Age is just a number

Today is Fred's 73rd birthday - but what does that really mean??? Yes, 73 years ago today he was born at home to Fred and Elizabeth Preuss, the oldest child of eventually 3. He lived a fairly normal life as the son of a daily farmer in Central Wisconsin, grew up in the area.  married me, raised 4 daughters, built 2 homes, partially built another one, was an over the road truck driver for many years, retired in Arkansas, then worked for another 7 years before finally retiring and then traveled for a few years in an RV. OK, sorry if this sounds like an obituary, but in a way it is. It was the end of a former life and the beginning of a new one. Fred, as well as all of us, only has one life, so far for him 73 years of that life, 876 months of those years, 319740 days of those months  (not counting leap years),7,673,760 hours of those days, and 46,042,560 seconds of those minutes. Wow -  a person cannot even fathom counting that high. So does age really matter? What matters is what we do with all those seconds. Somewhere along the line, Fred and I changed direction, answering God's calling to use all of the remaining time we have to serve the Lord - in whatever capacity He leads us. So if you are only 20 or even 65, listen to the voice of the Master. You don't have to give up your job, or home or even your family. Just follow His commands, be kind and generous to everyone, don't judge lest you be judged, don't harbor bitterness, anger, or jealousy. In other words, live the best life God has blessed you with - who knows where you will be when you are 73!!!! Whenever someone asks our age, I have to stop and figure it out - I never really dwell on numbers. So for a birthday present, we went to Baskin Robbins - the best ice cream ever.

This week we are dog sitting again during the day - our neighbor had back surgery, so we watch Missy and Sissy while her husband is at the hospital with her. The surgery was more extensive than the doctors thought and Bessie is in a lot of severe pain. Please pray for the pain to subside, and that she is able to come home from the hospital soon. The dogs are really very good - very well behaved, and mild mannered. The worst thing they do  is rat up my rugs in the bathroom for some odd reason. It is cooler in there, so they go in, scratch around, rat up the rugs, and then come prancing out. Right now they napping on the couch - their favorite pastime.



Sissy and Missy - they love to pose for pictures - as you can see, they leave their toys all over the place.

This has been a week of experimenting with new recipes. When everyone returns from their Northern homes, everything becomes extremely busy, especially with the food/clothing ministries, soup kitchen, CHI Bible studies, and the church work here at the park. We still do hospital and home visits to those in need during the summer, but it is a time to relax a bit and try new recipes, work on details for the ladies retreat so everything is in place long before the big day, research the Internet for church ideas and music,  and catch up on housekeeping duties. Tomorrow night I am going to tackle making chili rellenos using big, beautiful poblano peppers. Have lots of dehydrated peppers and cherry tomatoes, and will try mangoes next. Probably in January, I will begin to wonder why there is only 24 hours in a day, but I do love the busyiness of it all.

 

Today we welcomed back Pastor Israel and family from their much needed vacation. They seemed relaxed, but yet tired from all the traveling. He delivered a great message by  using Luke13:10-17 as a guide. Jesus healed a woman whose back was bent over for 18 years. He was preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath - when one of the rulers chastised Him , saying that it was against the law to do so. But the interesting part of the story is that the woman was in "church" on the Sabbath day. She didn't stay home, feeling sorry for herself. Imagine the miracle she would have missed if she stayed home!!!! I am not trying to say that going to church on Sunday makes a person a Christian. But the perseverance of worshipping every week seems to get our priorities in order. Sometimes by Saturday, we begin to lag a bit in our faith, we begin to lose sight of the end reward, we begin to doubt His everyday presence. When we attend church we are encouraged by other Christians,  rejuvenated in the Holy Spirit, renewed in the Lord, and ready to do battle with the world. God does want to have a relationship with us, and by worshipping through song and study, we rebuild that relationship that the world wants to tear apart. We are so blessed that we can worship however, when, and wherever we please. "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord". Psalm 122:1

 

Everyone have a wonderful week, enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day!!! God is good!