My Reading Blog

My OLW - GRATEFUL - sums up this whole year of 2013.  When I chose my word at the beginning of the year, I knew that I wanted to focus on all those little things that I so often take for granted.  Throughout the year, I wrote several slices relating to my OLW, because there always seemed to be people, places, happenings, etc, that I was grateful for. So as I finish this year, I am so grateful for my family and friends, good health, travel around the U.S. and to Guatemala, my faith in an awesome God and all the blessings that He gives me every day, and so much more.  I am grateful to this community of slicers who have shared their lives with me and for the comments that are left on my slices. This is a wonderful time in my life and I plan to continue living my life focusing on my OLW - GRATEFUL.  I'm still waiting for my OLW for 2014 to come into my mind and I'm sure that it will help me to continue to live my life to its fullest. Happy New Year to everyone!

My Hubby is a GREAT Hugger!  He's like having a real live teddy bear to comfort me.  And he has taken it upon himself to create his own ministry at our church - it's unofficially "The Hug Ministry".  We have a lot of elder women who have lost their husbands and are always in need of a hug - really he gives them freely to anyone he meets. As was the case when we went shopping last week.  I had struck up a conversation with a lady who was shopping and then we went our own way.  We saw her again a little later and spoke again.  The third time we met was while we were waiting in the line to check out.  I kiddingly asked if she like to pay for the contents of our basket.  And, of course, she said she had enough in her own.  Hubby then says, "Well, how about a hug?"  She consented and told him how much she appreciated that hug because her husband had recently died and she missed having hugs.  Then she said that she was going home to ...

For the past seven years, our church women have been celebrating the season of Advent with an afternoon tea and light dinner and a program.  This year's Advent By Candlelight had to be postponed for a week due the inclement weather that we experienced last week.  We did a lot of scrambling to cancel the catered food, make sure the hostesses were still available to host their tables, make sure our guest speaker could rearrange her schedule, call all the ladies who had purchased tickets to see if they could still come. We originally had 17 tables of 8 and 2 tables of 10 for a total of 156 women.  After all the calls were made, two hostesses and 26 women could not attend because of prior engagements.  We revised our food order and moved forward.  And then the dreaded forecast - once again they predicted freezing rain, sleet, ice, and snow for Friday and Saturday morning.  Should we move forward?  We didn't feel we had a choice since the food had been ...

Predictions of Freezing rain Sleet Ice Snow Be prepared Stay inside It's coming! Schools cancelled Businesses closed Warnings to stay home Praying the power will stay on And it came The freezing rain & sleet one day Snow the next Finally it stopped But not until there was 3" of ice topped with 8" of snow Followed by bone chilling temperatures More cancellations, more warnings But the power stayed on and we were safe inside with a nice warm fire to keep us warm. Day 5 still cooped up in the house, maybe tomorrow.....

Goodreads Summary:  Seth Hubbard is a wealthy man dying of lung cancer. He trusts no one. Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Hubbard leaves a new, handwritten, will. It is an act that drags his adult children, his black maid, and Jake into a conflict as riveting and dramatic as the murder trial that made Brigance one of Ford County's most notorious citizens, just three years earlier. The second will raises far more questions than it answers. Why would Hubbard leave nearly all of his fortune to his maid? Had chemotherapy and painkillers affected his ability to think clearly? And what does it all have to do with a piece of land once known as Sycamore Row? John Grisham does it again.  He is such a great author weaving a great story in the land of lawyers.  Jake, the main character, was the chosen lawyer among many in this small town.  He was very likeable and had been thru a rough time due to a prior trial.  He was dedicated to his client ev...

During November I compiled a list of the things that I am most thankful for.  This thankfulness relates to my OLW for 2013 - GRATEFUL.  Here's my Thankful/Grateful List: 1.  Beauty of the Ozarks 2.  Comfort and safety in our home 3.  A beautiful fall day as we shared fellowship with church members and received forgiveness of our sins. 4.  Family and friends 5.  Rain that feeds the ground, trees, flowers and wildlife. 6.  Our herd of deer who watch us as we watch them. 7.  The Ozark Center of Hope - the individuals, churches and organizations who support the Center and especially for Sandra, our director, who is so caring and supportive of our clients. 8.  My husband who cooks for me, helps me around the house and takes care of all the little things to make my life easier. 9.  Changing of seasons. 10.  My Mom & Dad who taught me about the love of God. 11.  Our veterans - living and deceased.  Our serv...