General Conference Time

Thinking about what I need to get finished before General Conference I began to feel excitement rise within me.  I paused for a moment  and asked myself this question, why am I excited about conference?  I’ve been going to General Conferences since 1973 so you would think I would be tired of it by now, or at least NOT excited.  Hmmmm….so what is it about the United Pentecostal Church International General Conference that puts a smile on my face and a pep in my step?  First of all I thought, I will get to see my two sisters and their families.  Since we have moved to California I do not get to see them as much as I use to, so I’m excited about that. 

2.  I enjoy the large crowd of pastors, teachers, missionaries, evangelists, preacher’s wives and preacher’s kids, of which a lot of them are my friends.  We will sit and talk and I will enjoy every minute. 

 3.  Walking into the large arena and hearing the music and singing of such a large audience is always a pleasure.  Sometime during the week I will stop and just listen as someone from the podium says, “Let’s give the Lord a hand clap of praise” and I will think, WOW! That sounds like a mighty rushing river!  There is nothing like it in the entire world.  All of these people clapping and making a joyful noise unto the Lord is incomparable. 

 4.  Wednesday morning I will be with Ladies Ministries Presidents and Secretaries from all the districts of the United Pentecostal Church for a meeting.

5.  I will look forward to hearing the General Superintendant’s message on Thursday night and hear the direction he is setting for this great fellowship.   

6.  Thursday morning as my husband attends a business session, I will attend Ladies day with many other ministers’ wives for a time of refreshing.  On Friday Morning as my husband attends more business, I will be meeting with friends and family for the ministers wives breakfast with the General Superintendant’s wife as our hostess.  Oh!  And then, there is Youth Day, Home Missions Service, Foreign Missions, Sunday school and Sunday Night Crusade!  These are just a few things that I look forward to at our annual United Pentecostal Church General Conference. 

I am thankful to be part of such a great body of believers and men and women who are giving themselves to ministry in some way.  Some are pastors.  Some are missionaries.  Some are evangelists.  Others are in children’s ministry, music ministry, teachers, youth pastors, and the list goes on. 

God, please bless Your people as we gather in Houston, Texas for our General Conference.  We need Your touch.  We need Your guidance.  We need to hear from You.  Thank-you for being mindful of us and sending us exactly what we need.  In Your precious Name.  Amen!

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Remembering

I will never forget

9-11

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Hungry

There is nothing like a delicious bowl of soup, stew or chili on a cold day.  It’s not really cold here today but it’s overcast and cool and looks like the beginning of the Autumn season,  so I was thinking of a good vegetable/beef stew.  Yum!  Just sounds good about now.  Of course you can’t have stew, soup or chili without a BIG slice of hot cornbread, fresh from the oven, with a big dollop of butter.  Have a good day and cook up something yummy.  I think I will.  🙂

Corn Chowder

Beef Stew

Yummy Chili

And of course….CORNBREAD!

Enjoy yourself!

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God Likes People

Yesterday I found myself humming a tune.  As I realized what it was, I began to sing, “God likes people…”, softly at first.  However, by the third time I sang the chorus I was singing rather loudly.   

“God likes people, any shape, any color, any size.
You don’t have to be an angel to be really special in His eyes.
He said it in John 3:16 and He proved it on Calvary, too.
God likes people, ordinary people, people like me and you”.

This is a little song the childrens choir use to sing many years ago, but somehow it made its way back into my conciousness yesterday.  God likes people!  It doesn’t matter your color, your status in life, your shape, skinny or otherwise, where you live or anything else.  If you are a human being God thinks you are pretty special.  “God likes people, ordinary people,  people like me and you”! 

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Thirty Three Years

Has it really been thirty three years?  I still feel like I’m that young blushing bride.  I was so excited for this day to come, 33 years ago.  As I was waiting to hear the organ play the introduction to the song I marched down the aisle on, “Here Comes Heaven”, I remember Daddy asking me, “Are you sure about this?  Are you sure you love Nathan enough to live with him the rest of your life”?  I looked him straight in the eye and said, “I’m sure”.  Little did I know at that time how much love can grow.  Looking back, our love for each other that day was nothing compared to what it is now.  All the things you go through together makes love grow deep.  One of the songs sung at our wedding was “Walk Through This World With Me” and that is what we have done.  We have walked together, flown high sometimes, crawled and sometimes just had to stand still, but we’ve had each other.  I’m thankful for the journey and I am looking forward to the future with the man of my dreams.

Our Wedding Party: September 2, 1977

Our Wedding Day September 2, 1977

On our Honeymoon, September 1977

Us Now!

Our Family: August 2, 2010

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Seedless Watermelon? (I Don’t Like It)

This article in the Washington Post (By Jane Black Washington Post Staff Writer) answers a question I’ve had all summer…What happened to watermelons with seeds? I have had discussions with people about this. 🙂  I don’t like the seedless variety.  They are not as sweet!  Oh! Why do people have to mess with something so good? 

I have not printed the whole article, just a few snippets.

The iconic, black-studded watermelon wedge appears destined to become a slice of vanished Americana. If that sounds alarmist, try to remember the last time you had to spit out a grape seed.

Still, as the end of summer looms, I can’t help but mourn the inevitable disappearance of the black-dotted red watermelon. In part, it is a wistfulness for a classic American fruit and its traditions. Without seeds, there can be no seed-spitting contests such as the one in Luling, Tex., home to an iconic watermelon water tower, or the one in Pardeeville, Wis., where the rules are strictly enforced: No professional tobacco spitters. Denture wearers must abide by the judge’s decision if their teeth go farther than the seed.

Though there is some debate about it, the flavor of old-time watermelons might also be in jeopardy. And what a flavor to lose! In “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain described the true Southern watermelon as “a boon apart . . . when one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat.” Convenience, whether it’s a smaller size, a fruit without seeds or year-round availability, always seems to extract a price. And if that sounds alarmist, try to remember the last great tomato you bought at a supermarket.

I see the trend at local grocery stores. I haven’t found any seeded melons at my local Safeway this summer or at the nearby Whole Foods Market, though a staff member there told me that they sometimes carry organic watermelons with seeds.

The most reliable place to find old-school watermelons is the farmers market. That is not because of any bias in favor of old-fashioned varieties. It’s because seedless watermelons are more difficult and expensive to grow. Their seeds are most successful when germinated in a greenhouse rather than outdoors, and farmers must buy hybrid seeds for the pollinator plants. More than half of the watermelons grown at Montross, Va.-based Garner Produce, a regular at Washington markets, are seeded. At Spring Valley Farm and Orchard in Morgan, W.Va., 60 percent of the melons have seeds. “It’s easier,” said Joe Heischman, a co-manager of the farm. “But I think the seeded ones also taste better. When we put out samples of both, people always say the seeded ones are sweeter.”

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