending the service itself but watching the procession to the funeral home for the family's private services and burial.

*

Today I was attempting to send off the Flock Talk and many many came back to be as undeliverable. Well, for goodness sakes! I am unsure why this happened but the majority of the addresses were hotmail.com with a few being comcast.net. Later on I will try once more to send off to the bounced back folks to see if there was a problem on their end and not from mine. Perhaps Lynne will need to print off extras this coming month for those who cannot open it.

*

My feet are wearing the fuzzy slippers right now and my capris are allowing for my calves to be chilly. The temperature outside is in the mid 70's, not too shabby but during the night, or early a.m., I was awakened by a thunder storm complete with heavy rain. Because the sun has not quite freed itself of the clouds I am not toasty in my window. There was a rocket launch scheduled for 9:30 this a.m. but think it might have been postponed due to the overcast skies. Perhaps the sky at the Cape is not as overcast as here, in fact, from the live feed, it shows blue skies with dotted clouds. Regardless, I likely won't be able to see it go up.

*

I am hungry but not sure what I want to eat before going to the dentist. Of course, I should have something or will have trouble handling the nitrous oxide. One time, my low blood sugar mixed with the nitrous put me on my bed, feeling quite unable to even roll over to pick up the phone to call the dentist. She advised me to have a tablespoon of sugar (my kind of dentist!!!) to help boost my sugar level and then I felt better. Wow, who knew? Me, now!

*

My sister, Jill, told me last night that she is going to look at an apartment in my Mom's building. While I am absolutely delighted she is getting out of her other place which has so many problems, I was surprised to hear Mom's building would take her. Their website indicated it was a 55+ building but she assures me she can live there. Jill said it was going to be tight money-wise to move there but she would no longer be responsible for lawn care and snow shoveling, nor pestered with mice and noisy neighbors overhead. Lots of pluses for her, besides the negative of paying extra rent. She will let me know how it goes on Wednesday, and I will pray it goes well. I would just love it if she can be so near Mom if she needs any help with anything. Or Mom can help Jill, as the case might be!

*

I wish Mom could be here to watch this funeral news with me, she would recognize much of what is being broadcast. The church where the funeral service is held, the TV cameras up and down Kingsley and Blanding, she would recognize all of them. The cameras set up across the street from the cemetery, showing one of my "friends" standing in the driveway to check for invitations, as this private service is invitation only.

*

They are making small talk on the live reports leading up to the start of the service, talking about how valuable the friends and family have been for the mom of the dead child. As someone told me after Timmy died, every funeral from now on will be Timmy's. As rotten as it sounds, I am feeling those feelings experienced nearly 9 years ago. Make no mistake, you cannot even begin to measure or put a price on the support you provide at such times as these, so do not ever hesitate, if it ever comes up, to step up to show your support.

*

They just showed the family and the mom of Somer Thompson arriving at the church, slightly after the service was scheduled to begin. One of the TV stations was set up at the home and I saw Mr. Day's car in the driveway of the home, and also saw him as he went into the church. Strangely enough, just as they closed the doors of the church, the TV station went to its regular programming, which was a judge show! I do not miss a thing by not watching daytime TV....I tried another station to see the coverage and they had introduced Cheryl to "come on down" as this woman who absolutely should not be jumping came bopping down to the podium, arms covered in tattoos. Oh, just, whatever.....not in the mood today.

I did manage to get a picture

Here is a picture of Gretchen posing with the Luther display at church. She was not tickled about it but I asked her soooo nicely.......Yesterday she came up to me in the church before the Reformation service and thanked me for the display, saying it turned out better than she expected. Today Gretchen described it as professional looking. Wow! I must tell Martie! Gretchen is donating the items to the church for our archives so we decided to keep the display up for a couple weeks and then pack it away safely. Thank God for Luther!!!

"Solo Christo"

I listened to the weather report last night before going to sleep, hearing we were in store for a couple cooler days again and possible rain during the week. Not necessarily all day rains, but at some point we may need the wipers if driving. The highs are getting into mid 80's so I think we can say good-bye to the near record setting temps which ended our week last week. It is pretty grey out there right now but I see a strip of pink over the trees which may indicate the potential for sunshine at some point.

*

This morning I thought of a few things from yesterday's events which brought smiles to my heart. At one point I was being introduced to a couple people from Victory whom I did not know yet. Rachel told the one women, Julia, whom I actually had already met before but did not say anything, that I have a dual-citizenship between G.S. and Victory, and am a good-will ambassador for the churches. When I thanked her for that she said I help to keep the congregations connected with each other. Awww, shucks....

*

Later, Stephanie came through when I was standing in the back at the podium taking attendance. She was wearing a lovely green shell with a bright flowery cardigan over the top. As I greeted her I told Stephanie how much I liked her sweater and she said, "I wanted to compete with your bright colors!" and I made one of my loud guffaws. Then I slapped my hand over my mouth for being so loud, although, thankfully, it was still plenty noisy in there. She said, "Oh, don't worry, they are probably used to you by now...." What does THAT mean? More than once people have said they hear me before they see me, when out somewhere. Huh.

*

As we were leaving the church to head over for the dinner, Justin and I were among the last out because of the choir being in the back. When shaking hands with Pastor, he said, "You liked that last hymn, didn't you?", more statement than question since he knows VERY well how much I love "In Christ Alone". I gushed, "Yes, I did. I am still mopping up after that one!" and his dad, our guest preacher said, "I get all teared up, too!" See? Justin was correct, he was not alone in the eye-wiping, other men did it, too. John 3:16 is considered the Gospel in a nutshell, and I find the hymn, "In Christ Alone" to be the entire story of Christ and His saving work for us in a beautifully concise hymn. Perhaps someday at sporting events, people will be holding up signs that instead of having "John 3:16" printed on them, folks will hold signs with "In Christ Alone" written on them. Our Lutheran faith is founded on what Martin Luther discovered in the Holy Scriptures: by grace alone, God's saving grace through His son, Jesus Christ, who give His life for our sins. Sola gratia, sola fida, sola scriptura....and solo Christo, "In Christ Alone..."

Home again, worn out but thrilled

What a crying week it has been! The senseless murder of a small child, the reminders of my own loss and how much I miss him, and then culminating with singing, with the choirs, congregation, and especially, Justin, "In Christ Alone". We sang this closing hymn while standing, which makes for better expression, with Rachel, our guest pianist, playing softer and louder as the hymn called for it. Perfect! During the final stanza, though, the message hits home and my tears just let loose. Justin was sniffling, too, squeezing my arm, and then whispering that he saw some others wiping their eyes, too. Stephanie, my friend from Victory, said after church that she survived the hymn, knowing "my friend, Kim, was singing behind me and probably crying...." We are newer friends but already she knows. "No guilt in life, no fear in death....from life’s first cry to final breath....Jesus commands my destiny....No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand...‘til He returns or calls me home here in the power of Christ I’ll stand."

*

Our choirs received compliments for the anthems in praise to the Lord, including the one which was kicking my butt. The extra rehearsal time plus the combined choirs alleviated my fears. Sadly, Rachel, the music director from Victory, was not pleased with the quality of the bells this a.m. so decided no bells at our afternoon worship. It would not be "excellent" so the decision was made to not have them. We had looked forward to having them play during the worship but she knew best.

*

After the service we adjourned to the fellowship hall for our lovely dinner. We had more than enough food, plenty of desserts, and beautifully decorated tables. Justin coerced me into tasting a piece of zucchini, telling me I could wash it down my soda or macaroni and cheese from my plate. Really, I did not like it. Gretchen was pleased with the Luther display, saying it was better than she even anticipated. I will probably take it down tomorrow before Bible study and see what she wants done with it. Before I take it down, I want to get a picture of it for posterity purposes. I forgot the camera today so no photos for the newsletters, rats!

*

The altar flowers were mine today so after the dinner, Justin and I took them out to take to the cemetery. I wanted to make sure to get there and out before sundown because of it being dark or getting locked in...If there are no funeral home visitations going on, they close the gates earlier. The other day my friend, John, my "boyfriend" at the cemetery told me that I could plant flowers around Timmy's tree if I want to. I said I thought that was not allowed and he said, "You know I let you do whatever you want...." Oh, great, now that I pulled all my stuff off the site! So, Cindy, what do think? What will grow nicely under the tree in the fall/winter? There are sprinklers now and new drainage pipes installed, quite conducive to good growing!

*

A few moments ago Paul called to tell me that Sarah was quite upset because she did not get to hug Justin! When he tried to hug on her, she hid behind her daddy and refused to even say 'hi' to him, and Justin told her he would was going to get her later. Well, when we left, she came running out after him, wanting to hug him. It turned out it was not Justin she saw, we were already gone, and she was so upset. Sarah said, "but Justin said he was going to get me, and now I was going to hug him....." I told Paul that's what she gets for playing hard to get, which is exactly what he told her! She was crying, the whole shootin' match over missing her Justin. I told Paul I would get a hug from her tomorrow and promise to deliver it for her when I see him again. She could call him on the phone but Paul said she refused to do that. Sarah will have to listen to "I Hope You Dance" so does not miss her chance to hug her godfather next time!!!

Resting my bones....

.....before I head back to church for choir rehearsal and then the celebration of Reformation. I just settled down on my bed, legs up, after reheating some leftovers from Longhorn. This will tide me over until our feast at 5:00 pm when we enjoy our potluck. We are blessed to have a member/chef who is preparing the fatted calf (is Boston butt from a cow??) and the GS ladies are bringing the side dishes and desserts. I want to stop at Publix to get a cheesecake for dessert to share, plus my yummy baked beans which are presently in the oven. Love the smell of beans baking! I am also looking forward to seeing one of our former members, Dawn, as she joins us for the afternoon worship and dinner. And, our special guest, Justin Day!

*

Bible study was great today, especially now that we meet in the Fellowship Hall. It works much better to have tables in front of us for making notes, folks can have their coffee or soda, as the case might be, and seems to be much more interactive and participatory in this format. Only a few don't like it, would prefer sitting in the church on the soft pews but also do not want to go against what the rest have indicated. Our topic is "Christ's Love, Our Calling" and was about the church family. We are all part of the body of Christ, with our different 'callings' in service to the Lord and His people, to build each other up and bear with one another. I am testimony to that as I would hate to have endured the things I have in my life, like losing my child and then my marriage, without the love and support of my families---church, biological, and heart! Thank you everybody! Go, now, and celebrate our Lutheran heritage with your families!!!

What does the weekend bring?

My fun began last night with the bracelet and earring-making craft night at Victory. Rachel brought her amazing collection of beads and tools and fun toys, plus completed pieces to show us. All this accumulation began only two months ago, when she made her first name tag lanyard for use at work. She had bought one from another co-worker, saw it was "easy" to make and launched her newest hobby of beading. Rachel told us that she finances this hobby by making and selling surgical caps for the docs to wear at work, making them unique and perhaps more "fun" than the basic green or blue. She said she does the calculations in her head, like, "How many more caps do I have to make in order to buy these blue beads.......?". It was so funny to see/hear her passion. She is an accomplished sewer, purse maker, baker, and musician. Add to that being a nurse, and now teacher, as she helped us make our breast cancer awareness jewelry, with the proceeds going to support research. Add to that great fellowship between us ladies, nothing better!

*

Instead of going to sleep when I got home, I read on-line postings and comments on the news pages about the Somer Thompson case. One of the local news broadcasts showed a picture of a man being interviewed, a sex offender who worked on a damaged home nearly where the child disappeared. It seems that many years ago when this man was 19, he had an underage teen girlfriend which is where the charges came from. I guess he was never "judged" due to the circumstances but his name came up on a list somehow. Many in the area want to string up all the sex offenders and predators, tattoo them with a red letter on their foreheads, all that reactionary stuff. That is as frightening as having convicts living among us, now add vigilantism to the mix. In my mind, part of this reaction is that people are not entirely comfortable with how to express true sorrow or grief, choosing anger or hatred instead of simply laying into the genuine emotion these type of circumstances call for. Hopefully people will turn out to support the family in positive ways this weekend at the fund raiser event, or stand along the streets as the funeral procession goes by on the way to the cemetery next week.

*

Yesterday I worked on the photos taken at the Precious Lambs Preschool and Kindergarten Open House Thursday night. Because I was meeting Twila for lunch, I printed off a couple for her which showed her granddaughter, Twila Jr., with her little ones who are students there. Mario is doing well in kindergarten, as Twila Sr. declared the teachers "unsung heroes". I will do my best to change that, and I know she will, too, now that she has seen them in action! Twila Sr. and I ate at Pengrees after her doctor appointment, where I had the country fried steak with mashed potatoes. Yummy! We each had a slice of peanut butter pie for dessert, my first time! It is good but think I would like just plain chocolate cream pie just as well. My friend, Christine, told me once to never start eating peanut butter pie, because "you will not stop"!! Thanks for the warning, but I think I am okay.

*

In a few minutes I will be leaving to visit Tina in Palm Coast. We are meeting at Ruby Tuesday to have lunch after Maya's ballerina class. I can't tell you how perfect Maya is as a ballerina as she is quite the little princess. Bet she is just adorable, too. My friend, Janet, had to take her granddaughter to gymnastics Wednesday and was told by the leader that Jordyn is ready to move up to advanced class, meaning twice a week (twice the money), go to competitions and be on a team. This is a three-year-old child! What a racket that is, and Janet said her kids are well aware of that. While Jordyn can move up to a more advanced class, she will not go more than once a week nor will she compete. Janet said that kids just can't be kids anymore, everything has to be organized play or electronic. She has a hard time getting Zach to play outside or do any physical things, but as Grandma, will not take "no" for an answer.

*

When Timmy died, a song was popular on the radio called "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. It talks about never sitting back and letting the world pass you by, always have a sense of wonder, not taking life for granted and to remember "heaven". The refrain encourages us, when given the choice to "sit it out or dance, I hope you dance..." This is a song about living in the world, seeking what you can, and so on, but also has words of encouragement about remembering God and living life to its fullest. Not to miss a chance to do something versus sitting and watching the world go by. On the way to the funeral home for the visitation, the song was on the radio. And, again, on the way home from the visitation. On the day of the funeral, as we drove to church, there it was again! Not a superstitious person, it still hit me that there was something special about this song for me, since I am not a country music person normally. From now on, when I hear this song, I will remember hearing it as we drove to these special events in our lives. I gave a little book to my friend, Cindy, which had the song on a CD included in the back, for her remembrance, too. These recent events flooded my memory, what can I say??

*

Justin sent me a couple messages yesterday, one funny and one more sentimental in nature. "Confucius say, "Man who farts in church sits in own pew..." ." A bit later he sent the message that twice in the day his iPod played "Godspeed, Little Man". This is the title of the story I am writing about his little brother, Timmy. The name comes from a song by (gulp!) the Dixie Chicks, where the lyrics describe a little boy playing with his dragons and dinosaurs, sitting on the sofa in his Superman pajamas.....