This week, April 22-29

To my family,  I don't write very often.  but here is a summary of some of what has been happening.

Starting with a week ago, Saturday.  I had the lesson at the DAR, it went well and they were receptive.  I met Ann for lunch and we visited and drove over to the Holiday Mall, there was a craft show, we walked through all of it and then I left.  I drove home because Dad wasn't feeling good when I left.  He was experiencing a pain in his side, he still had it so we went to the emergency room at Devils Lake.  He had strained a muscle using the chain saw.  Afterwards he was hungry,  so we went to the Dairy Queen to get him a sandwich.  Someone was getting an ice cream cake, so I had the thought to drive out to Jerry's house to recognize Alayiah on her 13th birthday(which was on Sunday)  we got a hold of them, made the arrangements and brought pizza and ice cream cake.  By the time we got home we were tired....

Sunday after Sunday school and church, we came home and I drove over to Munich for a shower for a gal that teaches in our school, and stopped by to see Dorothy.

I don't remember what happened Monday but Tuesday I was Dorothy at Gabie's Senior Banquet.  I didn't know very many people there, but sat by Alden Pulst from Starkweather, they had a grandson who was a senior.  Jerry you were with their daughter, Peggy in school.

Wednesday we went to Crookston, I got a good report from stress test, it probably was caused by thyroid, but we have changed medicine and it is better and i feel that God has answered prayer for the situation.  We weren't there for long, I went to school concert that night. Thursday I drove over to see Dorothy after school and Friday I saw Blakes for a little while.  Saturday Dad and I drove to Velva for Lacy Cose's wedding, we took a different route home and saw some different sights.  They had a lot of rain out there, but not here it is just dark/cloudy outside.

One day when i came home from school, Dad was burning, so I helped him with that, another time I planted some potatoes out where he worked the field.  He was in the field and we ate later..

And today is another day....  Trust that all is well for all of you.   Mom

March 2012 Holiday in Bismarck

Here are two photos from our weekend in Bismarck.  We saw Gabie in the high school honor choir.  She is right behind and to the right of the conductor and the photo at the right is from the Symphony concert later the same day.  We were sitting in box seats in concert hall that has been redone and up dated, it also was a very enjoyable experience.

February 26, 2012

Again it has been a while since I have written.  I felt you would want to know we are safe at home.  when I awoke this morning, I felt like this just isn't a good day for us to get on the road, and they have called off our services.  It is the first time this winter that we have had a real winter storm.  I am thankful for a safe home and that Jack is here with me.  I am thinking of some who aren't used to this weather.  A family at Starkweather is living in a camper or travel trailer with two little propane tanks.  I know there are people that would help them.  Pastor has just said about a woman and two little children in Cando.

I share this devotion with you this morning:

Chicken Shelter


I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah --Psalm 61:4

My co-worker at Joni and Friends, Billy Burnett, was raised as one of eleven children
in a poor sharecropper's cabin on the corner of the Jimmy Lynch farm in east Texas.
When Billy's father scraped together enough money from cutting cotton, he moved
his family to Texarkana.

When Billy was a little boy, he'd watch his mother - Mama Teal - throw grain to
the chickens in the backyard. He would sit on his haunches and observe how the chicks
would flock around the mother hen. Whenever dark clouds of a storm gathered and
wind would blow, the hen would lift her wing a certain way and her chicks would
come running. Her arched wing was their signal that danger was near. She was indicating
they should scurry and find safety by her side.

Oh, that you and I were like one of those chicks. Oh, that we would run without
hesitation or question to find refuge in the shelter of God's wing. Even Jesus,
when He looked out over the Holy City, said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would
 I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!" Matthew 23:37 (KJV).

Don't be one of the "would not's" today. When the dark clouds of trouble start brewing
on the horizon, run - don't walk - to find protection near the breast of God. When
the Lord gives you the signal, "Come quickly," take it as an indication from the
 Holy Spirit to find refuge under the shelter of God's wing. There you will be safe
from any stormy trial.

Under your wings I am safely abiding, though the night deepens and tempests are
wild. Still I can trust you; I know you will keep me. You have redeemed me and I
 am your child.

February 18,2012

It has been a while since I have blogged.  This was a busy week.  We went to family service for Marvin Martinson, it was a full house, they have a lot of relatives.  Wednesday a Friendship Banquet sponsored by our church at the Durum house, good food and good time.  Friday, was the annual Volley Ball Tourney at school.  I left early and spent some time visiting at Cando.  Students had been telling me I should come and see them play so I went to their game  It was with Vally Hoople, Drayton.  Dean Braathen's daughters played, he is a sister to the teacher at Reynolds that Mariah had some years back.  The girls looked like other family members.  It was parents night.  DJ had three girls sing the national anthem, and they did a really good job.  Here are some thoughts from Joni for us to ponder today.  Mom/Grandma

Insults


That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults... For when
I am weak, then I am strong.  --II Corinthians 12:10

I was at the airport, waiting to board our flight. The gate agent had transferred
me onto a narrow chair so I could be wheeled down the aisle of the plane. My two
 friends had already gone ahead to place their carry-on luggage under their seats.
While I was waiting, I mentioned my seat number to the gate agent - he just grunted.
When it was okay for me to board, I told him my seat number again. He still refused
to take me on board. When I explained that I knew my seat assignment, he said he
 wanted to double-check with my friends. I knew why he didn't believe me. People
 see my paralyzed body and assume that my brain must be paralyzed, too. I felt insulted.

I also felt indignant. But later on, I thought of Philippians 2:5-7, "Your attitude
should be the same as that of Christ Jesus... Who, being in very nature God, did
 not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing..."
Other translations say "made himself of no reputation." As I thought about the many
insults Jesus endured, I realized that I, too, could delight in insults. The reproach
I experienced was only minor compared to what Jesus suffered, but it gave me a wonderful
sense of identification with him. I was able to delight in the insult because I
had a far deeper security, a greater confidence, and a sense of eternal worth -
all for the sake of Christ.

First Peter 2:23-24 says, "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges
justly." If someone misreads or misrepresents you today, don't retaliate. Rest your
confidence in Christ. Who knows? You may find yourself taking pleasure in the reproach.

Oh God, I humble myself before you... I consider myself as 'nothing'... I make myself
of no reputation. Help me not to retaliate when others hurt me.

January 28, 2012

This has been a difficult week.  Having Mike Hermanson missing and then found dead.  Yet life must go on and when I read this I thought we might be encouraged by what Joni has written:

Inspiring Examples
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. --Romans
14:7

No man is an island. We are all connected. Our lives are always influencing others,
whether for good or for bad. When people who face lesser conflicts - like a bruised
ankle, or sow bugs in the shower - observe someone gracefully handle greater conflicts,
it speaks volumes. Liz Hupp knew a godly saint like that in her church. And Liz
wrote:

I saw the woman in the chair; she was in church again today.

Someone said they've sold their house; they're going to move away.

No! I cried, they cannot go; they cannot move away.

I didn't get to know her; there's something I need to say:

Please tell me your secret; I want to sit at your feet,

I need to know how you handle the pain that is your daily meat.

How do you keep on smiling when each day your health grows worse?

How do you keep depending on God when you're living with a curse?

Every time I see her; her smile comes from deep within.

I know her fellowship with God isn't scarred by the chair she's in.

She admits her health is failing; she knows she's fading away.

How can she remain so calm when I'd be running away?

My friend, can you tell me how you can trust the Lord

How can you stay so gentle and sweet when He seems to wield a sword?

You are to me a promise that even in the midst of pain

God is near and faithful if I will turn to Him again.

Who are your role models of inspiration? Who are the godly examples of perseverance?
Who do you think of when you need an example of the sufficiency of Christ in hardship?
Pray for that person - or persons - whom the Lord has placed around you. These Christian
men and women struggle with doubts and discouragement, too.

Lord Jesus, I pray for __________________ today. Give grace and encouragement, divine
help, comfort and the inspiration of your precious Holy Spirit in the life of this
dear saint.

January 22, 2012

Here it is Sunday morning.  I just read these thoughts by Joni, and I don't know what is happening in your life.  But I know that Jesus can put a song in your heart.  I reflect on this past week.  It was a busy one.  Monday was teacher in-service where I learned more about annuals and cameras.  I always need to be refreshed in those areas,  there have been plenty of activity all week and yesterday was a DAR meeting in Devils Lake.  I visited with Edna for a while in the afternoon before going home to fix supper.  I am doing a sewing project, finishing some baby quilts for First Choice clinic. I think of the people who have walked in and out of my week and the things they have said.  I am encouraged to meet people out there who have a 'heart for God'  

Divine Singing

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. --Matthew 26:30

Whether I'm wheeling through the office, driving down the freeway, or puttering
in the backyard, I love to sing. My heart wants to sing whenever I'm enjoying the
routines of life. But have you ever wondered if Jesus sang? It's easy to picture
 him humming a melody as he walked up the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. We know
they sang in the synagogues. During the holy feast days, Jesus' family probably
sang. There must have been many times that Jesus' heart filled with joy and he let
loose with a song. So... where in the Bible does it say that he sang?

The only place it records such a time is in Matthew 26:30.The scene for the song
 is not on a sunny hillside... it's not as he sailed with his disciples in the boat...
and it's not as he walked along the beach with his friends. It was in the Upper
Room the night that Jesus was betrayed. After he broke the bread and offered wine,
they sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives. Of all the times and
places, the Lord Jesus chose to have us remember him singing as he was led off to
his death.

This speaks to me in my wheelchair. It shows me how to follow the Lord in song when
my heart is heavy, when I'm facing disappointment, or when my back aches. As we
follow his steps up to the Mount of Olives, into the Garden of Gethsemane, and down
the road to Calvary, we take up our cross and sing.

Our natural inclination is not to sing when we are sad or hurting. Yet think of
the apostle Paul who sang, despite his chains in jail (Acts 16:25). No matter if
 your emotions are up or down, follow the Lord's lead today and ask God to put a
 song in your heart

In my heart there rings a melody of love, dear Jesus. You are my song today and
every day. Please keep tuning my heart to sing your praises.

January 14, 2012

i just read the devotion below, it was so good that I decided I must write a few lines about the week.  It has been a good week, there are challenges, but I desire to focus on the positive.  a girl hurt her hand this week, so I am her hand to write atleast some of her work, she is a good girl, and I appreciate the opportunity to help her.  I think of other contact at school.  conversations with the new science teacher, i can see why the school was willing to wait for him to come at second semester,I see a teacher which will bring to our students a quality experience.  Last night we ate supper with Matt and Mavis.  Don and Ann came from Williston and we met at their house.  I said I would bring supper.  I went to the church and put the magazines in the mail boxes.  When I did I had the thought.  I wonder of Paige had any soup left over in her 'coffee shop'  I went there and asked her if she had any soup left.  She smiled and said   "I was waiting to give it to someone".  It was hot and ready to go.  so I bought some cookies, she gave me the soup and a stop at the store for a few other things and off to their house.  The soup was really good and the time together, too.  Don and Ann stayed with us and they have left to go to Lori's

I was really struck by this devotion.  I think I would like to make a drawing of it:

The Bible-Trunk


But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. --Psalm 1:2-3

The Ten Commandments have been hand-carried out of courtrooms and in some places,
school children cannot pledge allegiance to one nation under God. Even Christian
 pastors cannot pray in the name of Jesus at public events. I know this breaks your
heart as it does mine. Especially when we consider the Bible is the source of western
culture.

Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi, of L'Abri Fellowship, describes how the Bible is like a trunk
on a large tree. Its branch of truth has given rise to liberty, education, and science.
The Bible's branch of law has sprouted smaller branches of justice, democracy, rights
and equality. Grace has brought forth the blessings of family, community, righteousness
and forgiveness. Wisdom has sprouted health, peace, technology and prosperity. Finally,
the branch of faith from the Bible has resulted in character, morality, sacrifice
and heroism. These characteristics of western civilization all find their root in
the Word of God. To debunk the Bible in western culture is to push the self-destruct
button![1]

For almost a century the American church has reacted to the secular agenda without
significant advancements. Rather than knee-jerk responses to secularism, we must
 now mount a positive effort that re-introduces the Bible into western culture.
Pray for Dr. Mangalwadi of The Millennium Project - as well as Dr. Ravi Zacharias,
his fellow journeyman, as they labor in the media, the corporate world, and in universities
to cast the vision of the unique importance and unmatched value of the Bible to
all culture.

Lord God, I pray for great Christian philosophers who are working hard to show the
world the power of God's Word to shape nations and cultures. May the nations of
the world cleave to the Bible as the source for truth, law, grace, wisdom, and faith.

January 10, 2012

I don't write very often, but this morning this was really inspiring so I am sharing it.  I know that for most of us we are wrapped up in our problems, but I challenge you to step out and look for someone you can bless.  God will touch you as you do.  Yesterday  I spent time with a student who is interested in art.  I gave her a drawing book, but mostly we talked.  Then in the afternoon a teacher brought a student to me, and he is a needy student, I was touched that God would allow me to interact in his life and encourage him.  

Jon Campbell... Servant


This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles
at my word.  --Isaiah 66:2

A good friend of mine went home to be with Jesus. His name was Jon Campbell and
he was quite a servant. Whenever we were together, Jon would somehow, someway hunt
down the keys to my van and take it to the car wash. I tried to hide my keys several
times, but to no avail. An hour or so later, I'd look out the window and there he'd
be wiping the hubcaps. I never kept my van clean, but he sure did.

You may not think Jon's service was all that unusual. But up until he went to heaven,
Jon served as President of one of the most prominent media organizations in the
United States. He served on the board of trustees of colleges, and he helped lead
a prestigious national association with thousands of members. Jon was a busy man
 with many ministry priorities... and cleaning my van should not have been one of
them. But it was.

That's because Jon was not only a servant, but a humble one. He delighted in finding
lowly, menial tasks with which most people never bothered. He enjoyed doing things
quietly and discreetly, and he never drew attention to himself. Jon was truly "humble
and contrite in spirit." All of us who knew him are absolutely certain it's because
he trembled at God's Word.

Cultivate a spirit of humility today by doing a simple act of service and doing
it anonymously. Folding towels for your roommate... cutting roses for the desk of
a new employee... baking cookies for your co-workers... taking out trashcans for
 an elderly neighbor... scholarshiping a disabled kid to camp... giving a gift certificate
to a working single mom... washing a car for a friend.

Lord Jesus, may I follow your example of humble service today. Give me the resolve
to delight in doing things quietly without drawing attention to myself.

Ronna calls

Ronna called today, we weren't home but I called hr back as soon as I could.  We talked for quite a while and this is what I learned from the conversation.  Here phone number is 413-883-0905  She was at Samantha's apartment and would be there tonight.  So if you would like to contact her, this is what I know.

Her four youngest children are in foster care and have been for almost 2 year.  They are trying to adopt them out saying that they are not Native American.  She said that to be a member that had to have been born in North Dakota.  They changed the law, so that you have to have so much Indian blood.  She has sen the enrollment papers back to North Dakota.  She aid that she is going to court in February.

The four children in foster care are:

Brandon is 13, he is with a single father.  She has seen him at a meeting and I think she felt o.k. about him.

Jennifer is 11, and Angelina is 6 they are with a Puerto Rican family.

Rebecca is 4, she is with a white family.  She doesn’t see her often(even at the visits)  She said she is sick a lot and is quite thin.

She said it would be 2 years in March since I think they have been in foster care, and I don’t think there is much of anything she can do without the tribes help.

Brian is 18.  He is with Samantha and dropped out of school.  She said he is depressed.

Steven is 21 and in jail for 1 years.  He will be out in February.  He has a drug problem and is in a rehab program.

Samantha is 23.  Her first child Nathan is 6 he is with the father and they haven’t seen him since his birthday.  Her second child, Isaiah is 5 years old, third son Jadon is 3 years old and fourth is George is 3 months old.  She lives with a Puerto Rican, George.  He works for Big Y, which is a grocery store.  He is the father of the last three.  She says they are getting married this coming year.  She is going to a community college there, in liberal arts program.  

Ronna is living in a homeless shelter in Springfield.  It is 2 hours for her to get to Chicopee by bus.  She takes care of the children when George is working and Samantha is in school.

If she had children she would have a better chance at housing, they must wait years for housing.

Her address is:

Ronna Neidlinger

% Samantha Neidlinger

40 Abby St. 2-R

Chicopee, MA 01013

December 2011

The year is about over.  what do we feel about it.  did we set any goals at the beginning of the year?  Have we succeeded in what we set as goals?  What are our thoughts for the coming year?  I read this poem and would like to share it with you:

                The New Year!

The New Year like a book lies before me;

On its cover two words, “My Life,” I see.

I open  the covers and look between 

Each page is empty, no words can be seen.

For I am a writer. I hold the pen

That’ll fill these pages to be read by men.

Just what kind of book will my book be--

My life written there for others to see.

Each day a page written, one by one.

                                Author unknown

Father, I pray that you would help each of us to take seriously our relationship with you.  That we would value the choices we make, that we would seek your direction and guidance in each part of our lives.  Thank you Father for hearing and answering us.  In Jesus Name. Amen

November 2011

Thank you to each of you for the part you had in making Thanksgiving a special time.  It was good to see each of you.  We are home and back to the everyday activities.  

For whatever you are facing this devotion is helpful:

Yours For A Song


Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor
 of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks
to the Lord, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the
Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading
Judah, and they were defeated. --II Chronicles 20:21-23

People facing fear have often resorted to song. But for God's people, it's not any
old song. When King Jehoshaphat was confronted by a great force of allied armies,
he had his people fast, pray, and then he assembled the troops... placing the choir
out in front of the army! As they marched, the singers lifted up praise to the beauty
of God's holiness. And as they sang and praised the Lord, the opposition was thrown
into confusion.

Songs and hymns of praise clear the air like nothing else. If you're in any kind
 of spiritual conflict, the best defense is to sing. It's a way of resisting the
 devil. Singing is also the best offense. Songs of praise will confuse the enemy
 and send the devil's hoards hightailing. Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, wrote:
"I truly believe Satan cannot endure the power of song and so slips out of the room...when
there is a hymn of praise. Prayer rises more easily, more spontaneously, after one
has let those wings, words and music, carry one out of oneself into that upper air."

Victory over the enemy can be yours for a song! Sing a hymn or a worship chorus
as you march into your day or wrap up your evening. And if you can't sing, read
one of David's praise psalms out loud. To begin and end the day with God's praise
will do much to chase away dark thoughts, and open the door to peace.

Lord, you are worthy of endless praise. Help me to make room in my thoughts for
the songs that declare your greatness and love before both men and angels.

Sunday, October 23

Yesterday, I worked on getting the houses clean,  and ready for any other people who need a place to stay.  I don't know if I wrote but we got a sofa to put in the Neidlinger house, I haven't gone to get it,  The store is selling out and we didn't pay much for it.  After dinner I went over to Frank and Dorothy's  Sandy Weaver was with them, she stayed most of the afternoon and we had a good visit together with Dorothy.  Frank didn't wake up until after I got there, he was really thirsty, eventually did eat something and of course had a bunch of pills.  Brenda was there briefly in the late afternoon, and I felt I should go so they could be alone, but as I drove down the road I met Carla, so I came back.  She wanted me to help her get him cleaned up and change the sheets.  After Brenda left we started that task, but we couldn't manage it and didn't know what to do, so she called Carly who is a CNA and she came to help  She bathed him and we got him dressed and the sheets changed.  She had brought her friends Bobbi and Marta with her, they waited in the kitchen and then came in the living room and sang for them,  It was 9 by then and they were still singing but I felt that I needed to go home. 

I feel like Joni is on the same page as we are.... 

Therefore...
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death
- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave
 him the name that is above every name. --Philippians 2:5-9

Notice the "therefore" in today's reading. Jesus was on a journey of humility -
he was God, but he made himself nothing. He was a servant, but he was utterly obedient,
even unto death. And not only an average death, but death on the cross. At each
level, Jesus humbles himself more. And the point? "Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus." You may be a "somebody," but God would have you make yourself
a "nobody" in the world's eyes. But does it end there?

No! Therefore God exalted Jesus... and God will exalt you to be a co-heir with Christ.
"We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings
in order that we may also share in his glory" (Romans 8:17). It's like a math formula
or an inverse proportion. The more we humble ourselves, the more God will raise
us up not to just any old high place, but as a co-heir seated alongside our Savior.
Astounding! We suffer with Christ - that we may share in Christ's highest glory.
 Believers who face the greatest conflict yet hold onto God with all their hearts
- these are the ones who have the greatest confidence in sharing Christ's glory.

In what way can you humble yourself today? Is an apology owed to a friend or a family
member? Is there an elderly person in your apartment unit you can help with a chore?
Volunteer as a teacher's aid in the special needs class at church?

I humble myself today in the sight of you, oh Lord.

Sunday October 23

Saturday 22, 2011

I haven't been writing very much, these have been really busy days.  Between school, cleaning church, selling ads at Cando, and spending time with Frank and Dorothy that is about it.  We have such good memories of last week, I have taken the pictures you posted and put them into the guest book.  I would like to see the photos John had put together at Hampden, I started looking at them and got side tracked and didn't get back.

I didn't have school Thursday and Friday, Thursday i was at home and spent time outside cleaning, but Friday I sat with Dorothy.  Frank is not very good and we feel that someone should be with her.

These thoughts from Joni say a lot to us today:

Future Memories

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' --Jeremiah 29:11

I love a good memory. The older I get, the more I enjoy them. Talking about favorite
vacation spots, childhood jaunts, and my dear mother who has long since gone to
heaven. My sweetest memories are those that inspire hope. I recall what it was like
to peel an orange, pluck a guitar, hold a cold glass of Coke, and feel my fingers
tap the cool, ivory keys of a piano. Why do memories like these inspire hope? They
remind me that one day I will have new hands. Fingers that work, feel, touch, pluck
and pick, scrub and dig. I can't wait to reach for the glorified hand of Ken in
heaven. It'll happen! Today's verse promises it.

My best memories give shape to that hopeful future. Your memories - especially if
you've lost a loved one, or your health, or your ability to think clearly - should
inspire hope in you, too. For as wonderful as the world was when all those special
remembrances occurred, as wonderful as it was when my hands worked, these things
 are only foreshadowings of more delightful, pleasurable experiences to come. Jesus
is the one who makes our future bright. Jesus assures us that our best memories
will one day blossom into a more joyous reality than we ever imagined. He is our
 hope. First Timothy 1:1 speaks of "... our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which
is our hope" (KJV). In Titus 2:13, he is called our "Blessed Hope."

What are the memories of things you've lost? How might those memories inspire hope
in you today? How might these remembrances draw you closer to Jesus, the God of
all hope? Grab hold of today's verse and so many other scriptures that promise the
world. Oh, not this world, but the world to come!

Lord of hope, thank you for the promise of hope and a future.

this week October 3rd

  This week I went to Cando on Thursdy after dinner,  I went to Matt and Mavis house.  You probably remember that I had a cousin Lois out in Washington, she passed away this year.  I think she was about 95 or near that.  This is her son, Leroy with his friend Rosemary.  His mom wasn't married when she had him and she never wanted him to have any thing to do with his father's family.  So in recent years he has met his family and made a relationship with them.  While we were there Matt's sister Rose came over and had coffee with us.  It was a good time together.  Later at the end of our visit. Their granddaughter Lacey came to get them and take them to Minot.  Friday they were going to the Doctor.  It is Matt that is having a problem.  

September 24

Again, I wait and write once a week.  It is a really great school year.  I have a generous group of students to focus on.  three in 7th grade, that I am trying to get up to speed so they can manage themselves and not be frustrated.  It took a while to realize that several just weren't getting everything done.  I have a jr student who is really struggling, it was a difficult week for him, but hopefully we are getting him into a much more manageable plan.  then I have a new student,  he is special, a very loving child who some place along the way wasn't taught basic math facts, and has other special needs.  I am there for him when ever he needs help.  I have days when I feel like a mother hen with her chicks.  It is o.k.

There seem to be other activities, I ate with Edna Simon one day, saw pic of her family as they came to see her in August, visit with Gladys, we had pizza together, also saw Matt and Mavis, etc. 

Here are some good thoughts, because I feel somewhat like this, I know that I need to clean out my house and get rid of things not needed and certainly you won't want.  Also I have sensed this week several areas where God is saying let go you are done with that and I want to be free to be all that he wants so he is doing it.......

Mrs. Sherman's Treasures


Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. --Matthew 6:19-21

I first met my friends Randy and Charlotte through Young Life when they served on
the local committee. They prayed for hundreds of young people in the Baltimore area
who came to Christ.

Many years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman sold their beautiful Maryland farm and moved
into a retirement community. They took as many photos, furniture, and mementoes
as they could squeeze in their apartment. After about eleven years, Randy began
a long struggle with chronic pneumonia; unfortunately, it meant a second move into
a much smaller assisted living unit.

It was nowhere near as spacious as their other apartment and Charlotte found herself
"getting rid of lots of stuff," as she put it. My heart broke to think of her selling
their furniture and giving away family treasures. When I asked her over the phone
how she was able to manage it, she said with a smile, "All these earthly treasures
will disappear one day anyway; I know my real treasure is in heaven." I couldn't
 see her, but I could picture the twinkle in her blue eyes. What an inspiration!



Americans are experts at accumulating "stuff." Earthly things can sink anchors deep
in our hearts; we feel we could never live without that new exercise equipment,
that second car, or the Chico's charge card. What are the possessions you treasure
in life? Let Charlotte Sherman inspire you today. Find ways you can downsize...
it's the sure way to upgrade devotion to Christ in your heart.

Lord Jesus, may the way I deal with stuff in my life reflect how you and you alone
are my treasure.

this week

I haven't been writing every day, but so much is happening so I will try to recap the week.  We are thankful for the harvest progress.  They have combined all that was swathed and ready, the standing grain wasn't ready and it ended up misting later in the day.

It is a good year at school.  Our high school is small but we know we are going to be able to help some students succeed just be cause of the small numbers.  Friday I had so many students with me that I felt like a hen with her chicks.  We have some students that we are just feeling our way as to what they know and how to help them.  Pray for me that I have wisdom as I start helping a student with Math.

After school I have been doing some errands,  I had met a gal voer by Leeds, I went to visit her and saw that she was buying jars to can, I told her I had a lot that I could share, so the next night after school, I washed and boxed them for her, she came and got them Thursday evening.  I also went to see Hannah andersons mom with a dvd about the Rance girls brain injury, I know it was a help for her.  That was a busy day because I then drove to Starkweather school for another post office meeting.  This time the Devils Lake post master was the speaker and there were people from a number of towns.  and you realize that some of our roads are under construction so we have to take a roundabout way to get where we are going.

We have started Bible Study so that is the day I clean the church.  I try to see Frank and dorothy atleast once a week.  He was not doing good on Friday.

Saturday, Aliyah came and spent some time learning to sew.  She learns fast, and it was a good day, she likes to talk.  I know she likes cats, so I took her to see Franks cat.  At the end of the day she made some cards with stamps.

Her and Jerry were with us at for dinner and supper.  He did some cleaning out in the house across the road.

A family from Michigan has bought the bank building.  He works in the west with the oil and wants to find a place for his family.  I question how he will be able to get all of them into that house.  I think you guys remember visiting with Grant and Lucille there.

Today is another day and this is what I read, it is good:

There's Always a Way

For Christ's love compels us.... --II Corinthians 5:14

Glenda Heisley and her family are Mennonites who tend a small farm in the pasturelands
of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Heisleys have a herd of goats and cows, besides
their modest fields of corn. Glenda loves to sing, and she's a member of her church's
choir. Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 2001, she and her choir friends wondered,
How can we help the people of New York City? Our denomination has already sent medical
supplies, but what can our church do?

They asked God to show them how a few farmers from the cornfields might encourage
the city folk of New York. God gave them a wonderful idea. Early one Friday morning,
Glenda and her church friends boarded a bus for New York. They took with them a
stack of CDs, recordings they had done of all their favorite old hymns.

When they arrived, their bus stopped at a subway station, and they disembarked.
They looked quite a sight in their simple farming clothes-including traditional
white caps for the women and straw hats for the men. Standing near the station,
they took a deep breath... and began to sing. In rich, deep, four-part harmony,
they sang "Rock of Ages," and "Dwelling in Beulah Land." Suddenly the stockbrokers
rushing by slowed their pace. Students exiting the subway to run to class at Columbia
University, paused. Shoppers hesitated. All turned their heads as they walked by,
catching lovely strains of hymns from what must have seemed to them like another
 planet. As they sang, they held out the free CDs. Gifts of love, straight from
the heart, in the name of Jesus.

There is always a way-a creative, sincere way-to share the love of Christ. For these
Mennonites, it started with prayer, asking God for direction and fresh ideas. And
that's a good place for you to start today, too.

Use me, Holy Spirit-who I am and where I am-to show people an
alternative to a shallow, empty life without God.

another blog....

Yesterday was Franks birthday, Walter and Joan Scott were over for a while in the afternoon, we came and at lunch with them and then went on to Devils Lake for Rudy Lommen's family service.

more guests

Here we are with our second guests.  Arnold and eline are from Holland.  He is a historian doing research about the cold war and the  missile site on our land.  He had read Julie's blog and contacted her, and we have been communicating with him and made arrangements for him to come on Sunday.  After a tour of the site, we took them to Nekoma to see that site.  In the town fo Nekoma we saw a mail box with the name of the person that I associate with their site.  so we stopped and I went to his house, so he invited them to come the next day for a tour of that site. They stayed over night with us.  It was a fun time.  He has already visited the missile sites in Russia and showed us photos of those.  He hasn't visited Cooperstown but has been to a site in South Dakota.

Our guests

We have had company and wanted to share photos of them with you.  This is a photo of Lidia with her son, Ethan and her father.  We met her when Storers were our pastor and through the years have kept in touch with her.  She and her family came from Romania, her father doesn't speak real clear English.  Sometimes Lidia has to translate for him.  Her son is precious and he really loves Jesus.  They came to our home  one evening.