HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a Princess!

Nine years ago today God sent us a princess. She was named Elizabeth Grace Caton. This "princess" stuff was totally new to Jerry and I since all we had ever known was "boy stuff." What an enlightenment we have had and what a pleasure it has been! On this day, "Gracie's Day", I want to share the things I love about our "princess."

I love the way she adores her Daddy and Mama.

                                    


                                             


                                               I love how she can act like a girl....................

and play like a boy!

                                          



                               I love how she has captured Papa's heart

Happy Birthday Princess Grace.............Gran & Papa love you sooooooooooooooo much!!

Mumbo-Jumbo Transformed!

Blog – an online journal; an online sharing of what is on my mind.


Lately, I am having trouble writing my blog. Seems every time I sit down and try to write, my mind is just way too scattered. It comes out like mumbo-jumbo! I was thinking about that today and wondering if I should just stop blogging for a while until I feel like I can write freely again. When I picked up an old devotional book, these were the verses for the author’s text:

“But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Phillippians 2:5

These verses spoke directly to me in that they made me stop and think that the main thing on my mind should be the things of Christ. Thinking about Him and thinking about His will for my life will lead me to be more like Him. This I long to be…..more like Him. I know I will never attain anything remotely close to “Christ-likeness” so my continual prayer is that I might keep my mind focused on Him so that I might know what and, more importantly, WHO He wants me to be. I also pray that I might KNOW the MIND OF CHRIST more when He reveals it to me. This is what Millie Stamm wrote in the devotional book Meditation Moments (Zondervan Publ, 1967):

“What a privilege is ours – that the Holy Spirit will reveal the mind of Christ to us. We must keep the channel of communication to heaven open that we will not miss it.”

Now, my mind doesn’t seem near so “mumbo-jumbo” as it did before I read her devotional!

The First Day of School

Today is the first day of school and, for me, it represents the first day that I will not be able to get a little munchkin whenever I want to. Up until now, whenever I felt like spending time with one of my little ones there has been options. Now that they are all in school, I have to wait until school is out. My heart is so heavy this morning because the last one starts kindergarten. Our little Seth goes off on the big yellow bus this morning (he informed his parents that he didn’t want them to take him!) Oh how I will miss those dancing eyes and outspread arms when I would rescue him from daycare!


I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that they are all growing up so very fast. When my boys were little I used to cry on the first day of school every year because I realized that another year of their childhood would soon come and go.

If I could go back I would savor their childhood more. I would not be so busy with household stuff that I couldn’t stop to spend more time with them. With hindsight that I didn't have then, I sure wish that I could convey that message to all of the parents today. Kids need time together as a family. They need time spent around the kitchen table eating a good meal and conversing with one another. They need parents to play with them. They need time to just be kids. They need a place to feel secure and to be able to rest.   Today is not only the first day of school. It is also the first day of the rest of our lives.  Maybe this would be a good time to commit to simplifying your family life and spending more quality time together. Believe me, there will soon come a time when you will have more time on your hands, but also an empty house to spend it in!

This morning I prayed for all the school personnel and the kids.  I am going to have to go back and add another request because I forgot to pray for the parents!  I am going to do that right now!  Love to all!

Exercising Body & Soul!

I absolutely love teaching exercise classes! I have had several people ask me when new sessions begin so I have decided to print the schedule here for those who read my blog that might be interested in getting fit with my groups. Here is our most current schedule:


For August only, beginning Wed., Aug. 4th, Energizers will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Mon. and Wed. On Mon., we will have varied exercise geared toward beginners. On Wed., Stan Holman will lead the class in beginning line dancing. Cost is $3.00 per week. Both at CAC. Regular Energizers will begin in Sept.

YogAerobics class will meet on Tuesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday is at the CAC and Friday is at Anderson Dean Park. This is a varied class that begins with aerobic movement for cardiovascualar strength and endurance. We all need aerobics to stay heart healthy! You are always encouraged to work at your own level to get the workout that most suits your current level of fitness. We also work with weights and bands for muscle strength and endurance. Class ends with yoga movement to wonderful Christian music that lifts our spirits and helps bring our mind to dwell on Christ. 6 week session is $25.00 (or $3.00 per class.) Session begins this Tues., Aug. 3rd.

So many people are intimidated by the very thought of attending a structured exercise class, but I promise you that you will not feel that way once you come to class. The focus of my exercise classes is to do what you can to take the very best care of the body God has given you. I like to use the analogy of a car: the number of miles you can get on your car depends upon how well it is maintained. So it is with our bodies and if we don’t take care of them, nobody else will do it for us. As we age, we know we can’t do the things we used to do in the same way so we have to strive to be able to keep moving the best we can.

Based on my belief that God wants us to take good care of ourselves, I have chosen to teach Christian-based exercise classes because I believe that is what God has wanted me to do for the past 20+ years.  I have felt led to try to tie together the concept of taking care of ourselves physically as well as spiritually because I think it is too easy to get caught up in the world's view of what our bodies should be and I also like offering people a non-intimidating place to exercise.

I would love to see our church's recreation center be able to offer more types of exercise classes so if you or someone you know can teach and would like to lead a class, please let me know and I will pass it on to our ROC committee for scheduling.

I'd like to close this blog with the following verse from 1 Timothy 4:8:

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

Have a great new week and commit to getting some regular exercise!