March 28, 2009
Greetings My Friend,
I’m having one of those moments. I want to believe God and at the same time I feel some panic. Last year when I retired I felt the wise decision would be to retire in September. It made sense. In September, I would be able to collect my small pension. I would be able to buy health insurance through my employer. As Junior and I prayed though, we felt that June was when I was to retire. I could get Junior’s insurance. The only problem was that Junior needed to be retired for another 6 years for me to get insurance for the rest of my life. He has insurance through Tricare – due to his injury in Viet Nam he is considered retired from the military and has that insurance. He became disabled where he could not work anymore about 4 ½ years ago. He has to be 100% disabled for 10 years for me to get this insurance.
We retired me. We felt God’s hand on us. All summer we saw the stock market fall way, way low. My money was given to our Financial Planner and he has put the brunt of our money into cash. I’ve been thanking God a whole lot. It did not make sense to me and then as I watched the stock market fall, well I’ve been in awe of God’s wonderful provision.
Junior had surgery recently. He had some lumps for years. I asked him about them when we were dating – he had them for years prior to our dating. I didn’t think much about them. After the surgery, the surgeon asked me if Junior was in Viet Nam. Yes, he was. She said that more than likely the lumps were from Agent Orange. I felt a wave of panic. I told her that he has two more lumps on him, on his legs. Now I wanted all those lumps gone. I hated them. I was scared. She told me to have Junior bring them to her attention when he came for his follow up.
My heart started talking to God almost right away. “Lord, we asked if we could be married 50 years. Father, Junior helps me to know you, to trust you.” And so went my conversations with my Heavenly Father.
God reminded me that He is taking care of me. He showed me how he has protected our income. He showed me how he brought me to Junior in the first place and how I have been protected and watched after. He reminded me that He knows I need Junior’s health insurance. He kept bringing to my attention all the details of His care for me. Then He started showing me how He has taught Junior to take vitamin supplements, to exercise and how well Junior has done. He reminded me that Junior worked in a chemical factory for 38 years. “Okay, Lord” my heart responded.
I still want those lumps gone. I now hate them. At the same time, I feel a peace. God does know what I need, what we all need. He brought me to Junior when I was a lost and lonely woman. Junior has watched over me and has helped me know the love of Jesus. Junior taught me to pray in the middle of the night when I had nightmares - when I dreamt that my ex husband wanted to kill me. So, I trust God will provide. It may not be what I think I want – but God will provide. He always does.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.
Micah 7
But I will watch for the Lord; I will wait confidently for God, who will save me. My God will hear me.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
March 14, 2009
Exodus 20: 12
Respect your father and mother, so that you may live a long time in the land I am giving you.
Ephesians 4:29
Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.
Greetings My Friend,
As I write this, I am in a reflective thought process. I get this way at certain times. The anniversary of my divorce has come and gone. Mom and Dad’s, Grandma’s anniversary of their dying are on my mind as they come near. I have been thinking a lot about Irene – my mother-in-law’s passing. The first few years were painful when I thought about them. As the years pass though, I try to remember. I try to let their lives speak to me, so that I can somehow move forward – onward.
One of the greatest pleasure’s I have is when I wake up and I hear Junior’s movements about the house. I truly love hearing him, be him. I love listening to him put dishes in the cupboard from the dishwasher. I love the gentle ping of glass or the gentle bang of a pan. It is music to my ears. Sometimes I hear him talk to one of our cats in a gentle loving manner. Other times he may be getting washed up and I hear the water run in the bathroom. I never knew such gentleness growing up. It is wonderful to feel safe, to feel loved. Junior reflects Jesus’ love to me almost daily
Growing up was hard. Dad had polio. Mom had to be the main bread winner. Both were very angry people. Dad’s anger came out in violent ways. Mom’s anger was in biting and sarcastic words. They raised us the best they could, money was tight. Mom was up half the night. She often sewed clothes for us and then went to work. Later she went back to school, so that we might live a little better. Mom’s favorite saying really sums up her attitude, “When life gives you lemons – make lemonade.”
I have a lot of emotional pain. The anger that I grew up with impacted me greatly. Now that I am the “older generation,” I find that my parents did what they could with what they had. Since the fall of Adam and Eve no generation has “done” it right. Each should have, you fill in the blank. My kids have a lot of emotional pain from how they were raised. Unfortunately, since they hit 18, they have had to deal with the junk they grew up with – a lot of it not very pretty. Again I come back to the fall of Adam and Eve. We really can’t be perfect parents, people without allowing Jesus to enter our hearts and change us. I pray that you can forgive your parents. I pray that you ask God how to raise your children. That is the best way to handle life – the good and bad parts of life.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Exodus 20: 12
Respect your father and mother, so that you may live a long time in the land I am giving you.
Ephesians 4:29
Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.
Greetings My Friend,
As I write this, I am in a reflective thought process. I get this way at certain times. The anniversary of my divorce has come and gone. Mom and Dad’s, Grandma’s anniversary of their dying are on my mind as they come near. I have been thinking a lot about Irene – my mother-in-law’s passing. The first few years were painful when I thought about them. As the years pass though, I try to remember. I try to let their lives speak to me, so that I can somehow move forward – onward.
One of the greatest pleasure’s I have is when I wake up and I hear Junior’s movements about the house. I truly love hearing him, be him. I love listening to him put dishes in the cupboard from the dishwasher. I love the gentle ping of glass or the gentle bang of a pan. It is music to my ears. Sometimes I hear him talk to one of our cats in a gentle loving manner. Other times he may be getting washed up and I hear the water run in the bathroom. I never knew such gentleness growing up. It is wonderful to feel safe, to feel loved. Junior reflects Jesus’ love to me almost daily
Growing up was hard. Dad had polio. Mom had to be the main bread winner. Both were very angry people. Dad’s anger came out in violent ways. Mom’s anger was in biting and sarcastic words. They raised us the best they could, money was tight. Mom was up half the night. She often sewed clothes for us and then went to work. Later she went back to school, so that we might live a little better. Mom’s favorite saying really sums up her attitude, “When life gives you lemons – make lemonade.”
I have a lot of emotional pain. The anger that I grew up with impacted me greatly. Now that I am the “older generation,” I find that my parents did what they could with what they had. Since the fall of Adam and Eve no generation has “done” it right. Each should have, you fill in the blank. My kids have a lot of emotional pain from how they were raised. Unfortunately, since they hit 18, they have had to deal with the junk they grew up with – a lot of it not very pretty. Again I come back to the fall of Adam and Eve. We really can’t be perfect parents, people without allowing Jesus to enter our hearts and change us. I pray that you can forgive your parents. I pray that you ask God how to raise your children. That is the best way to handle life – the good and bad parts of life.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Friday, March 6, 2009
March 7, 2009
Proverbs 20:19
As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
Proverbs 14:3
A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.
Greetings My Friend,
One of the things I love about Junior is that he is steadfast, he does not change, and he is who he is. I feel so safe with him, because there is no hidden agenda in him. When we were dating I loved to tell him that I was looking for boring. I was so ready to leave a roller coaster life behind.
I love listening to Junior move around the house. I usually hear his movements as I wake up in the mornings. He will empty the dishwasher, talk to one of the cats or I hear him in the bathroom shaving, brushing his teeth. It is a sweet sound to my ears.
In my other life we tried to get up and get out of the house in a hurry before “he” got up and around. He liked to wake up cranky. He liked to make all of us miserable because he didn’t like mornings. It wasn’t like we could be quiet until he woke up and then he would be friendly. He had to hurt someone’s feelings in the process of waking up. It was no fun being around him in the mornings.
In my new life, I love the quietness of it all. I used to hate quiet. I was not comfortable with quiet. Quiet scared me. Quiet often meant there was a lot of anger and soon there would be a huge blow up. With Junior though, quiet is peaceful and its okay.
Quietness now is often time I spend alone with the Lord. Quietness is time to contemplate life. I relish the quiet life we live. With Junior, I am not afraid. With Junior I can talk to him when life is uncertain. He lets me repeat myself. I need to repeat things. It helps me put life in perspective.
Junior and I live a very quiet life. I love it. We don’t need to be loud. We don’t need to be angry. We just enjoy life. When we do have struggles, we tend to go to prayer. In prayer I have found many answers. God sometimes points out how to react to Junior. I am learning that he sees life from another angle from me. God is teaching me to accept our differences. He is teaching me to love Junior for who he is.
The best thing is that I can accept Junior’s differences. Junior is not me. He is Junior and I have come to love him, even when his differences are foreign to me. For a time, Junior liked to talk in our Sunday School Class. He could be rather blatant about his opinions. I hate to make a scene. God has taught me to accept Junior, even when he has an opinion and wants to share it.
Because Junior is in love with Jesus, I wind up feeling safe. Because Junior listens to God in prayer and Bible Study, he reflects a peace that makes me feel safe. The more we keep God/Jesus at the center of our lives we find that we accept our differences and aren’t as apt to try to change each other. We tend to accept our differences as the unique person that God is creating us to be.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Proverbs 20:19
As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
Proverbs 14:3
A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones.
Greetings My Friend,
One of the things I love about Junior is that he is steadfast, he does not change, and he is who he is. I feel so safe with him, because there is no hidden agenda in him. When we were dating I loved to tell him that I was looking for boring. I was so ready to leave a roller coaster life behind.
I love listening to Junior move around the house. I usually hear his movements as I wake up in the mornings. He will empty the dishwasher, talk to one of the cats or I hear him in the bathroom shaving, brushing his teeth. It is a sweet sound to my ears.
In my other life we tried to get up and get out of the house in a hurry before “he” got up and around. He liked to wake up cranky. He liked to make all of us miserable because he didn’t like mornings. It wasn’t like we could be quiet until he woke up and then he would be friendly. He had to hurt someone’s feelings in the process of waking up. It was no fun being around him in the mornings.
In my new life, I love the quietness of it all. I used to hate quiet. I was not comfortable with quiet. Quiet scared me. Quiet often meant there was a lot of anger and soon there would be a huge blow up. With Junior though, quiet is peaceful and its okay.
Quietness now is often time I spend alone with the Lord. Quietness is time to contemplate life. I relish the quiet life we live. With Junior, I am not afraid. With Junior I can talk to him when life is uncertain. He lets me repeat myself. I need to repeat things. It helps me put life in perspective.
Junior and I live a very quiet life. I love it. We don’t need to be loud. We don’t need to be angry. We just enjoy life. When we do have struggles, we tend to go to prayer. In prayer I have found many answers. God sometimes points out how to react to Junior. I am learning that he sees life from another angle from me. God is teaching me to accept our differences. He is teaching me to love Junior for who he is.
The best thing is that I can accept Junior’s differences. Junior is not me. He is Junior and I have come to love him, even when his differences are foreign to me. For a time, Junior liked to talk in our Sunday School Class. He could be rather blatant about his opinions. I hate to make a scene. God has taught me to accept Junior, even when he has an opinion and wants to share it.
Because Junior is in love with Jesus, I wind up feeling safe. Because Junior listens to God in prayer and Bible Study, he reflects a peace that makes me feel safe. The more we keep God/Jesus at the center of our lives we find that we accept our differences and aren’t as apt to try to change each other. We tend to accept our differences as the unique person that God is creating us to be.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Friday, February 27, 2009
February 28, 2009
Genesis 3:16
And he said to the woman, “I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.
Ephesians 5:21-22
Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husband’s as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.
As the 10th anniversary of my mother’s death draws near, I find myself to be contemplative. There was a point where I realized I could not listen to her advice for my life. I remember being sad at that realization. Part of my reflection also takes me back to my counseling with Ray. Ray was like a father for me. I trusted him like I had never trusted a man, in my life. He had become like a Dad to me. I felt safe with Ray.
I started counseling with Ray prior to my first marriage breaking up. I stayed with him as I went through divorce and after I met Junior. Junior started attending my counseling sessions with me. He wanted to understand what I was struggling with.
One of the first things Ray had me do when Junior entered into counseling with me was to look to Junior for answerers to my struggles. I found that strange, hard and wasn’t sure how to do it. I had gotten into the habit of trying to figure out how to handle life on my own. I learned early in life to trust my own instincts. Trusting others was difficult for me to do.
As the Executor of my mother’s will, I had to make some decisions. As the eldest child, I often was given the responsibility of making decisions. To be honest, I was unsure of myself. I am a people pleaser and when you are in charge – well, someone is always unhappy with your decisions. I am also an enabler and that is not good either. Many times I’d rather enable someone than help them help themselves. During the decisions I needed to make, Junior would advise me. I tended to not hear him. At one point he threw up his hands and told me not to come to him for answers. We talked to Ray about the situation. Ray guided me to listen to Junior, to trust that Junior had my best at heart. I did as Junior suggested and I found peace in my heart.
This situation taught me to look to Junior, to trust him. I am not as afraid to let Junior guide anymore. I am able to listen to Junior and down deep I know that I can trust him. Through prayer, Bible study I am able to listen to God as well. Does Junior make mistakes? Yes he does. Still I trust that he will seek my/our highest good.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Genesis 3:16
And he said to the woman, “I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.
Ephesians 5:21-22
Submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husband’s as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.
As the 10th anniversary of my mother’s death draws near, I find myself to be contemplative. There was a point where I realized I could not listen to her advice for my life. I remember being sad at that realization. Part of my reflection also takes me back to my counseling with Ray. Ray was like a father for me. I trusted him like I had never trusted a man, in my life. He had become like a Dad to me. I felt safe with Ray.
I started counseling with Ray prior to my first marriage breaking up. I stayed with him as I went through divorce and after I met Junior. Junior started attending my counseling sessions with me. He wanted to understand what I was struggling with.
One of the first things Ray had me do when Junior entered into counseling with me was to look to Junior for answerers to my struggles. I found that strange, hard and wasn’t sure how to do it. I had gotten into the habit of trying to figure out how to handle life on my own. I learned early in life to trust my own instincts. Trusting others was difficult for me to do.
As the Executor of my mother’s will, I had to make some decisions. As the eldest child, I often was given the responsibility of making decisions. To be honest, I was unsure of myself. I am a people pleaser and when you are in charge – well, someone is always unhappy with your decisions. I am also an enabler and that is not good either. Many times I’d rather enable someone than help them help themselves. During the decisions I needed to make, Junior would advise me. I tended to not hear him. At one point he threw up his hands and told me not to come to him for answers. We talked to Ray about the situation. Ray guided me to listen to Junior, to trust that Junior had my best at heart. I did as Junior suggested and I found peace in my heart.
This situation taught me to look to Junior, to trust him. I am not as afraid to let Junior guide anymore. I am able to listen to Junior and down deep I know that I can trust him. Through prayer, Bible study I am able to listen to God as well. Does Junior make mistakes? Yes he does. Still I trust that he will seek my/our highest good.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Friday, February 20, 2009
February 21, 2009
Proverbs 14:21
If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor: it is a sin to despise anyone.
Greetings My Friend,
To me one of the best lessons I have learned is the lesson on giving. My nature tends to want to hold on to money. I grew up in a poor family and money was always tight. We lived off of Mom’s income which wasn’t much. When Dad was able to work again after polio, he earned very little. Money was a constant struggle as I grew up. We were given clothes from people from our church. We often got bulk cheese and powdered milk to help supplement our food. Grandma’s work in a kitchen at the hospital would send food home with her so we could eat. Because of generous people my family always had food to eat and I never missed a meal as I grew up.
As I found myself back in church when my children were little I found that giving was often a life line for me. I volunteered to be a youth advisor at my church. It was a job I loved and did for around 15 years. I loved those teens and they loved me. It was wonderful being loved. I did not feel loved as a child. I did not feel loved as a wife. With the teens though, I felt so loved And wanted. That was my first walk with giving. Giving to the teens was so good for me. They helped me to focus outside myself. That act of giving of my time was really the start of growing out of much depression.
When Junior and I started talking about getting married we talked about giving. It was important to both of us. I tended to give of my time. I had learned to look outside of myself and to reach out. In that I found a lot of healing. I still went through years and years of counseling, but the youth helped me to move through a lot of my emotional pain. Junior believed in tithing at least 10% of his income to the Lord. The tithing part was something I was working toward. When he told me that he wanted to tithe well, I thought that we should.
I am sooo very happy that we have kept the tithing we both brought to our marriage. Junior is willing to help others out. We have done missions trips. We have helped orphans in Nicagura. We have helped the poor in Tennessee by fixing their homes and we have helped people in Detroit as well. In addition we have helped a Missionary in France – a couple Junior has helped support for close to 20 years now. We give freely to our church as well. Tithing has blessed us so much. Tithing makes us aware of others that are in need. When we help others in need, we honor God. When we keep Jesus as our main focus, then we have peace in our life. Do we have hard days? Yes, by all means we do. Through all the trials that life brings our way though, we find a peace.
May I suggest that you begin a tithing journey? It could be as simple as helping out at a soup kitchen, donating to Salvation Army or helping in some sort of help organization. Giving of your money is also important. We are what we spend our money on, what does your money spending say about you?
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Proverbs 14:21
If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor: it is a sin to despise anyone.
Greetings My Friend,
To me one of the best lessons I have learned is the lesson on giving. My nature tends to want to hold on to money. I grew up in a poor family and money was always tight. We lived off of Mom’s income which wasn’t much. When Dad was able to work again after polio, he earned very little. Money was a constant struggle as I grew up. We were given clothes from people from our church. We often got bulk cheese and powdered milk to help supplement our food. Grandma’s work in a kitchen at the hospital would send food home with her so we could eat. Because of generous people my family always had food to eat and I never missed a meal as I grew up.
As I found myself back in church when my children were little I found that giving was often a life line for me. I volunteered to be a youth advisor at my church. It was a job I loved and did for around 15 years. I loved those teens and they loved me. It was wonderful being loved. I did not feel loved as a child. I did not feel loved as a wife. With the teens though, I felt so loved And wanted. That was my first walk with giving. Giving to the teens was so good for me. They helped me to focus outside myself. That act of giving of my time was really the start of growing out of much depression.
When Junior and I started talking about getting married we talked about giving. It was important to both of us. I tended to give of my time. I had learned to look outside of myself and to reach out. In that I found a lot of healing. I still went through years and years of counseling, but the youth helped me to move through a lot of my emotional pain. Junior believed in tithing at least 10% of his income to the Lord. The tithing part was something I was working toward. When he told me that he wanted to tithe well, I thought that we should.
I am sooo very happy that we have kept the tithing we both brought to our marriage. Junior is willing to help others out. We have done missions trips. We have helped orphans in Nicagura. We have helped the poor in Tennessee by fixing their homes and we have helped people in Detroit as well. In addition we have helped a Missionary in France – a couple Junior has helped support for close to 20 years now. We give freely to our church as well. Tithing has blessed us so much. Tithing makes us aware of others that are in need. When we help others in need, we honor God. When we keep Jesus as our main focus, then we have peace in our life. Do we have hard days? Yes, by all means we do. Through all the trials that life brings our way though, we find a peace.
May I suggest that you begin a tithing journey? It could be as simple as helping out at a soup kitchen, donating to Salvation Army or helping in some sort of help organization. Giving of your money is also important. We are what we spend our money on, what does your money spending say about you?
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Friday, February 13, 2009
February 14, 2009
Song of Songs 2:16
My lover is mine, and I am his.
Greetings My Friend,
Today is Valentine’s Day – a day of romance. To be honest I thought I was not a very romantic woman. I thought Junior and I were not very romantic in nature. We love to go on Marriage Retreats. These retreats have taught us a lot about being married. We usually get a packet with suggestions for romantic activities to indulge in during the retreat. We will have free time during the weekend to be alone and try out some of the suggestions.
Some of the suggestions made me think I was not a romantic person. There was the letting the man comb the woman’s hair – Yuck! How about a picnic on the hotel room floor – Yew! There was the suggestion for a bubble bath together – No Thanks! How about a foot massage! Not for me! Still the seminars were always great. We learned so much and it was worth going.
As the years have passed, I have found that Junior and I do have a romance between us. It is not a Hallmark romance. We aren’t fond of fancy restaurants. I have found that we do have our special moments though. When we were dating Junior told me he loved a woman in flannel pajamas. Not bad… I could deal with that. I found that Junior loves to see me in my tee shirt and underpants as well. That’s me and he likes it. Yeah!
We love to shop. I have so much fun shopping with him. He loves to go to the discount rack and search through each item, looking for that “find.” I fell in love with that right off the bat. Many Friday nights when we worked, we went grocery shopping. It was a date for us - we had fun – we sometimes kissed in the aisle when the aisle was empty. That was so much fun to me. In my first marriage Home Depot was a night mare. I found that with Junior it was actually fun. I remember walking up on him one time. He had a power tool in his hand and he was making the sound of the power tool. I found that because he was willing to do “girl” shopping, I didn’t mind doing “guy” shopping. It was fun.
We were talking to our nutritionist recently about dating. I stated that if a guy is willing to do a “girl” type of romantic activity, then the girl should also be willing to a “guy” type of romantic activity. It might mean that they go out to a nice restaurant for her and for him, they go shooting. I am starting to see that what I find romantic does not mean it is for Junior.
I find that guys love to do guy things. When we were dating our men, many of us were
willing to do that with them. Guys seem to like us being near them and then when we marry them, we decide we don’t want to do that anymore.
Maybe as you do something for Valentine’s Day, you might want to surprise your guy and do his manly thing he loves, like going to the gun range, bowling, fixing on an antique car.
I also would like to suggest that you do frequent date nights with your husband. It is important for your marriage to stay in tune with each other. Again, date night does not have to be expensive. When we were working and tired sometimes our date night was to watch a video. Sometimes we find old furniture and refurbish it. Take time to be alone with each other, to talk about your dreams. When you do that, you are truly keeping your marriage alive.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Song of Songs 2:16
My lover is mine, and I am his.
Greetings My Friend,
Today is Valentine’s Day – a day of romance. To be honest I thought I was not a very romantic woman. I thought Junior and I were not very romantic in nature. We love to go on Marriage Retreats. These retreats have taught us a lot about being married. We usually get a packet with suggestions for romantic activities to indulge in during the retreat. We will have free time during the weekend to be alone and try out some of the suggestions.
Some of the suggestions made me think I was not a romantic person. There was the letting the man comb the woman’s hair – Yuck! How about a picnic on the hotel room floor – Yew! There was the suggestion for a bubble bath together – No Thanks! How about a foot massage! Not for me! Still the seminars were always great. We learned so much and it was worth going.
As the years have passed, I have found that Junior and I do have a romance between us. It is not a Hallmark romance. We aren’t fond of fancy restaurants. I have found that we do have our special moments though. When we were dating Junior told me he loved a woman in flannel pajamas. Not bad… I could deal with that. I found that Junior loves to see me in my tee shirt and underpants as well. That’s me and he likes it. Yeah!
We love to shop. I have so much fun shopping with him. He loves to go to the discount rack and search through each item, looking for that “find.” I fell in love with that right off the bat. Many Friday nights when we worked, we went grocery shopping. It was a date for us - we had fun – we sometimes kissed in the aisle when the aisle was empty. That was so much fun to me. In my first marriage Home Depot was a night mare. I found that with Junior it was actually fun. I remember walking up on him one time. He had a power tool in his hand and he was making the sound of the power tool. I found that because he was willing to do “girl” shopping, I didn’t mind doing “guy” shopping. It was fun.
We were talking to our nutritionist recently about dating. I stated that if a guy is willing to do a “girl” type of romantic activity, then the girl should also be willing to a “guy” type of romantic activity. It might mean that they go out to a nice restaurant for her and for him, they go shooting. I am starting to see that what I find romantic does not mean it is for Junior.
I find that guys love to do guy things. When we were dating our men, many of us were
willing to do that with them. Guys seem to like us being near them and then when we marry them, we decide we don’t want to do that anymore.
Maybe as you do something for Valentine’s Day, you might want to surprise your guy and do his manly thing he loves, like going to the gun range, bowling, fixing on an antique car.
I also would like to suggest that you do frequent date nights with your husband. It is important for your marriage to stay in tune with each other. Again, date night does not have to be expensive. When we were working and tired sometimes our date night was to watch a video. Sometimes we find old furniture and refurbish it. Take time to be alone with each other, to talk about your dreams. When you do that, you are truly keeping your marriage alive.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Friday, February 6, 2009
February 7, 2009
Proverbs 15:13
When people are happy they smile, but when they are sad, they look depressed.
Proverbs 15:30
Smiling faces make you happy, and good news makes you feel better.
Proverbs 17:22
Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.
Greetings My Friend,
Retirement has made me much too serious. I’ve dealt with neck stiffness, with hypoglycemia, and extreme tiredness. I’ve spent time contemplating the down turn in my health. At times I had felt like I was fighting my way out of a paper bag. As I thought about this I realized that I’ve spent a lifetime in stress. I was a stressed out child. I wanted to please my parents. I can remember my Dad telling me over and over that he had given up on me. I wanted to please my Dad, to make him proud of me and somehow I was not able to do that.
Mom was not proud of me either. Lately when I look back on our relationship, I realize that I was a mistake she could not hide or pretend away. She got pregnant with me prior to marriage – at a time when to do so meant you were cheap. I was also the eldest and I was to set an example for my sister (11 months younger than me) and for my brother (who is two years younger than me.)
As I have contemplated my life, I see that stress was all I knew. As a child I had many struggles with stress stomach aces. In my first marriage, I often struggled with severe stomach aches – doubled over ones. I started a new job a few months prior to my marriage to Junior. I was also a recently divorced woman and 13 months after we were married my mother died. I struggled with irritable bowel syndrome for a couple of years. Six years into our marriage, I had breast cancer. To be honest, I found working the last four years prior to retirement to be stressful. I liked what I did; still it was getting too much for me. So I came to retirement a tired woman.
Last fall Floozy, our garage cat gave birth to another batch of kittens. Those babies were precious. It is fun watching them grow into playful balls of fur. In this batch there was a special little girl that kept our attention. She is gray with a white eye liner look around her eyes. One time she ran over to Junior rolled over on her back and seemed to beg for him to rub her belly. We kept telling ourselves that we did not need another kitten. We had Alex and Blanko already. As life dealt their struggles, these boys snuggled us and we had many laughs at their antics. Alex is now 13 and Blanko is 9.
The gray kitten made her way into our home and into our hearts. We call her Sara or knot head. She is makes us laugh – laughter we had let go of. Right away Sara decided that Blanko was “mom.” Since Blanko is heavily medicated due to seizures, he tends to be shall we say, “Laid back.” Sara thinks Blanko is “mom.” She snuggles him and likes to take pieces of his fur and pretends she is nursing. When she tried that with Alex, he hissed at her.
Sara runs all over the house. Sara thinks everything she touches is to be played with. Junior and I have had so many laughs. She has brought life to Blanko. She plays with Alex and once he realized she was here to stay, he loves watching her and playing with her.
This little girl has brought life back to our home. Junior and I have started being silly with each other again. We laugh with each other and have renewed the love we truly enjoy in being husband and wife. Junior and I had been able to laugh throughout our many trials in the past. My retirement seemed to take away our laughter. Our commitment to each other was still there, though we were struggling in our own private struggle. Now we are laughing again, enjoying our unique sense of humor. Praise the Lord!
May you find laughter in your life again today. Laughter truly is good for the soul.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
Proverbs 15:13
When people are happy they smile, but when they are sad, they look depressed.
Proverbs 15:30
Smiling faces make you happy, and good news makes you feel better.
Proverbs 17:22
Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.
Greetings My Friend,
Retirement has made me much too serious. I’ve dealt with neck stiffness, with hypoglycemia, and extreme tiredness. I’ve spent time contemplating the down turn in my health. At times I had felt like I was fighting my way out of a paper bag. As I thought about this I realized that I’ve spent a lifetime in stress. I was a stressed out child. I wanted to please my parents. I can remember my Dad telling me over and over that he had given up on me. I wanted to please my Dad, to make him proud of me and somehow I was not able to do that.
Mom was not proud of me either. Lately when I look back on our relationship, I realize that I was a mistake she could not hide or pretend away. She got pregnant with me prior to marriage – at a time when to do so meant you were cheap. I was also the eldest and I was to set an example for my sister (11 months younger than me) and for my brother (who is two years younger than me.)
As I have contemplated my life, I see that stress was all I knew. As a child I had many struggles with stress stomach aces. In my first marriage, I often struggled with severe stomach aches – doubled over ones. I started a new job a few months prior to my marriage to Junior. I was also a recently divorced woman and 13 months after we were married my mother died. I struggled with irritable bowel syndrome for a couple of years. Six years into our marriage, I had breast cancer. To be honest, I found working the last four years prior to retirement to be stressful. I liked what I did; still it was getting too much for me. So I came to retirement a tired woman.
Last fall Floozy, our garage cat gave birth to another batch of kittens. Those babies were precious. It is fun watching them grow into playful balls of fur. In this batch there was a special little girl that kept our attention. She is gray with a white eye liner look around her eyes. One time she ran over to Junior rolled over on her back and seemed to beg for him to rub her belly. We kept telling ourselves that we did not need another kitten. We had Alex and Blanko already. As life dealt their struggles, these boys snuggled us and we had many laughs at their antics. Alex is now 13 and Blanko is 9.
The gray kitten made her way into our home and into our hearts. We call her Sara or knot head. She is makes us laugh – laughter we had let go of. Right away Sara decided that Blanko was “mom.” Since Blanko is heavily medicated due to seizures, he tends to be shall we say, “Laid back.” Sara thinks Blanko is “mom.” She snuggles him and likes to take pieces of his fur and pretends she is nursing. When she tried that with Alex, he hissed at her.
Sara runs all over the house. Sara thinks everything she touches is to be played with. Junior and I have had so many laughs. She has brought life to Blanko. She plays with Alex and once he realized she was here to stay, he loves watching her and playing with her.
This little girl has brought life back to our home. Junior and I have started being silly with each other again. We laugh with each other and have renewed the love we truly enjoy in being husband and wife. Junior and I had been able to laugh throughout our many trials in the past. My retirement seemed to take away our laughter. Our commitment to each other was still there, though we were struggling in our own private struggle. Now we are laughing again, enjoying our unique sense of humor. Praise the Lord!
May you find laughter in your life again today. Laughter truly is good for the soul.
May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet
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