DEAR MR. OBAMA

You will need to scroll down and turn off my music before viewing the video.

NEVER FORGET

President Bush has made many mistakes, but I am thankful to him for helping to keep this country safe from another terrorist attack. 

The people who planned and carried out 9/11 didn't know who they were dealing with. I love this ship and what it represents. Here is part of the story as it was being introduced:

It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center. It is the fifth in a new class of warship designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on September 9, 2003 'those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,' recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.'

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'

The ship's motto? 'Never Forget'

Here is the link to a great website about the ship. USS New York

I'm thankful that we live in a country that stands up to the bad guys and honors God in our darkest hours. 

Blogger Lingo

I'm trying to learn this blogger lingo. I've seen lol or LOL on a lot of blogs. I didn't know what it meant. I tried to figure it out. I thought I had it. Lots of love. Nope. That was wrong. I Googled LOL and found out it means laugh out loud. That was the first definition. There were varying forms of laugh and then I did notice that definition #7 said lots of love. I like that definition best, so when I use LOL that's what it means. Unless something is funny. Then I may use the first definition. Probably be best to just stay away from LOL but I just made some fancy signatures with LOL. Should have stayed with Hugs. I know what that means. I think. Maybe I should Google it.

I SURE LIKE THAT GUY

Graphic by http://www.christianglitter.com/ 

ARE WE WISE?

"All who listen to my instructions and follow them are wise,
like a man who builds his house on solid rock.
Though the rain comes in torrents,
and the floods rise and the storm winds beat against his house,
it won't collapse, for it is built on rock.
But those who hear my instructions and ignore them are foolish,
like a man who builds his house on sand.
For when the rains and floods come,
the storm winds beat against his house,
it will fall with a mighty crash."

Matthew 7: 24-27

I thought this picture illustrated the scripture very well. Me - I love sand castles. I like the one in the picture. But - it certainly doesn't compare to the house on the rock (hill). I want my spiritual house built on a rock and that rock is Jesus.

Click on the Spiritual Sundays picture to go to that blog to find links to other Spiritual Sunday posts. 

REMEMBER SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS

THIS IS JUST TO REMIND YOU THAT MR. LINKY WILL BE UP ON SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS BY NOON TODAY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO GET A HEADSTART. Some go ahead and post their spiritual/inspirational post on Saturday and sign up then. Some choose to wait until Sunday. Some even come back and post on Monday. A lot of people go back to Spiritual Sundays during the week to click on a link for inspiration. Ginger and I are thrilled that so many are taking advantage of this opportunity to draw closer to God.

FRIDAY SHOW & TELL at DOLLS DOLLS DOLLS

I appreciate all the nice comments about my new header. My Show & Tell for this week is about this doll. I took the picture many years ago at our home in California. This doll's name is Danforth. I hope you will visit my Dolls Dolls Dolls blog to find out more about it.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

This reality is one of the things I'm thankful for today. "In the beginning, God..."  I know I know. Many people don't think God had anything to do with it. In fact many people don't even want to believe that God exists. They think it just happened. Not me. I believe that "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . "

TLAQUEPAQUE

There is a place in Sedona, Arizona called Tlaquepaque. Don't ask me how to pronounce it. I know, but don't know how to convey it to you. We have been there a lot of times. It's a really fun place with lots of neat (or should I say "cool") shops.

I love this beautiful glass art. It's a wonder it hasn't gotten broken.

And here I am hiding that beautiful work of art. LOL

Yes, I'm playing around with that new lineform program.

MORE ABOUT INDIA

Updated 9/15/08   I originally posted this followup to my Missions 4 Monday article two weeks ago. Peggy suggested that I link it for this week's Missions 4 Monday so that's what I'm doing. I have lots of pictures that I took on our trip there. Will share some more on another Monday. I'm really excited about this mission. If you didn't see part I, look at the post for September 1.  You can click on the date to go directly there. Thank you, Peggy, for your interest.

Doesn't everyone who goes to India visit the Taj Mahal and have their picture taken there? Leah and Sharon took us there on our way from New Delhi to Kulpahar. Here is a picture of my husband and me with Leah. Why talk about India today? If you read yesterday's Monday 4 Mission post you will understand. I thought that while my thoughts were on India I would post about it again today. That trip we made there in 1999 was truly the trip of a lifetime. 

The outfit I have on is one that Leah gave me. This was taken on our last day at the mission. They had a big party for us. The outfit Hubby has on is one the tailor at the mission made for him while we were there. 

This is me and  Sosun. She was the first baby at the Kulpahar Kids' Home. In fact, it was because of her that the home was started. Actually it was because it was God's will that the home was started, but he used Sosun to show them what their mission there should be. They had originally planned to go there to work with adults and only for a short time. It's amazing how God can alter your plans at times to accomplish His will.  And my goodness, how He altered their plans. You can read about this at the following link: KKH Sosun now works at the home. It was such a privilege to get to meet and visit with her.

I shared some of my experiences in India earlier in the year. You can click here to read about my experience with a dancing bear while I was there. 

MISSION 4 MONDAY

A new-found blogging friend named Peggy is starting a new meme today called Mission 4 Monday. I met Peggy through Spiritual Sundays. 

The mission I want to introduce you to is the Kulpahar Kids' Home in Kulpahar, India. The last church we worked with before we retired has been a sponsor of this work for over 60 years. 

Would you believe that this mission was not only started by two women but has been run entirely by women all this time. 

The beginning of this mission is a very interesting exciting one. It is a long story, of course, since it begins back in the 1940's, but I'll try to give you a capsule version. 

This mission was started by two young ladies in their 20's who went to India with the intentions of staying at least 3 years. Their names were Leah and Dolly. Leah will celebrate her 90th birthday in October, and she has been there all this time. Dolly passed away several years ago. She is buried in a little cemetery by their church. Two other women have joined Leah since the mission was started. Their names are Linda and Sharon. 

They have raised hundreds of Indian children who have gone on to become doctors, teachers, nurses, etc. They are making a difference for Christ in a country that is primarily Hindu and Muslim. 

The history of this mission and what they are doing now is nothing less than miraculous. My husband and I visited there in 1999 and spent about three weeks. The second picture is one of my husband and I with Leah as she celebrated her birthday while we were there. Incidentally, I celebrated my birthday that year there as well. Leah's birthday is four days after mine. 

This is a picture of the girls' hostel. 

Clif, Charlotte & Leah

Leah has come home every three years for the last several decades. I say comes "home". Actually she has been in India so long that it is her real home. This last picture was taken at the church during her last visit to the United States. The outfit I have on was made for me while I was in India in 1999 by the tailor at the mission. 

Kulpahar Kids' Home has a website now. This is quite amazing when you consider that when the home was started, they didn't even have electricity. Here is the link to their site: KULPAHAR KIDS HOME . I hope you will  go there to find out more about the mission. 

I am grateful to Peggy for starting this meme and am anxious to find out about other missions.