Thanksgiving holiday 2009

I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving holiday as I had. My elders were very gracious in allowing me to go back to Springdale on Monday of last week so I could spend as much time as possible with Merilyn. It was great to have the extra time together and to be able to see Sarah and Blake more than I usually do. Adam stayed in College Station so he could attend the Texas A & M vs. Texas football game on Thursday evening so we missed him. On Tuesday evening I got to be with my Thursday evening Bible study group. That is always a great blessing to me. On Wednesday, Merilyn and I went to Cabot to spend the night with her Dad and then go to North Little Rock to aunt Joyce's house for the gathering of the Ballentine side of our family. We had one Thanksgiving feast for lunch and then went to Russellville to my Mom's home to have another Thanksgiving feast with the Frazier side of our family. Several were not able to be there this year but we enjoyed the gathering with all who were there. God has blessed us so abundantly in every way. It is good to take some time to stop and reflect upon that.
We spent Thursday night at Mom's then headed back to Springdale on Friday morning. The weather for the whole holiday time was just gorgeous with sunny skies and mild temperatures. On Friday afternoon I was able to get some yard work done and begin to get the outside Christmas decorations up. On Friday evening our good friends, Joe and Catherine, invited us to go to the Arkansas Razorback basketball game. It was fun and great to be with them, but the Hogs fell short in their effort. On Saturday I finished up the outside decorating. It took a bit longer than I expected and I left to come back to Ennis on Saturday around 2 p.m., a little later than usual, but I was glad to get the outside decorating done.

It was good to be back with the church family in Ennis yesterday. We had higher than usual attendance in the morning worship as several of our families had relatives visiting. In the afternoon I went out to the local hospital to see our oldest member, a 98 year old lady. She was having some breathing difficulty but was feeling better. She lives by herself and the best word I can use to describe her is "spunky." She is a real character and a wonderful Christian lady.

It's hard to believe it is the last day of November already. Yesterday afternoon a cold front came through. It brought a brief deluge of rain and dropped the temperatures by nearly 20 degrees in less than an hour, so that makes it a little more believable that it is late autumn. It is amazing, though, how quickly the time seems to fly. One great thing about that is that we are that much closer to Heaven! Have a great day and be sure to keep your focus on the Lord!

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Another surprise, family time and football!

There was nothing to indicate that yesterday morning was going to be different from any other Sunday morning. Everything was going according to plan. Bible class started with a larger than normal attendance which was nice. Then about halfway through class, the side door opened and in walked Bill and Judy Penick, a couple of our friends from the church in Springdale! That was a great surprise. They were in Ft. Worth taking care of some business and decided since they were this close they would come over for a visit. They stayed for worship and took me out to lunch. We had an excellent visit. They were very complimentary of the church family here and how friendly everyone is. It was great to see them and to enjoy another nice surprise from home. By the way, Merilyn knew about this one, too!
My elders are graciously allowing me to leave today to go home for the Thanksgiving holiday so I can spend as much time with Merilyn as possible. We will get to go to Cabot to stay with her Dad, A.C., on Wednesday night and have Thanksgiving lunch in North Little Rock with aunt Joyce and her bunch. Then we will go to Russellville to have Thanksgiving supper with my Mom and my side of the family and spend the night with her. It's going to be an excellent week!
There is good news to report from the football fields from the weekend. The Razorbacks, the Aggies and the Cowboys all won their games on Saturday and Sunday. The biggest football shocker for me was the Texas Tech-Oklahoma game which Tech won 55-21. The Sooners are reeling right now. They are Blake's favorite team and he was saying they have lost 6-7 starters to injury this year, including Sam Bradford, their Heisman winning quarterback. It's been a tough year for the Sooner nation.
I am going to wrap this up so I can get the things done that have to be done before I leave for Arkansas. It will probably be next Monday before I have another post. There's just one more thing to say before I go: Look at the graphic at the top of the page...I meant for it to go here but the pictures have a mind of their own when I load them. Anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope each one gets to spend some quality time with your family and friends. Remember to pray for our military folks who cannot be with their loved ones. Always be grateful to God for the abundant blessings which He gives. Have a great week!

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

An excellent poem

This morning as I came into my office, I noticed this framed poem that I have had for many years. I don't remember where I got it and the author is not identified. It has been a source of encouragement to me many times. My primary application of the poem has always been to my own spiritual life and relationship with God, but it has a message for just about any worthy endeavor that one would undertake. I hope it will be a blessing and encouragement to you. Have a good day and a good weekend!

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Electric blanket time!

I've been trying to tough it out, but last night I gave in and put the electric blanket on my bed. One time when I was home a month or so ago, Merilyn had been cleaning out some cabinets in the laundry room and came across this older blanket. We thought about putting it in a garage sale, but then she suggested that I bring it back to Texas with me. What a good wife! I wasn't really sure that I would need it. At least one thing I have learned after 35 years of being married to Merilyn is that I need to pay better attention to her thoughts and suggestions. When the weather reporter was talking about lows in the upper 20's and lower 30's, that was all I needed to make the decision to install the electric blanket. Whoever invented the electric blanket is a wonderful person! It is so nice to crawl into a nice, warm bed instead of one that is chilly. Our lives are filled with modern conveniences which people a hundred years ago would have never believed possible. It is a blessing to be living in America in 2009! Have a good day today!

Pictures from Lion's Park

Sunset across the lake at the park
Another sunset shot
Closer view of pavilion and lamp post lookout
Lamp post lookout over the lake
Lake view from part of the trail
Part of the trail and a white limestone bridge
Winding through a grove of trees
From the parking lot looking toward the pavilion

When I went out for my Monday afternoon exercise yesterday, I remembered my comment in the blog post about getting some pictures of the park. I took my camera along and here are some shots so you can see what it's like. The pictures loaded in reverse order from what I intended so start at the bottom and go up.
It was chilly yesterday! The high temp was about 55 and there was a 10-15 mph wind all day. I had to go to Wal-Mart and buy a sweat top before going out. Even then I was pretty cool during the exercise time but it was a beautiful afternoon as you can see from the pictures. I've had to scale back my exertion level considerably because of the pulled hamstring. I'm still able to do my regular four miles with fast walking and light jogging so I'm grateful for that. In some ways I suppose I'm an exercise addict...I don't always feel like doing it, but I sure miss it when I am not able to work out.
It is cold this morning...the church secretary came in a little while ago and said they had some frost out around their place in the country. The warmth will return quickly here, though, with high temps back in the 60's by tomorrow. Stay warm wherever you are and have a good day today!

Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

A normal weekend

I really don't have any excellent events or great news to share today. After last weekend and all the wonderful things that happened, this weekend was all about returning to normal. On Friday I spent several hours studying at the local library. It would seem to me that folks would realize that cell phones do not fit into proper library etiquette. While I was there, no fewer than three people had phones go off and then carried on a conversation. I say they "went off" instead of ringing because they all had obnoxious musical blasts. After the library I went out for my exercise at the park. That is always a nice experience. I need to take a few pictures of the park and post them so you can see what it's like. Although it's feeling better, I'm still having to nurse my pulled hamstring quite a bit but at least I can go out for fast walking and light jogging. After the afternoon exercise, I stopped at a local car wash to get the first few layers of dirt off the car and then Friday evening was laundry time. On Saturday morning I went over to Ft. Worth to take care of some business. While the car was sitting in a parking lot, several birds (or one with some gastrointestinal trouble) left deposits on the hood. When I returned to Ennis, it was time to run to the grocery store, clean up the apartment, and watch some football. Sunday was a good day. Again, nothing remarkable, but a good day. Our attendance at church was up a little and many of our members shared positive reports from their friends and neighbors who had visited with us last Sunday.

Like I say in the title of the post, pretty much a normal weekend. Fortunately for the majority of us who live in the United States, life is filled with normal days. Days when there are no major catastrophes. Days when we are not bothered by the threat of violence or war. Days when we have plenty of good food to eat, an abundance of creature comforts, and enjoy the blessing of being able to communicate with family and friends. It is especially nice when we have extraordinary days which come into our lives. When that happens for you, enjoy them to the fullest. In addition, always be aware of the blessings of the ordinary days and be truly grateful for them. Enjoy the blessings of God for your life today!

There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

Catching up

Now that I've written about some of the events from this past weekend and Sunday, I need to catch up on some of the other things that have been happening.
When I got home last Thursday evening after the Bible study group, Merilyn asked me what I was going to do tomorrow. I had thought about washing the cars or doing some outdoor chores. She suggested that I might consider cleaning the carpet. We had both mentioned in the previous weeks that it needed to be done, but I have to admit it is not my favorite chore. The weather forecast was for a beautiful, warm, sunny day which is perfect for carpet cleaning because the windows can be opened to enhance the drying process. I agreed that I would do that. It took me about 5 hours to do the main traffic areas and other parts that needed attention. When Merilyn got home and saw the improvement, she commented about how much better it looked. That made me feel good. But the fresh cleaning job didn't last too long. While we were sitting around Friday evening visiting with Keith and Sarah, Miss Mollie decided to squat and do her outside business right in front of the couch! She is usually good about going outside but she is still learning. Fortunately, it was an easy clean-up so not too much harm was done.
I mentioned last week that I had my first pulled hamstring muscle in nearly thirty years of jogging and running. While I was home it was feeling better. I did about 3 miles of moderate jogging on the treadmill. It was sore but it went OK. On Monday of this week I went out for my regular exercise. The leg was still a little sore so I took it a little easier on the sprinting portions. Everything was fine through 3 miles. Between miles 3 and 4 I was doing another sprint portion and it pulled again. Aggravating! I've done some internet research on care and rehab of the hamstring muscle group with exercises, stretching, and self massage. It seems to be working. My doctor friend said I could walk but to take it easy on the running. I went out yesterday and was able to complete the 4 miles with fast walking and light jogging. It hurt but it was tolerable and better than not being able to go at all. It looks like I'm in for a 2-4 week recovery, then I will have to baby the hammie for a while before getting back to full speed.
On Monday of this week I helped move one of our elderly couples with a crew of fellows from church. They decided it was time to give up their home and move into an assisted living center. I know it must have been a difficult decision for them but it is for the best as he seems to be in rapidly declining health. They both had good attitudes and appreciated our help. It's good that there are nice facilities available for folks when they come to this point in their lives.
Here we are, ready for another weekend and Sunday already. Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? Time flies whether you are having fun or not! One of the more thought-provoking concepts I have considered is that time is a creation of God to provide the venue for Him to accomplish what He has done in bringing mankind into existence and then making it possible for us to have eternal salvation. When God decides, time will be no more. It is a bit dumbfounding to consider a state of being without any limitation of time; in other words, forever. Let's all be sure that we are ready for it! God bless!

The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of Thy anger, and Thy wrath according to the fear of Thee? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10-12)

Where to begin?, part 3

In addition to the great surprise of Merilyn coming back to Ennis with me last Saturday and our friends coming for a visit on Sunday and the wonderful day we had for the "Meet Our New Preacher Day" at church, Merilyn and I got to enjoy some time with both Adam and Sarah over the weekend.
Sarah is always good to be sure to come to spend some time with me when I am home every two weeks. Usually she comes over on Friday evening after she gets off work and again on Saturday. She brings her Maltese dog, Chloe, over to stay at our house with Merilyn's new Maltese, Mollie. Those animals are like a couple of kids the way they play and fuss and are jealous of each other. Mollie, the younger, is always picking at Chloe and wanting to play. It's pretty much the way Chloe was with our old Bichon Frise dog, Abby, so I guess Chloe is getting some payback. They are a lot of fun to watch. Earlier in the week my younger brother, Keith, called Sarah and asked if she would like to go with him to the Razorback football game against South Carolina on Saturday (the Hogs won, by the way...Wooo, Pig, Sooie!). She was able to do that so Keith came up on Friday evening to spend the night with us. We got to visit with him and Sarah for a while on Friday evening and then again for a short time on Saturday morning before they went to the game.
As Merilyn and I traveled back to Texas, we were looking forward to seeing Adam on Saturday evening. He and some of his friends from College Station had been planning since early summer to go to the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday. He came to spend the night at my apartment while his friends stayed on the TCU campus in Ft. Worth. When he arrived in Ennis we went out to eat at Chili's and enjoyed a nice visit together. He got up early Sunday morning to meet his friends and head up to the race. He had a good time. It was a pretty interesting race with Jimmie Johnson, the points leader, getting into a wreck on lap 3. He was dominating the championship standings but now it has opened the door for Mark Martin (a good Arkansas boy) and Jeff Gordon to give Jimmie some competition. Adam came back to my apartment around 11 p.m. Sunday to spend the night again. He took off for College Station on Monday morning around 7:30 as I went to work.
It was icing on the cake of a fantastic weekend and Sunday to be able to spend some time with both of our children. The only shortcoming was that we did not get to see Blake, Sarah's husband, but she assures us that he is doing well. God's blessings just overflowed for me this past weekend! Have yourself a great day today!

Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. (Psalm 128:1-4)

Where to begin?, part 2

Now I will continue the story from yesterday about the events of the weekend and this past Sunday. Here is the reason why Merilyn and our friends from Springdale cooked up this surprise visit to Ennis. The church here has been planning to have a "Meet Our New Preacher Day" on November 8 for the past few months. We set a goal to have 200 in our morning worship and worked toward it with mailings, newspaper ads and personal contacts. As I wrote yesterday, on my visit to Arkansas two weeks ago, I mentioned this to the folks at my Thursday night Bible study group and that is when their plan began to be hatched. They told me that part of the reason they wanted to come was to help in reaching the goal to have 200 in our morning worship. They definitely did help with that. We had 208!
It was a great day for the church in Ennis. Many of our guests were former members who left during the difficult times the church went through last year. Many others were friends, neighbors, and family members of our members. Others were folks from the community who were on our mailing list or who saw the ads in the newspaper. There was an atmosphere of great joy and excitement throughout the auditorium. Our singing was wonderful. Folks tell me the preaching was pretty decent that day. Afterward we had a "Thanksgiving Feast" fellowship meal. One of our elders and his wife prepared 6 turkeys and several large pans of dressing. Everyone else in the congregation pitched in to help in making the excellent side dishes. I had made a half-joking appeal for lots of pies. Boy, did the ladies ever come through! It was good that the members made such an excellent effort with the meal. Of the 208 people who were in our morning worship, I believe 200 of them stayed for lunch! It was great! We had to scramble to put out extra tables and chairs in the fellowship area. After the meal, there were not too many leftovers.
Several of our members told me that they heard many positive comments from those who were visiting with us. God truly blessed our efforts. It was an excellent day all the way around. It was certainly made better for me because my wife and friends from Springdale were here to enjoy it, too.
There is more to tell, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Have a great day!

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the Earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations. (Isaiah 61:10-11)

Where to begin?

One day last week I hit "writer's block" and could think of nothing worthwhile for a blog post. After this weekend and Sunday, it is the complete opposite. Today there are so many things that I want to write, I hardly know where to start! I will probably spread things out over the next several days.
The first and most important item has to do with my wife and some of our wonderful friends from Springdale. Most of you know that the elders here in Ennis allow me to go back to Springdale every other week to see Merilyn and to be able to continue my Thursday night Bible study group. I was in Springdale this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday. By the way, we have a new member, Tana, joining our group so that was exciting. It came time for me to leave on Saturday to return to Ennis. I was leisurely loading things into the car in the hour or so before my planned departure time. Merilyn was loading some of the stuff as well, which is a little unusual but I thought nothing about it. After lunch, I told her it was time for me to take off. She said, "Go turn the TV off. I've got something to tell you." I said, "Why do I have to turn the TV off? Go ahead and tell me." She said, "Well, I'm going with you." My first thought was to wonder what she was up to because I knew there was no way she was going with me. I said, "What do you mean you're going with me? How are you going to get back?" She said, "Don't you worry about it." I said, "What about your clothes and other things?" She said, "They are already in the car." Then it dawned on me why she was helping to load all the stuff that she was because she was slipping her stuff in as well. So I said, "OK. Let's go." We turned off the TV, got the puppies squared away, got in the car and took off.
Of course, I was thrilled to have her come with me. But the story doesn't end there by a long shot! As we drove toward Texas I quizzed her a bit more about her arrangements. Who was going to pick her up? A friend of our daughter, Sarah. What's she doing in Texas? Visiting some friends. Where is she going to pick you up? Just out at the freeway by the Baymont Motel around 1 p.m. on Sunday. Where exactly is she is Texas? I don't know for sure. Do I need to drive you somewhere to meet her to make it easier for her? No, she is coming right through Ennis. We went on like this for 10 or 15 minutes until I could think of no other questions to ask so I was completely satisfied that she had all the arrangements done and everything was in good shape. It was a great blessing and fantastic surprise to me to have her come back to Texas with me, even if it was just for one more night. Another reason it was so good is because of a special event we had at church on Sunday. I'll write more on that tomorrow. Merilyn and I also got to spend a little time with both of our children over the weekend. I'll write more on that in the next few days.
Back to the story.
We made it back to Ennis fine. Had a good evening Saturday. Got up and went to Bible class on Sunday morning. We had lots of visitors and an excellent discussion in Ephesians 3. Went into the auditorium for worship and we were greeting folks. One man said, "Is that your Arkansas car out there?" I said, "Well, I have an Arkansas car, but mine is parked out back." He said, "No, this one is right out front. It's a black Pacifica." I said, "I'm going to have to track those folks down and see who it is." Meanwhile I was thinking if I knew anyone who drove a black Pacifica. About that time I looked up and I could hardly believe who was coming down the aisle...it was Joe and Cathy May and Dick and Shirley Pate from Springdale! They are the wonderful friends I mentioned earlier. I immediately went to them for a round of hugs and greetings. Merilyn followed and after the initial excitement died down, she said, "This is the friend of Sarah's that I'm riding home with." I was absolutely flabbergasted! The first thing I asked was, "How long have you guys been planning this?" It turns out they had been planning for two weeks and not only they knew about it, but also Adam, Sarah, my mother, my father-in-law and I don't know who else. I could not believe they pulled it over on me in such a big way. It started when I mentioned to my Thursday night Bible study group two weeks ago that we were having this special event at the church in Ennis on November 8. Cathy had the initial idea of cooking up a trip, shared it with the others and it just kind of snowballed from there. They were able to stay for the morning worship and then for our delicious fellowship meal. It was all one of the best surprises I've ever had.
More on the events of the weekend and Sunday later. Have a great day!

Did you miss me?

Be honest, now. How many of you missed seeing my blog yesterday? I sat at the computer for 15-20 minutes and seemed to have a case of writer's block so I finally just let it go and went on with the the rest of the day. That happens sometimes, I guess.
Did anybody see the New York Yankees win the World Series last night? It seems that there has been a huge lack of interest in this particular World Series. Maybe it's because both teams are from the New England area. I'm kind of wondering what they are doing playing baseball in November anyway. Aren't the players of baseball called "the boys of summer?" Summer was over nearly two months ago!
Yesterday was another gorgeous autumn day here. I was truly enjoying my exercise time in the afternoon when I had something happen to me that I've never experienced before in nearly thirty years of jogging and running. I pulled a hamstring while I was doing one of my sprint segments. It doesn't seem terribly bad. I visited with my doctor friend at church about it last night and he said to just take it easy for a while. I hope it won't sideline me very long because this is one of the best times of the year for outdoor exercise.
This is Arkansas weekend for me. I will leave to go back to Springdale this morning to have some time with Merilyn and to meet with my Thursday night Bible study group before returning to Texas on Saturday afternoon. Merilyn called me early this morning to say that her back and legs were really hurting. She's been bothered by that for some time now. I've encouraged her to go see our chiropractor before but she hasn't yet. I will see him in the morning and she asked me to see if there was an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Maybe she can get in and get some relief.
There are loose ends to tie up before I can hit the road. We're looking forward to a big day here at the church in Ennis this Sunday. I'll give a report first thing Monday morning. Have a good weekend!

Dealing with challenges

Who enjoys challenges, difficulties and obstacles in our lives? Not many people, if any, enjoy it when troubles come. But the fact is that they come to all of us in one form or another. My mother sent me a poem recently that has an excellent message about dealing with challenges. It is called "It's In The Valleys I Grow" and was written by a lady named Jane Eggleston.

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe.
It's then I have to remember
That it's in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God's love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow.
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it's in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross.
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan's loss.

Forgive me, Lord, for complaining
When I'm feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord,
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord,
For this one thing I know:
The mountain tops are glorious,
But it's in the valleys I grow!

I hope this poem will be an encouragement to you, whether you are going through any major challenges right now or not. As the Scriptures below tell us, God is always with us and will work out everything for our ultimate good as long as we will be faithful and obedient to Him. Have a great day today!

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for He has said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you." Hence we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Glorious weekend and start to this week

Since last Thursday when a cold front came through north Texas, the weather has been just about perfect: sunny days, beautiful blue sky, low temps in the 50's, high temps in the 70's, low humidity. What more could you ask? The weather forecast was for another deluge of rain on Thursday, but the front came through with very little rain here. That was good news for one of our elders who has many hundreds of acres of cotton that needs to be harvested. The cotton has been ready for several weeks but the fields have been too wet. He said yesterday that he should be able to get into the fields tomorrow and may be able to get it harvested by the end of the week.
In addition to enjoying fantastic weather, all of our favorite football teams had success over the weekend and Sunday. The Ennis high school team won the homecoming game. The Russellville Cyclones won at Conway. The Texas Aggies had a big game against Iowa State. The Arkansas Razorbacks creamed Eastern Michigan. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks. One of our good friends in Springdale gave Merilyn four tickets to the Razorback game. She and Sarah made plans to go and we looked for someone else to go with them. Finally, Mom and Jordan, our nephew, came from Russellville to go with them and spend the night on Saturday. They all had a great time.
This weekend was my time to stay in Ennis. It was good that I did because I ended up spending nearly the whole day Saturday doing chores. Now don't go getting the idea that I live like a slob, but I do have to admit that it can be easy to let a few things slip a bit. At any rate, I got the laundry done, the kitchen whipped into shape, the bathroom cleaned, and the floors swept and vacuumed. The place is spic-and-span now.
Let me give you a good tip for your health. You've heard that old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." It turns out there is some truth to that. My mother was telling me a few weeks ago that she tries to eat an apple every day and was encouraging me to do that. She said she went through all last winter without getting sick and thought the apples helped. The next Sunday I saw a piece about protecting yourself from the flu in the Parade magazine of the Sunday newspaper. It said apples have a natural substance that helps increase the body's resistance to flu and other viruses. Right now you can get a 5 pound bag of apples at Wal-Mart for less than $3. For the past few weeks I've been having an apple for a snack each evening. Try it...you'll like it!
Enjoy the day, count your blessings, and be grateful!