Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa where cloudy skies. snow, and above average temps have been the theme of this week's weather.  Today we woke up to sunshine for the first time in over a week!  We are supposed to get up to 42 degrees tomorrow, which is unheard of in early February.  I expect Joel will be able to get the outdoor Christmas lights down now.  With the past five weeks being spent in Rochester (coming home most weekends) they are not yet put away.

Speaking of Rochester, we have now been home a few days and are getting back into the routine.  We definitely miss the people we met there and the activities.  Awfully quiet in this place!  It has made us more aware than ever that it is mostly "just the two of us" and even though we enjoy each other's company, we miss our family.  We miss our good friends who stepped into a new lifestyle over a year ago.  We miss having a church to call our own.  With all the Interim and fill-in work Joel has done over the past few years, we have not had one church family.  The church has always been the spiritual AND social center of our lives, and with the center missing?

Speaking of church, last Sunday we were in Rochester and went to a church we chose after reading about it online, but to be honest, we were very disappointed in the service.  Not only disappointed but stunned by how little God was mentioned by the Pastor or worship leaders. We went back to our room after and live streamed (on my laptop) Lutheran Church of Hope which is in West Des Moines IA.  We really enjoy their worship, their focus, their expressed faith in Jesus.

We have greatly enjoyed watching BritBox which is all British TV shows. Since there was no cable in our rooms at the Lodge, we used and HDMI cord and hooked up my laptop to the TV in our room so we could watch Netflix, BritBox, Youtube, BethelTV, etc.  It was nice to have something to watch at the end of the day.   One of our favorites is a very light half comedy and half mystery detective show called "Shakespeare and Hathaway".  In the midst of challenges it is good to laugh.

Speaking of TV, watching more news this week has made me aware of how much stress it brings into our lives.  I know it is important to stay informed, whether it is a virus coming out of China or a political drama taking place in Washington DC ( and when is there NOT drama there?) but our world can seem very unstable and scary when we tune in to the news.  Somehow we need to keep a balance~ remembering that no matter what is coming or already here, God is with us.

Today is one of our grandson's birthdays and it is also my sister Jan's birthday.  She has been a blessing in my life from the time I was born,  She is 11 years older than me, but looks younger.  Now I ask you, is that fair?  Ha   I love you Jan~ Happy Birthday!!

Jan and Renee 2015

Laughter is the best medicine!

So, what books are you reading?  I have a David Rosenfelt mystery in one hand and Ana Werner's book "The Warrior's Dance" in the other.  One opens my world to more of the Spirit realm, the other, gives me a mystery to escape into.

Have a good weekend!