Alice's Restaurant ~ Dishin' Up Food for Thought

Alice's Restaurant ~ Dishin' Up Food for Thought ~~~ A place to share what I am thinking, reading, feeling & contemplating as I travel on this journey called life.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Thankful Thursday

Today is
 
and I am so thankful for a
 
I went to bed close to 1 a.m. this morning,
don't ask me why I stayed up so late,
I was playing a couple of stupid Mahjong games
even though I was so tired!!!

And like I do each night before falling asleep I prayed.  
I thanked God for a good day, for the nice drive we had to Galena, MO to 
Lorenae Dairy where we picked up some cheese curds
and then stopped at Patrick's Market - a little produce stand.
We bought green and purple peppers (never seen one of those), tomatoes, green beans and peaches.  
The peaches were kind of bruised but for $2 for 20 peaches we couldn't pass them up.

And then I asked God to forgive me for not giving Him time in the morning. 
I asked Him to help me to wake up refreshed and early enough to spend some time with him.
And He did just that.
At 6:14 AM!!! 
I opened my eyes and saw blue sky and the sun peeking through.
I did think for just a moment "I can just go back to sleep" and then I remembered my prayer from last night and had to chuckle...God did what I asked, so who am I to complain or not get up.

And good thing I did.  After standing up I felt a little shaky so I checked my blood sugars...
...it was 75
 
so I headed to the kitchen and got a can of pineapple juice
and drank it slowly, trying not to let my normal low blood sugar panic take over.

Me normally when my blood sugar drops
Thank you Jesus for waking me up before my blood sugars totally crashed!

God is so Good!!
And provides for me in so many different ways!!!

I then gathered my things for some time with the Lord.
And this is where I began
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhpMsgH-u-nSv11lcdLXGi0TS4pE_ojpshO9grnI7Xz9wITlVv6E88yFSV_rHv-XypS8YQ5HSTt1zuDSziN4quG1o1WnEGUXvYl5ZDi8bdibetCl_zoo9F1bFzYIaq9ZCEN-y3i9XUhih/s640/Psalm138-1-2.jpg
Praise Him for His mercy and strength
Praise Him for His magnificent word
Praise Him for His mighty provisions!!!

And then I had to laugh when I went to 
Mark 10:35-45
And right away I read
"Teacher (Jesus) we want you to give us what we want."
See sometimes God gives us what we ask for or what we want
and then we have to decide if we are going to keep it, follow it, or use it.
And like last night I asked God to wake me this morning and He did...and who am I then to complain how early my day started...He only did what I asked.
So be careful what you ask for ~ you might just get it :)
 
But wait, God wasn't finished with me yet this morning :)
I turned to 
 
And a precious memory came to mind.
The time was 1980 to 82
we were attending King Community Fellowship in Federal Way, WA.
It was a small Mennonite Brethren church but filled with wonderful God believing people.
One of the men that attended that church was Don Speer.  His son, Dick was one of our pastors.
Ron was out of the Air Force and finding work was not easy.  Don had a construction business and would hire Ron when he needed some extra help.  Well Ron was working for Don and something happened, today I can't even remember what it was...maybe Ron remembers, but I got mad, not just a little mad but REAL MAD.  Don and I had a yelling match (who me?  yes me!) and then we didn't speak to each other for about a month...it was a very loooonnnnnngggg month.  My anger festered.  I would give Don nasty looks whenever I saw him, at least once or twice a week as we went to church together.  Well about four or five weeks after The Incident, we were in church.  Don sitting close to the front and me way in the back.  I don't remember the sermon but we were having the Lord's Supper that day.  I don't remember what Dick preached about or anything else about that Sunday except that during communion I was feeling very stubborn and I knew I wasn't right with Don so that meant I wasn't right with God, and I was stirring in my seat, feeling very uncomfortable and then tears started running down my cheeks and I could feel God saying to me...well, what are you going to do?  Are you going to fix the problem?  And after what seemed like hours and really was only minutes I found myself getting up and moving towards Don who by this time was coming towards me...he hadn't taken communion either...guess God was talking to him too :)  I remember walking up to Don and just embracing him, hugging and crying and saying "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry"...over and over again and right there in front of God and everyone!!! 
 
 We asked each other to forgive us for our stubbornness and bad behavior.  
And then we took communion together
.
  
And God healed us both, right there, giving us a special love and bond with each other.
Don was like a dad to me in many ways...he loved me, he cared about me and my family, he even disciplined me at times with the sharing of God's word and how it applies to my life.

I miss Don and his wife, Joyce.  I don't think of them often because their death was a horrible death - they were beaten and bludgeoned to death and each time I think of them that is the picture I see of them...hurting, bleeding and dying on the ground on their property.  

BUT, this morning I thought of Don with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart, remembering a man of God, who gave so much as he served so many, sharing so many blessings with those he came into contact with...and Ron and I, along with our boys were very much blessed by him.

So this morning I 
Praise God for the many blessings he has given me,
for the trials I have faced and conquered
and for His love abounding in my life.

Thank you Jesus for never waivering,
always providing,
always loving.






Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tuesday's Thoughts

It's looking a little
 
outside this morning.  
Kind of like how I felt yesterday...foggy mind and exhausted body.

As you know, yesterday I was exhausted, wiped out, tired
but this morning I woke feeling
 
I turned off the alarms last night and slept like a 
 
I woke up about 12:30 feeling like I had slept for hours and then again briefly just before 5 and rolled over both times and fell right back to sleep.  Woke up at 7:03 this morning, feeling ready to face the day.
So thankful to God for answered prayer of a good night's rest!

As I began my time with the Lord this morning I asked him to encourage me today.
And He did just that...

First in 

 
I was encouraged as I realized I can plan my day, my week, my life BUT
God is the one that directs my path.  God knows we have much to do around the campground, around the apartment, marketing that needs to be done YET he slowed me down yesterday because He knew I needed some down time, time to recharge my batteries, time to breathe and set my priorities.

And then
 
God will give me everything I need.  
He promises to provide for me in my whole life, not just a part of it.

He has never failed me yet.  
Yesterday I needed to rest and regroup.  
And that is what I did...had a very easy dinner - polish sausage sandwiches & watermelon...it would have been so easy to say "let's go out to eat" where I would have over eaten and spent money we really don't have and been more tired from being out and about.  Instead we walked to the rig just after 5 p.m.  had a great big slice of 
 
and then made polish sausage sandwiches on cheese/onion rolls.  
Easy and delicious and very filling.

Spent a little bit of the evening on the computer and watched Glades with the hubs.
A very relaxing evening, made perfect as God guided me in thoughts of what to make for dinner and a quiet evening with my hubby...we didn't even talk about work!!

Slept well last night,
enjoyed my time with the Lord this morning,
feel ready to face the day
and changed some of my plans for today to not be so busy:

Today I will 
work in the campground office for a little bit,
then clean the Lower Level Bathroms
and the Cabin.

Take a deep breathe, make some lunch, figure out what is for dinner
pay some bills and straighten up the rig.

One observation I have made over the years...when the rig or house is messy I feel flustered 
and even get a little snarky with people (sorry Ron) so to make me feel better I do a little 
 
or in this case some
 
cleaning in the rig :)

Hope each of you have a great day!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Rambling

Rambling Thoughts

 
to the point of exhaustion.

Went to bed and was asleep last night by 7:30 p.m.
Woke up shortly after midnight 
and couldn't go back to sleep till almost 2 a.m.
Alarm went off at 5 a.m.
Turned it off and slept till almost 8 a.m.

Grabbed a couple of hard boiled eggs and a banana for breakfast.
Drank a 33 oz bottle of water.

Was dragging and headed to the rig for lunch.

Made
 
and then made my way back to the office.

Worked on some marketing for the campground.
Folded  a load of clothes...
loving having a washer & dryer to use anytime!!

Worked on a couple more lists of projects for the campground 
and the apartment.

Feeling 
and
like there is
 
that

Just wanted to let you know how I was feeling
and that I hadn't dropped off the face of the earth!

Still here