My second son and I went bell ringing tonight. I could sum up the night with just two letters . . . Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! The weather was cold and so was the giving.
As we stood out there I thought about two kinds of people the homeless and hunters. I imagined a homeless person trying to sleep through the night on a bench covered with a “quazi-sheltering cover in this kind of weather. And then I thought of hunters who intentionally go out in the cold. But they are wise with their dress. They know how to keep real warm.
Before we left I told my son to dress warm. He didn’t really listen. So I brought an extra coat. When we got there he realized he was cold. I went out to our van and managed to find “little sister’s princess blanket.” I wondered how he would respond to this blanket. Would my fourteen year old brave the cold to avoid a really comfy warm blanket? When he saw it in my hands he smiled and grabbed it. He was glad to get something warm. I was nice . . . I also gave him another jacket to put on top of the pastel blue blanket.
I desperately avoid cold. I dressed in three long sleeve shirts, two pairs of socks and my long wool coat with gloves. We stood on the southside of the store entrance. The cold north wind could hardly get to us. We were right next to a neighborhood Wal-mart. Noone was there to bell ring. I contemplated moving there but when I checked it out we just weren’t protected from freezing wind.
We didn’t get very many donations. I went in the store for a restroom break and I think my son ended up getting the most donations of the night. And when the lady in charge came by at the end of the night she told me we could have stayed inside and just greeted people and just not ring the bell. We would have gotten more donations. Oh well, lesson learned.

“One filled with joy preaches without preaching.”
— Mother Teresa

I had the privilege of covering for a PE middle school teacher today. We played Passketball. During third hour, one of the teenage girls got hurt and was laying on the floor. I ran over to her. She had jammed her two end fingers. She decided she would sit out because her fingers hurt. When I looked over her two hurt fingers I noticed a little silver ring.
After she sat down, I came by and asked her about the ring. She said it was a true love waits ring. She said it meant she would keep herself pure before marriage. She said she had got the ring at a jewelry shop. I told her that was good. It was neat. And I liked it.
A little later I looked in her direction. She looked back at me with a confident sweet smile. Here’s a picture of her ring.
My husband and I did that. We saved ourselves for marriage. Here’s a PDF that summarizes the True Love Waits program.

You should come to my church if you can. Here’s last week’s sermon on video. The speaker is Steve Whitaker president of the 3:16 Mission in Tulsa.
http://blip.tv/play/Ad+vGI_EOA
Personal opinion . . . You should also give up some TV time (couple hours) and donate it to this godly Christian organization. =) The John 3:16 Mission. Here are phone numbers 587-1187 or 592-1186. Check out the volunteer opportunities. They receive no help from the United Way.

About 20 years ago, I chose a Bible verse to found my life upon. I haven’t followed it though. Here it is
“But be ye steadfast, immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58”
There is a couple at church who have lived this truth. They are in their 50s. He always has something funny to say about the situation at hand. She has a permanent presence of joy on her face. She may not be smiling or have perfect makeup on her face but still beauty is there. There is a gentle fun attitude in her voice and it seems, always, an excitement to complete the task at hand. No one in Sunday school ever comments on these two. I suppose its just taken for granted that that’s the way they are. (I know they have to go through struggles and frustrations.)
I just want to be like her.
I know why the two are like this. They are driven just like my old Bible verse to stay busy in the things of God. They have an attitude to be adaptable too. They stay busy in God’s work. He is a boy scout leader. Coaches his childrens athletics teams. Teaches our Sunday school sometimes. Tells the announcements for the class. They invite people over ever so often on our “Sunday night connections”. She volunteers in the nursery practically every Sunday. Coordinates meals when families have new babies. Organizes nursery cleaning. Makes phone calls for our church and other behind the scenes activities.
I realize you have to build up to this much activity. But I could do more for God with my church. In doing this, I can take my family along. I am too. My husband and I just recently joined the choir. And there are other opportunities to help out at church that I can take advantage of and learn to be flexible for the Lord. Here’s a quote by Oswald Chambers I found in a devotional this morning
“The Bible talks plentifully about joy, but it nowhere talks about a “happy Christian.” Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not. Remember, Jesus Christ had joy, and He prays “that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.””

Here’s a simple and delicious recipe for some good tasting potato soup from Recipezaar.

Here are some low-cost potato soup recipes that’ll work great for lunch.
Easy Potato Soup
6 cups diced Potatoes
1/2 cup chopped Onions
2 stalks chopped Celery w/leaves
1 Carrot, chopped
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Celery Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
8 slices Bacon, crumbled
White Sauce:
6 tablespoons Bacon Drippings (or melted butter)
2 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Milk
Fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and drain grease/drippings into bowl, reserve. Wash and prepare vegetables. Place vegetables in large dutch oven and just cover with water. Cook over medium heat, covered, until vegetables are tender. Prepare white sauce with reserved drippings mixing well. Slowly add to vegetables (do not drain) stirring to mix. Heat through and add bacon pieces. Add 1 tablespoon of parsley flakes if desired.
Slow Cooker Potato Soup
3 Potatoes, peeled & cut into bite size pieces
1 large Onion
1 Carrot, chopped
1 stalk Celery, chopped
1 tablespoon Parsley
5 cups Water
4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 tablespoons Salt
Pepper, to taste
Cook on low 10 to 12 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. During the last hour of cooking, add 1 1/2 cups milk. TIP: If you own a blender, it works well to chop all vegetables in it.
Taken from PotatoSoupRecipe.com

Here’s a calendar of special events along with ongoing events in Northeastern Oklahoma.

Here’s a link site to other sites related to health.

Here’s news from Shawnee, Oklahoma. My brother works there.