Ghosts - what do you believe?

A strange beginning for a blog, but keep reading and it will probably make sense. We went to Fort Smith, AR, to visit with our daughter and husband this past week.As they both work - she at the VA and he as owner of the family restaurant, we were left to our own during the day. After eating breakfast at Bob and Wanda's Wagon Wheel Restaurant (the family restaurant owned by our daughter and son-in-law) we did a bit of exploring. But if you are ever in Fort Smith, drive West outside of Fort Smith to Barling where the restaurant is located. Wonderful food, terrific service, and great owners who truly care about their customers. One day we traveled to Van Buren, a small touristy town nearby. Lots of historic buildings, a railroad (which still runs tourist trips), and lots of interesting shops. I did buy some patchouli soap for one of my daughters and myself, while indulging in taffy and flavored popcorn ( maple butter and also cinnamon). While strolling around I saw this sign:

Guess there are a few ghosts hanging around town. Ghosts are described as" a disembodied soul; especially : the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness, a spirit or demon".  You have heard of friendly ghosts (ie: Casper) and more often scary or demonic ghosts. Many people do believe in the spirit word. There are times when I feel the hair on my neck rise up or think I feel someone close by but really do not believe that unhappy or discontented figures of dead folks are floating around in this world. I do believe in the Holy Spirit, who lives within us and always guides our conscience, thus warning us of sin. But apparitions or ghostly figures - nope not really. But it does make for good reading at times! 

While on our short trip to Fort Smith, I continue to  marvel at the beauty of the Ozark and Boston Mountains of the area. I never tire of the changing scene depending on the time of year, day, or even weather conditions. My heart seems to swell up at the beauty that surrounds us, created by the One who loves us and wants us to enjoy this world He created. I took these pictures as the sun was just beginning to set and evening was approaching. 

Love the misty look of the mountains and valleys

this scene changes constantly as the daytime sum shines on the trees, but turns to misty elegance as evening approaches

We are leaving AR this week for WI - first to visit friends for a few days then on to our sister-in-laws, as Fred's brother passed away three years ago and Susan needs help yet in sorting out things in his workshop. She has lots of lumber stored there as my brother-in-law loved to work with wood, but she does not know what is good, salvageable, or even good enough to sell. Fred also loves wood, so hopefully he will be able to sort it out for her. We will be able to visit fiends and relatives in the area, as we lived there for a few years when we were first married, and it is the stomping grounds of Fred when he was younger. I love the area, as it is close to the restaurant my parents used to own and the high school I graduated from - lots of good memories there. Also cheese factories, gelato cafes, and wonderful Amish stores! Even though I was raised in Chicago for 11 years, I love and prefer the small towns.

We continued to study about the power of the tongue in Church last Sunday. (Vance Eubanks is such an amazing preacher - wonderful pastor, and friend.) Life giving words can change our family, workplace, and community. 

 

Proverbs 12:18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,  but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 15:1 New King James Version (NKJV). A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. These are only two of the many verses in Proverbs pertaining to the way we speak. Gentleness wins. Gentle words fuel your body and soul. Think of how good you feel when someone says a kind word to or about you. But be jarful - when you are in places of influence, words are power. The use of our words is a calling of God.The word Christian portrays the way we live or talk. Does your speech say :"he/she is a Christian?".Our words portray all areas of our lives, especially in our home. Does your "outside" speech also carry over into your home? We are called to be greater than today's culture, where vulgarity seems the norm. Don't fall into that world. We can speak the truth but need to do so with grace. As Christians we need to be unselfish - we need to listen to and care for others, instead of thinking of what we are going to say next,. We need to be curious as to why others act as they do - what is happening in their lives. Slow down, think before you speak, and do so with love and grace. Don't take things personally - that person who just lashed out at you probably has lots of stuff going on in their lives. Don't let the Holy Spirit be grieved by your action or words. We need to be a life giving spirit just as Jesus was to us. Encouragement is something that God does because He loves us so that we can encourage others. Here is a challenge for you this week:

1)think of three people you can encourage this week and do so verbally 

2) post something positive on social media for 3 of your friends

3) make your home a place of encouragement

 

Tornado Weather

I forgot that here in NW AR tornados are pretty common. Yesterday was our daughter's 29th wedding anniversary, so we treated them to dinner anywhere. They did not feel like going out (I can't blame them as they live in a beautiful place in the woods, so we ordered Piology (if you have never been there you are missing some great pizzas). For instance I ordered a cauliflower crust with herbed oil, 3 kinds of meat, lots of wonderful veggies, a red sauce, 2 cheeses, and pesto added after baking.The pizzas are made to order, with anything and as much as you want on them, all for one price. We stopped to visit our other daughter on the way there and heard tornado warning alerts, so we quickly proceeded to pick up the order and head back home. We got caught in a torrential rain, but made it safely home just as the tornado warning was lifted. I had forgotten the  feeling as I felt the power and the majesty of the storm, just s we often feel the power and majesty of God - it is all around us and terrifying as well as exhilarating at the same time.

Last week was the beginning  of our annual sasuage/brat making.  Usually done on a week-end but this time made during the week - so being the only female around I was the go-fer! We made brats and a delicious kielbasa sausage which had to be smoked. The wonderful smells coming from the smoker made a person's mouth water. We make enough so that we can take it all back to the Valley with us to last until our next trip North. Today was the packaging and freezing day .

out of the smoker, ready to package after cooling

stringing the sausage on the rods

off to the smoker which is hot and ready

whew - lots of smoke and heat

don't know how our son-in-law can stand the heat/smoke 

happily smoking away

Saturday we celebrated the birthdays of two of our great grand children - Brielle who is 3 and Jaylen who is 1. Our granddaughter just combined their birthdays into one big day at Fun City, much like Chucky Cheese, etc. As the twin great granddaughters were also there, it was quite a feat to try to keep track of those little  munchkins as the were so excited and ran from here to there - boy are they fast!!!!

 great grandpa and Jaylen

 party girl Brielle on the left and the twins, Kinley and Kenzie

party time

 pretty Brielle

Jaylen wouldn't touch the cake, just daintily used a fork

An interesting day in church on Sunday as we were warned that the collection song was not the normal "church" hymn, but we were not to be offended as it all pertained to the  sermon given by Matt Tibbets (an amazing youth pastry at our church). The song??? - "A Boy Named Sue" - really????  There were actually 2 young folks in the congregation who never heard that song before!!! The song is based on a name that humiliated a man. The theme was that the man would not be around to raise his son and gave him that name so the boy would have to fight to survive. Words, a simple name, etc. dictate our lives. A single word can make us doubt ourselves. Our Words can steer our lives as well as those of others. How does our tongue steer our lives as well as the lives of others? Our tongue is a bridge from our heart to the outside world. What is in our heart is revealed by what we say. When we are tempted in our brain to commit sin, gossip, say unkind words, there are no consequences unless we actually speak it.  Our tongue either pushes people away or pulls them closer to ourselves. "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm".  Proverbs 13:20. So if you hang around those who speak the evilness of their mind, then you, too, will become like them. Words can either echo or confront the devil, Satan, who whispers lies in your ears. Stop and think before you speak - is what you say going to be true, is it helpful, inspiring, necessary, is it kind??

Back to Blogging

I cannot believe that it has been two weeks since the last blog - it has been a really busy and crazy two weeks to say the least.

We arrived in Arkansas quite safely with praise to God for safe travels. We stopped first at Barling (near Fort Smith) at the restaurant our daughter and son-in-law own to drop off presents for our granddaughter's shower in Wisconsin. I wasn't going to attend, as I had Dr. appts. on Monday. We had a wonderful breakfast thanks to our son-in-law, Darrell. If you get over that way, be sure to stop at Bob and Wanda's Wagon Wheel Restaurant. Amazing menu and meals.

The day after we arrived, we had to go to the clinic to give blood for our annual physicals. Then it was the normal daily shopping and chores - as well as driving around and noticing the many, many changes that we saw since last year. We were amazed at the expansion of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville - it is enormous. We then went to our grandson's to see our beautiful great granddaughters, Kinley ans Kenzie. Our grandson just bought his first home and of course, we had to check it out. A great place in the country for the girls to live, play, and be a part of creation.

Saturday was a family day with our two daughters, just hanging out and catching up on the past when they were kids - things I was totally surprised that they had remembered. We were making memories that I never even realized. We also celebrated the birthdays of the guys whose birthdays are all within 2 weeks of each other, with a Golden Corral pig out!!! My favorite food there is the jalapeno cornbread, fresh from the oven. We had a fantastic waitress who took care of our every need.

Sunday was back in our home church Prairie Grove Christian Church - it was like we had never left. I  love the people there and the warm and fuzzy feeling of being home, and of course, Pastor Vance Eubanks and his great words for us.

This past week was doctor appts - 3 of hem for me, one for Fred, with perfect results. So far so good -  we are good for another year at least. The rest of the week we drove around, visited friends, and just relaxed in our daughter's beautiful yard and watched the deer, squirrels, and all of the birds..

one baby

two babies

and Mama

Friday night we went to a Gospel singing at a small country church. It was wonderful - all of the old time country HMS, and even some new and original ones. A friend of ours plays the guitar ans sings with the group - it was such a blessed and special evening. Don't know if you can play this video or not -

country church singing

Today after our church service and stopping at the pharmacy to drop off new Rx's, we proceeded to can tomato soup. Wei wanted to do it yesterday, but did not get the canning tomatoes in time, so we have to do it toady because the tomatoes are here and ready Years ago I used to can this soup, and often add dumplings, dried, canned, leftover, or fresh veggies, or even cheese to it for a warm luncheon on cool days. Our daughter and her husband love it so much that she wanted to do some. It has been years since I canned, but oh, the memories it brought back, the preparation, the cooking, the canning, the wonderful smells and the sweet musicial sound of the jars sealing!! We will love it it this winter when it may be cooler in S Texas.

cooked down and ready to can

first batch done

Being in our home church is so comforting - Vance's sermons are so uplifting and easy to follow. One small word, phrase, or a special moment with someone can change lives. God uses words to create trust but it can also destroy it. The tongue has so much power. It can bring life or death. Regardless of the old saying about sticks and stones, words CAN hurt you. It is not what you say, but often how you say it. We have freedom of speech because we are Americans, but we are Christians first. By using this freedom we can also bring life or death to someone. Creation came into being because of the word of God - He spoke it into existence. What comes out of your mouth shows what is your heart. Actions are important, but we set the tone of our lives through our words. Use your words wisely this week, think before you speak, and while speaking make someone happy.