prphetic word

Today's sermon was on trusting God. So many in my family are facing situations that will require trust in God. His word says that "He will direct our path according to His understanding of our future (paraphrased). Because we have no way of knowing our future, we really need to trust. He has never let me down, but I have failed to trust and eventually come to regret acting on my own understanding. Trust is so important. But it is necessary if we want to emerge from crisis on top of the game. Hang in there. We don't need to understand, just do our part based on His word, and trust Him for the rest.

So Tired

A few weeks ago, we were presented with an opportunity to remodel a room in the back of our house, once used by mu uncle. The idea was that front money would be provided to do repairs and would then be repaid out of rent we get for the room. We have rented out this space before, but it has set empty (at least not occupied) for several years. Our rental space has it's own bathroom and entry, so it only makes sense to do this.

However, this room has been a catch all for everything from exercise equipment to old document storage. What a job to clear it all out. My grandson came over and moved the exercise equipment to the basement. His mom helped me sort out several boxes of "stuff". But most of the work has fallen on me alone. I have cleaned the little refrigerator, rounded up the furniture for the rental, hired contractors to build new entry stairs and move some plumbing, and sorted through a ton of old papers (tax returns, school and work related materials, photos, etc), tossing trash can after trash can and re-organizing the rest. I'm still not completely done, but the room has been cleared of everything except what will stay in it. Now to find a spot for the office and art supplies, five boxes of photos, well you get the picture.

The rest of the house now needs clearing. I am on it. Shelves and drawers in my office are my current project. Those in the family room and sewing room will follow. This is going to take awhile. The kids are just glad I'm getting a lot of the work done so they won't have to do it when I'm gone. They shouldn't get too relaxed, there will be plenty left for them to do when the time comes.

Reflections of Mom

Today marks twenty years since my mom went home to Jesus. You would think it would get easier after all this time, but the waves of grief do still come. They are just further apart. I still miss mom very much.

Mom lived a hard life. She knew nearly every sort of hardship: financial; loss of health; war; trust of a spouse; a child who got into drugs; a father who left his family in need; etc. Still, mom never lost hope or her faith in God. He saw her through all these and more. Mom was a great inspiration.

As I grow older, I look forward to my reunion with mom and all the other loved ones who will be waiting for me. No, I am not ready to go, but someday, most likely within the next twenty years, I will join mom again. In the mean time, I will try to carry on her legacy here on earth. That is the best way I can think of to honor her.  I love you Mom.

Eventful weekend

Saturday began with Richard bringing me coffee in bed, not an easy thing for for a man using a walker. It was wonderful to lay in bed and relax for awhile before getting up and starting the day. What a day it was. By mid morning I had received several phone calls, e-messages, cards and e-cards from family and friends. Dianna and Chris stopped by with a hand made gift and stayed to visit. Suddenly the sound of singing and a burst children through the door sent my heart a-whirl. Two more grandchildren and four great grandchildren had arrived bearing a huge vase of spring flowers. What a surprise. They had driven down from the Olympia area for the the weekend. Later in the day, Shelley and Eric brought dinner and cake. They stayed on to visit after the others had retreated to Dianna's for the night.

On Sunday afternoon, Dianna, Paul, Chris, Doug, Bridget and her four little ones brought Easter dinner and had fun hiding eggs in the back garden. They are such good kids, ages 10, 8, 6, and 17 months. They were all dressed in Easter finery.

Unfortunately there was a down side to the day. Dianna's beloved cat Cinder died on Easter morning. She was old, about 14. Dianna loved Cinder so very much. So there was also a feline funeral among the flowers in the yard yesterday. I am glad Dianna had so much support and so many caring shoulders to cry on. Cinder will be missed.

We have great news that Doug will be starting school (underwater welding/salvage) in Seattle on April 8. He has wanted to do this for a long time, even was certified as a diver while still in the military. The seven month school is paid for by the government and includes a pretty good living allowance. We are very happy for him.

Today all is quiet at the Moreno house. I went back to bed after breakfast for a short nap. Amazing how the unbounded energy of little ones can sap your own, even when you're not the one tracking them. Still, I will look forward to seeing all of them again soon.

has it been that long?

Wow, my last post related to my recovery from a stubborn virus. I have pretty much recovered, still not much energy though. Seems it is really taking forever to be able to work for more than a couple hours at a time without resting. I'm getting old, you say? OK, I concede. Tomorrow I will be 73. Is that old? Well, maybe, but I am relatively healthy and should the Lord will it, I fully expect to live a lot longer.

Having said that, I fell again on Wednesday. My foot slipped on some wet soil in the driveway and I went down, impacting with a sharp plastic support on the inside of a landscape cart I was moving. It cut a gash in my head, right at the hairline that required attention. I went into immediate care where they cleaned the wound, closed it with super glue reinforced with steri-strips. No big deal, until I had been home for awhile and the adrenaline in my system dissipated. Then I discovered that I had also tweaked my left knee and triggered an arthritic flareup. I have done this before, so I know to stay off it and just let it rest. So I iced it down, took some asprin, got a good night's sleep and waited till morning.

Early Thursday I called a friend that I had lent my wheelchair and had them bring it home. So now I am skooting around the house, doing chores from a sitting position that does not put weight on my knee. It is already starting to feel better. Should only take a few days to a week to heal. At least I didn't break anything this time. Thank you Jesus!

It is a busy week (at least the last part) around here.  Yesterday some guys from church came and removed a large old ice cream freezer from the basement as part of a metal drive to send the youth group to Jamaca on a missions trip this summer. They had quite a time getting it out of there. The old car in the driveway has been purchased and will be removed today so that a load of compost can be delivered to the driveway (a birthday gift). A friend is outside now, mowing my lawn. BTW, the electric mower I received as another gift works great.

Plans for the weekend include dinner prepared as a BD gift on Saturday and Dinner on Easter Sunday as another gift. Add to this the repacement of my compuer a couple weeks ago, and it has been a really red letter year. Thank you to family, friends, and others that I don't even know their names. You are all tremendous blessings.

Recovering

Monday following Thanksgiving, I came down with a cold, the worse cold I have suffered in about 10 years. It progressed to my chest and I was miserable for two 1/2 weeks. I am slowly recovering, still have some sinus drainage and a bit of a cough. But the most annoying part is the total lack of energy. I did manage to get the Christmas tree up. It took two days and both of us to do it and it is still only about 1/3 decorated.  Not much else will get done before the holiday. I just am void of stamina.

Our kids were here for a short visit last weekend. As always, it was great to see them, but under the circumstances it was nice that they spent only a short time. A friend came over on Thursday and took out the trash. She also helped me bake some gluten free cookies for Richard. Small blessings that mean so much.

Praise God that Richard has had only had a few sniffles. The last thing he needs is a full blown case of bronchitis.

Last night the power was off for about an hour. We lit the gas fireplace and an oil lamp, turned on the portable radio Rick had given his dad for Christmas to a station playing Christmas music, and just soaked in the peace of the moment, nice. We have so much to be thankful for. God has been very good to us. He has provided all we need; heat, light, shelter, food, love, and family.

 When you look at the world around us, it is not hard to be thankful. There is not a lot we can do to change others, but to pray. Only God can bring about the magnitude of change required for peace and love on a large scale and according to His word, peace may not be His long term plan. But we can hope for positive change in at least the short term. So pray and do your part. Don't forget to be thankful for Christ, who gave his life that we might live forever.

Merry Christmas.

A Quiet Thanksgiving

Shelley, Lissa and her girls came by for a short visit on Wednesday. We hadn't seen the little ones for several months and they have grown so much. What a nice gift of family.

Richard and I spent a very quiet Thanksgiving alone. Rick and his crew were scheduled to be here over night  and have breakfast, but he is sick. That meant his family was split up for the holiday and he spent it in bed. We are grateful he didn't try to make the long journey and that he has a few days to recover.

Both Rick and Amy called. We got updates on what all the grand kids are up to. "Things" are going well. We all have much to be thankful for.

I fixed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner using glutin free ingredients. Not exactly the same, but not too bad either.  Clean up was short, since there were just the two of us. We have lots of left overs for soup, turkey enchaladas, pot pie & ect.

Today I will also need to do laundry. There is a lot more of that than you would expect. I will also go to gleaners and start wrapping Christmas gifts. Christmas gifts will consist of family trees, dried fruit from our trees, and closet pillows made from a cedar we had removed. Most of it low cost (copy paper and ink are spendy) and on hand. But a lot of love and time put into it. More of what Christmas is supposed to be, I think.