Just a few more days! Last conference call tonight! We are all nervous, scared, excited and overwhelmed, but we are ready to go!
I am praying for clear and dry New York weather. One Canadian participant said the weather was good in her town....only 6 below zero. I should ever complain????
Please keep praying for us! Pray for wisdom, protection, favor, traveling mercies and most importantly, Divine appointments.
57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW57)
04 - 15 March, 2013, United Nations, New York
Organization
ORG ID Name
1927 Endeavour Forum Inc.
Representative
ID First Name Last Name
271851 Linda Jackson
Place of Birth Present Nationality(ies) United States of America United States of America
Salisbury Hotel 123 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
212.246.1300
.
Representative
317650 - Linda Jackson
1927 - Endeavour Forum Inc.
United Nations Grounds Pass Form
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
For years now our oldest grandson Connor has wanted another boy in the family. Simply put; he is afraid of his sisters. He did get some relief when baby brother Joshua was born. Still they have been out numbered 3 to 2 for a while now.
While visiting he asked, “Nana, is there a place here where I can adopt a boy?” I encouraged him to keep praying about it. Over four years later, his prayer was answered. He got that baby brother!
Connor and T.J.
Connor is not the only excited sibling. They are all over the moon for this anxiously awaited arrival. We received excited text messages from granddaughter Megan. Then her last, “He was born!!!! He was born!!!!” I saw no point in telling her we had already heard from Dad reporting both mother and child were doing well. Words from a totally unbiased dad, “He is super cute.” To which Nana replied, “Duh!!!” Grandchildren just keep getting smarter and more adorable. What can you say?
Toben James was born Saturday. Mom and Dad thought they may call him Ben. His siblings however wanted to call him T.J. So, welcome to our family sweet T.J. Your Nana and Papa can't wait to hold you!
So now the clan is even. There are 3 boys and 3 girls. Maybe that will give Connor peace of mind. Somehow I am doubtful.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, NIV)
With the crazy wintery weather we take every opportunity to soak in the sun. We went to the mountain overlook this weekend. It was beautiful and peaceful. I pointed out the hawks and buzzards circling. Dan said, “They must know it's my birthday.”
We were hit with the ice again this week. Thankfully it was not as bad as the Christmas blizzard. This time only one day was cancelled due to the weather. Those few hours were enough for Dan to get antsy. When he mentioned a trip to the hardware store, I reminded him of the Christmas night fiasco. He was a bit annoyed but stayed put.
From baby book to vacation photos
He decided to tackle painting the spare bedroom. Dan is very thorough with any project he takes on. Even with that in mind, he was taking even longer than usual. I found him looking at his baby book. He had forgotten we even had it. That smile on his face as he reminisced about his Mom was precious. It was a break well deserved and well spent.
The Irish Sopranos and violinist Jane Hunt were performing at the Woodlands here in the Village. We had been looking forward to this concert and braved the cold and fog to attend. Before the concert began, the gentlemen behind us struck up a conversation with Dan---about his boots. (The male version I suppose of the female, “Where did you get those great pumps?”) Again we formed a new Village friendship. They like us have grandchildren in the Dallas area.
The Irish Sopranos
The concert was wonderful. The performers were real troopers. As they said, “This tour had been filled with gremlins.” One concert had been canceled but they graciously offered a makeup matinee performance.
There was no heat in the auditorium as the units iced over. There were problems with lost costumes and sound. They joked about never seeing icicles on trees before. Neither had they witnessed cars turned upside down because of the ice. They were both intrigued and frightened admitting they did not leave their house all day. In spite of all the gremlins, the auditorium was near capacity. I am sure Dan’s statement to them that their rendition of “I Believe” surpassed Elvis’s made it all worth while.
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Today is Dan's 65th birthday! On our walk yesterday we happened upon this bench with a perfect inscription for the occasion. There are several such benches scattered around the Village. Many reflect the humor and personalities of the donors. Love it.
Another source of humor is the imagination of vanity license plates. I spotted a bright red Mini Cooper parked next to me. The license plate read, "Mini Hog". For a small town with mostly out of state residents, Hog fever (University of Arkansas Fayetteville) runs wild here. Another vanity tag simply reads, "McFamily". Love it.
Humor is always good for the soul, particularly so as we get older. I received a card today from a blogger friend. She was commenting on the "Oh My Goodness" blog. She says she looked for her cell phone for ten minutes will talking on it with her mom. Love it.
While I can't say we are exactly growing old gracefully, we are growing old together. Finding humor along the way is just icing on the birthday cakes.
Happy Birthday my love! I am thankful we are growing up older together! And yes, we are still kickin!
"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine......Song of Solomon 6:3
It was a gorgeous Valentine’s Day! We started of the day with a puppy dog bringing lots and lots of chocolate. What a great way to start any day! We took a long walk on top of Balboa dam. In stark contrast to the summer droughts, all the lakes are full and running over.
"Bag Lady" kicked back on the boat
Crystal clear waters
After a late day lunch, we took the boat out for a while. After all of our “hard” work, we came home for a nap.
Spillway overflowing
After all of the receiving today, it is time to give a little. I am off to a Valentine’s Day baby shower for two local pregnancy centers. Now that is the end to a perfect day!
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
Life in the Village is different than anywhere else we have ever lived. People are so friendly it is almost overwhelming. One friend described the Village as “La La Land.” “Once in while you have to get back out into the real world.” she says.
Still we are graciously and enthusiastically greeted by strangers. We have been invited to every form of work out group, games and activities imaginable. When I was approached about attending “Healthy Move” I told my husband these people are trying to kill me. And of course my insecurities kicked in. “Do I LOOK that fat and out of shape?” As it turns out “Healthy Move” is not an exercise group but a newcomers group.
At our first meeting we were asked to say something about ourselves. I was the last person in the group to share. As I listened to all of their wonderful stories I grew more and more insecure. What should I say? Tell them I am a community college drop out? Worse yet, it dawned on me that I was beauty school drop out!
Grease has always been one of my favorite plays. Suddenly one of the songs “Beauty School Dropout.” from the play started twirling in my head. I began thinking about the character Frency from the film this song was built around.
Interestingly all of the characters in the play change their natures in some way; Frenchy is the only one who changed careers. Frenchy was the loving and foolish but very friendly member of the Pink Ladies; dropped out of high school to enter Beauty School; a little light-headed and unsure of what to do. She cares a lot about her appearance. She is genuine.
I like Frenchy spent many years trying to figure out my place in life. I have failed many times. I been through a lot and put myself through even more. I have repeatedly tripped and fallen hard. I have made terrible decisions from which I yet suffer the consequences from.
Short of trying on the pink hair and French inhaling cigarette some, there is much of Frenchy’s character to be admired. She is kind. She is loving. She is a good friend. She is loyal. She is genuine. She has dreams she dares fulfill. She fails. Yet, her nature remains the same.
It is certainly feels safer to hide behind our masks. Our pretense of all is perfect in our world. God has really impressed upon me particularly lately to be open and honest with those around me. It is scary. It is risky. But how are we ever to minister to others hurting and wounded if we don’t admit our failures. How can others learn to trust God in their trials if we do not share how God has graciously restored us?
Lord I pray that we all can be gently used by You. Lord, help us to be as genuine in our walk as Frenchy.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:2-5
Some of us may remember this line by Shirley Temple in those adorable old films. Who could resist those big innocent eyes and precious dimples?
As of late we have tossed that expression around a lot though not so sweet and adorable. We have tried our best to get organized. The more we set about everything in its place, the more we seem to misplace them. What is up with that?
Some days we can laugh at ourselves, on others I get so frustrated I just want to sit down in the floor and cry. We are wearing ourselves out wandering around the house and up and down the stairs to the man cave looking for ‘somethin’.
Our pastor retired recently and we have a lovely interim. We have been encouraged to wear our name badges at all times out of courtesy to him. We are happy to oblige, IF we could find them. We had them in a safe place in the console of the car. They disappeared. Just as we were about to have replacements, I remembered the second safe place we put them; reminding each other not to forget. Oh, my goodness!
Multi tasking has fallen by the wayside along with my organizational skills. I put a meal on the stove to boil and walked into another room to change out of walking shoes. On the way to the laundry room, I stopped to check my brew. Instead of reaching for the spoon I almost dropped my socks into the pot. Oh my goodness!
Dan and I both have placed our soiled laundry in inappropriate places. I placed mine in the trash, he in the toilet. Fortunately, we realized the error right away. Oh, my goodness!
After dressing I often put my robe on over my clothes to prevent soiling before we leave for the day. I was getting to leave one morning this week when Dan suggested, “You might want to leave your “trench coat” at home, honey.” Oh my goodness!
One day I thought I was in really serious trouble with Danno. He could not get his favorite drill to work properly. Though he didn’t come out and say so, it was clear his thoughts were wondering toward my guilt. I thought I was being very clever in my questioning about who used it last. Fortunately it was Danno. Just when I thought I might have to call for a sister rescue, he remembered how it was suppose to work. Oh my goodness and thank you Jesus! Anyone that knows Dan knows how he feels about his tools!
Though we haven’t yet got lost on our hiking excursions, we have had some “discussions” about some of our routes. We are forever checking to make sure we have our cell phones---just in case! In all fairness, all trees and golf courses DO look the same. Oh my goodness!
Our medication is carefully laid out on the counter top faithfully. Sometimes we actually remember to take it. Other times we find it still waiting for us in the morning. Oh my goodness!
All things considered, we are still having fun. As far as we can remember anyway! Oh my goodness!
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! Psalm 25:7
