GOD first...Heavenly Father, We want to thank You for the generous rain we have experienced this week. We are also glad for not having the hot weather that a lot have been experiencing. We pray for those who are I'll, suffering, grieving, or are in harm's way. Give them comfort, healing, and strength in all they do. Help us to better understand what they are experiencing and guide us in helping. We pray in the name of our Savior, Jesus Dhrist. Amen.
**PASTOR; Just think of it, Jonah spent three days in the belly of a large fish. MEAMBER; That's nothing, my husband spent longer than that in the belly of an alligator. PASTOR: Well , I declare....just how long was he in there?
MEMBER; It's almost five years now.
Nordheim has been blessed with over 5 inches of rain this past week and up into this Sunday. I would like to go out to my rain gauge, but I will have to put on my boots to wade through the water to get to it. Haven't put on those rubber boots in a long time and can't remember when it was the last time I used them. Will have to shake out all the critters and scorpions too. Most of the rain stayed where it fell and soaked into the ground. Each rain fell at intervals each day and had ample chance to all go into the ground. Most of the corn and maize were already harvested and hay will grow into a second or third crop. Cotton will be next. Thank You Lord.
Continuing my report on my visit to Florida this past week, the airplane flight there was uneventful and upon landing, we were greeted by grand-daughter Deanna and her husband, and their daughter, Abby. Their son, Jack, was picked up from a day care on the way back to their apartment. We were brought into a gated community and taken to the fourth floor of one of the apartment buildings. There were four of these large buildings. In the apartment there were three bedrooms. Abby had one, Jack had the other, and Deanna and Ashley had the other. Abby going on five, and Jack going on 3, they each had one room each. They even had their own bathroom with a commode that was lower than regular ones. In this apartment, there were 7 people, and four more were kids under with Olivia being the oldest.
The living room and kitchen were all in one with a screened in porch big enough to hold two chairs and a bean bag but had ample viewing.
The Ellis children had their own rooms and each room was full of scattered toys galore. They were land mines to bare feet.
My daughter, Roberta, paid for the plane tickets to get there and back, but I'm not too much on complaining about something given as a gift. While the kids played and romped all over the place, the neighbors below must have thought their roof was about to fall on them. Even sent a note saying so. When four kids start arguing over toys, yelling, and crying and going to their parents, well, I spent most of the time on the porch admiring the scenery outside, like thunder head clouds approaching each morning. Being an early riser, I quietly went into the kitchen area and made my own coffee and slipped into the porch and drank it while watching the clouds go by. Everybody was still sleeping. I got up at 5 a.m. and it was so quiet and peaceful. It reminded me of home. I spent the night on the lower bed while Roberta peacefully slept on the top bunk snoring the whole night away. As soon as some of the other grown ups awakened, the kids came in crying and it all started all over again. I sure do miss Nordheim. We did go swimming in the pool inside the area in the middle of the heat... water didn't have to be heated...it already was. The water was only 4ft. deep at its deepest and sunburn spray was applied to each of us. Still arguing over floating animals and sharks, the kids had a great time. The next day we went to the beach. Not the one Deanna wanted to show us as it was already full of people. Had to drive 8 miles to a Florida State Park and it was almost full too (in the heat of the day). People everywhere acted like they were having a good time while enjoying what they thought was a great time. I didn't even take off my shoes that were already full of sand. I sure do miss Nordheim. Had to pour water on myself to get cooled off. Deanna brought along a tent that was anchored by sand and I sat in a chair and had to move several times to keep in the shade.
Getting back to the apartment, I had to wait in line to use the bathroom with a low toilet which was hard to get off of. I sure do miss Nordheim. Deanna had been a great host and had several very good meals prepared each day. She made sure we were all well fed and accommodated. She was an excellent host. It never rained where we were, but some of those thunder heads I observed in the mornings brought good showers somewhere.
On the flight from Florida to Austin, I sat next to a beautiful young lady who started our conversation, and we talked all the two hours of our flight. We even took selfies on our I-phones of each other. To say that was a highlight of my experience is an understatement. At the airport in Austin, we said our goodbye and I didn't even get her name.
See you next week.
