Friendship

Thanks to my friend, Lori, for this "Circle of Friends" award. It's nice to have friends that we can get together with personally, to chat with, shop with, have coffee with, etc., but I have found that my internet friends are very special too. Sometimes I am able to share more with them than I can with people I see day to day or weekly. Some of my best friends are internet friends. Not all of them have blogs, so I can't pass this on to them, but some of the ones I do think of are:
Jennifer, who makes me laugh with the way she has with words!
Ginny, who has been part of my circle of internet friends for a long time, and whom I have been blessed to meet twice!
Deby, who has also been a long time friend and has given me encouragement over the years.
Thanks to each of you for your friendship.

Shoes, personality, and reality

I was visiting some favorite blogs tonight and found a cute quiz at Deby's. "What kind of shoe are you?" I like looking at shoes, but have a hard time finding them to fit now. I remember in high school, I had 26 pairs! When I would get depressed, I would go buy shoes.... hmmmm, I think I needed something else in my life - Jesus! But anyway, I took the quiz and here's what I am (supposedly. My comments are in color)

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. (hmmm. laid back,true, but shy at first - then friendly!) Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. (I'd like to be more like that) Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. (casual - right on! I'm just a country girl!) It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. (who, me??? a flake? No way!!! LOL) You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. (really?? well, maybe.... I sure would rather read than do housework...) You should live: By the beach (absolutely!!!, but I don't) You should work: At a casual up and coming company (hmmm. I wonder what that might be?? I'm happy being at home, being a substitute teacher and Bible study leader)

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Finding Spring

It has been awhile since I have been on blogland, partly due to being away on vacation. When we left, there was still snow on the ground - lots of it. How nice to return to no snow!

We traveled to DC for 3 days and then spent 3 days in York, PA. It was so beautiful - flowering trees and flowers, warm weather (in PA), and time to explore. God's creation is so marvelous. I just had to share the tulips and pansies in DC.

Spring finds us here in the Northeast, too. Crocuses at my son and daughter-in-law's home.

Where did all the aprons go?

I hadn't given aprons much thought until I started reading about them on some blogs. It made me stop and wonder why they aren't a part of our everyday life as they were in the past... Oh, I have a couple that I wear when I remember to put them on, but I have to admit that I have more food/greased stained clothing than I should. Where have all the aprons gone? (Suddenly the song "Where have all the Flowers Gone" popped into my mind with "aprons" replacing "flowers"!!!)

I suppose we can look to the feminist movement who wanted to make women look, act, and be more like men. Sadly, that meant the apron had to go. Then with the introduction of fast-food and pre-made cookies and pies, there was no need to protect clothing from flour spills and other "from scratch" items. A friend of mine recently forwarded the following to our email group. I don't know where it started, who wrote it, etc., but it was too good not to share. If you know of the author, please let me know. (9/8/08 I have seen this posted at Shipwrecked in South Carolina's blog, so perhaps he is the author.)


> Both of my grandmothers wore aprons a lot. I remember them doing some of these very things with them (right cuz's?). Good memories don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears .

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know, and love the story about Grandma's aprons. <


How sad that many have lost the service, protection, comfort, usefulness, and welcoming nature of a simple apron. I so enjoy finding blogs of those who still carry on the cheer of apron wearing. So.... apron wearers unite! I would love to know who you are and to visit your blogs. I am so inspired by all of you!

Moments with God

The other day I was scanning through a book and some thoughts came to mind about friendship. Have you ever had a friendship just up and end? That happened to me about 8 years ago. I didn't understand then and there are many times since then, that I have lamented over it and still been hurt at the rejection. God's still, small voice spoke to me once again, as it has in the past, "There was a reason, my child. You were too dependent on your friend. You were in a relationship that focused on the negatives. You weren't growing. I had to remove her from your life so you would return to Me." Well, of course I didn't hear those words audibly, but the message was clear.

My lesson not learned, I soon found myself lamenting over another issue, another "loss" in my life, and the years I spent yearning after something I didn't have (more than one child), I said to myself, "I always believed God would give me another child and He didn't." Almost immediately, I "heard" that chiding voice again, "Yes, I did." Then he brought to mind a lovely young woman whom He had brought into my life years ago when she was a teen, and has kept in my life. I'm her "Mumdie". She has given me a glimpse of what it would have been like to have a daughter.

Since then, I have gained a daughter-in-law, and there are the children who have passed my way through Sunday school and through substitute teaching - children whom I can reach out to with an encouraging word or a listening ear. Although they aren't my own, I can reach out with Jesus' love.

We may not understand God's ways, but I know His ways are right. Psalms 145:17