Happy Halloween

Adrian is only two this Halloween and not in the least interested in giving out or gathering in candy. He and his Mommy, Daddy and little baby brother came to our house to have dinner and avoid the tricksters on their street. I was hoping that one or two trick-or-treaters would come by while he was here, just to give him an idea of the children's holiday fun.

Alas, this is the weekend for the time change and it didn't get dark until around 7:00, just after the Moza's went home. So I guess I'll just have to wait another year to see if this Halloween thing excites him or not. Maybe his parents will let us take him to our church Fun Fest.

Treasure let me put on her fancy Halloween collar and even allowed a picture or two - not a very happy moment. Then she went back to the TV room and settled on to the sofa for a nap. She missed all the ringing of the doorbell and the little trick-or-treaters. I bought one large bag of packaged M & M's and gave them all out.

Halloween is officially over at our house tonight. The lights are out, the clocks have been moved back an hour, and I can safely sleep till 8:00 tomorrow morning and get to church on time. It will feel normal to wake up with a little more light in the morning and sit down for supper as the sun goes down. So... Happy Halloween, and don't forget to change your clocks!

Kindness... Goodness

We are now on the fifth and sixth characteristics of the fullness of the Spirit. Quoting Beth Moore, "Kindness and goodness are complementary aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Without kindness, goodness becomes harsh and self-righteous. Without goodness, kindness becomes indulgent tolerance."

The Greek word for Kindness means "tender concern for others." This was first displayed by God the Father as He dealt with the individuals who would become His fledgling nation, Israel. It was further displayed by Christ, our Savior, in His attitude toward children (Matt. 18:1-9 and Matt. 19:13-15); toward Israel (Matt. 23:27-39); and toward the individual (John 20:1-18 and 24-31.) We have been given examples of tender-hearted kindness which we are to emulate, but only through the yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Goodness, on the other hand, speaks more of action; it is character energized. As believers, we have been entrusted with certain "assignments", also denoted "good works" (Eph. 2:10) that must be put into action. Quoting Beth again, "In His sovereignty, God has chosen to do His work through us. If we miss our ministry, we will miss our entire purpose in remaining here."

Yet another aspect of goodness is this: all that is good, profitable or beneficial (see Titus 3:1-8) is not always fun, easy, or pleasant. Sometimes we are called to impart goodness to another by correcting or rebuking according to the Word of God. The process may be painful, but it is always profitable. In order to avoid bringing harm with a rebuke, God has first equipped us with Kindness, His own personal safeguard to confrontation.

Beth's final warning is that "you must be yielded to God to be a proper vessel of confrontational goodness... Goodness is never a personal issue, nor a personal platform, nor for personal gain."

I am seeing more and more that the words on the pages of Galatians 5:23 are not just pretty pieces of fruit in a handsome basket. Humanly speaking, we can pick a trait and wear it for a while, then put it back when it gets inconvenient. Being yielded to the Holy Spirit enables us to channel those traits when God needs to act through us, thereby bypassing our natural inclinations that are so often tainted with sin.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness..."

(Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself.)

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

After the rain left and the cold front passed through, the day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. The sun was just warm enough that we left our sweaters in the car as we wandered through the pumpkin patch at the Methodist Church. And Adrian loved every minute of it!

There are more pumpkins here than he could imagine.

Just have to touch it a little before getting comfortable around it.

Are all these pumpkins just for me?

Here's one that's just the right size to pick up and... throw!

This is almost too good to be true!

I love the idea of the pumpkin patch. In recent years several churches in the city bring them in by the truckload, primarily to sell, which certainly helps the church. What is so special, though, is their willingness to let parents and grandparents bring their babies and young children in for wonderful Fall pictures. Thank you, Methodist Church!

All About Patience

I just finished my lesson for my ladies' Bible study this week. We are learning about the fruit of the Spirit and this week is all about patience. I have learned that I can't fully understand the patience that is the Spiritual fruit until I first understand the patience that is normally understood as endurance.

There are two Greek words that are used for patience in the Bible: hupomone and makrothumia. The first is the word for endurance or bearing up, and it relates to things or circumstances. I often find myself groping for patience in a particular situation. That is hupomone and it is often paired with the word "hope," as in "I hope I have the patience to finish this project before the end of the day!" The Biblical concept of hope is a "positive outlook toward an expected end." Can you relate to that?

On the other hand, makrothumia is a divinely appointed Spiritual fruit that primarily means to be long-suffering. Makrothumia is patience in respect to persons. While hupomone is inspired by hope, makrothumia is inspired by mercy. The kind of mercy that always accompanies makrothumia is a Greek word that is also used to describe God. There is a critical correlation here. And that is that this kind of patience is released only through the filling of the Holy Spirit in one's life.

Having this fresh understanding from my Bible study really helps me to identify the times when I have tried to deal with situations, circumstances and people in my own strength. I simply don't have the resources, but God does. What I do have is access to His vast storehouse from which to find all that I need to face life. Do you?

(Substance of this post is taken from "Living Beyond Yourself", Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit, by Beth Moore.)

Our Newest Addition ~ Andrew

Meredith and Cristi have blessed us again with a beautiful, healthy grandson. Andrew Graham Moza was born yesterday, October 16th, 2009, at 11:45 a.m. He's a little sprite, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces, but also long and lanky at 20 inches. As deliveries go, this one was pretty easy, as second births usually are. This time there were plenty of nurses to help with the main event, leaving me free to take pictures at opportune moments. They are all on Meredith's camera, though, so these two photos have been lifted off Facebook.

Andrew Graham, meet your pretty Mommie.

This was taken about twenty minutes after he was born and had been cleaned up, weighed and dressed. Mommie was feeling much better too!

They finally got moved into a room around dinnertime and Andrew is all cozy in this gown and with his hair brushed nicely. I have to hand it to Meredith and Cristi ~ they sure do make beautiful babies!

Check Meredith's blog soon for more pictures, especially now they are home and introducing Adrian to his little brother. Can't you just imagine the fun that will take place in a few years!

Best Buds Forever!

It Took the Slow Boat from Britain

Way back in July, when Meredith was planning the decor for the boys' room, she found this adorable cross stitch birth announcement online and requested it for Andrew. Of all the little boy themes available, this one was the best and most suitable for their room. So I clicked and ordered and settled in to wait the usual 5 - 8 days for it to come in the mail.

After three weeks, I emailed the company about the delay and they wrote back that this particular item took 3 - 5 weeks and I should just be patient. So, that's when I started working on the "fruit of the Spirit" piece that is now about 3/4 finished. One thing that stitching does for you is teach patience! So I patiently stitched away between trips to the mailbox.

When six weeks had passed with no sign of my chart, I emailed the company again, this time whining about wanting to have the announcement finished for my grandson who was now due in a month. **whine, whine** So they emailed me back saying this chart had been ordered from a company in England and they were so sorry that it was taking so long to get here. They would be happy to cancel my order, etc., etc., etc. (Or as kids today say, "Blah, blah, blah!") I didn't even answer that one.

Monday was a post office holiday - Columbus Day - so when Tuesday's mail came, we had double the amount and, sandwiched in with some catalogs was my long-awaited chart! Here is the cover picture, and I now have the cloth and threads to get started. I think it will be fun as it has lots of little parts to stitch so not much boredom is involved!


The colors are nice "boy" colors but all are a little muted. That's going to go really well in their room. Meredith has stayed away from bright primary colors and soft pastels. So this is a good middle ground. Stay tuned for some updates as I get started.

Let me see. One of the characteristics of the Spirit, I believe, is patience. Bring it on!

Another Good Treasure Report

Today was Treasure's scheduled cancer checkup. She has seen Dr. Earl so many times in the last month to have her eyes checked, we almost forgot about the cancer. And she has been so otherwise healthy that it's been easy to forget about the cancer.

So today we had two pieces of good news. Her eyes are just about completely healed. The ulcer that has given us so much grief is nearly gone. We just need to finish out the little bottle of steroid drops and then only use artificial tears in both eyes as needed.

After that good news, Dr. Earl took her back for her ultrasound. I love it when the technician brings her back to me. No matter who brings her in, they always comment on her sweet nature and what a good dog she is while getting her exam! I wish I could take credit for that good behavior, but I've said hundreds of times that whoever raised her before I got her did a remarkable job. She really is the best dog I've ever been around.

But back to the ultrasound... Dr. Earl, who has the biggest, most infectious smile, came back and gave me one of those smiles as he told me that this tumor, called "transitional cell carcinoma" (if you want to google that), has continued to form an "envelope" around itself, thus preventing any "tentacles" from blocking the opening of the bladder. This is not typical of TCC. And he has no explanation for it, except that prayer and good medicine are working together in this little dog. He archives the ultrasound images and went back through them today - incidentally, we have been seeing him for a year now - and he's just amazed (and pleased) at what he found. And I'm so grateful for a dear friend who prodded me out of my misery and into Dr. Earl's office.

After all that good news, what should a doggie do when she gets home? That's a "no-brainer! We went straight upstairs so she could take a nap at my feet. I have an internet friend who signs her blogposts with this phrase: "My little dog... a heartbeat at my feet." So, so true.

Choir Night Means Soup for Supper

Choir nights are usually difficult dinner nights. We don't want to eat anything that will fill, bloat, bubble or otherwise annoy the person we're sitting next to! So I try to find some neutral food that will just take the hunger edge off and hold us till after choir. Now that Autumn is here, I'll be making more Wednesday night soups. Here is what I did tonight.

I love learning things from our young generation. This "chicken base" was a request from Kate when she made her delicious Tomato soup. I had never heard of it, but after tonight, it's going to remain in my refrigerator indefinitely! This base makes a very rich broth for a soup starter.

This is something I found at HEB some time ago that I use to coax Treasure to eat when she's on one of her "fasting" days. On other days, she just enjoys a few chunks of this chicken in her food. I used one cup - which is about 1/2 cup - of grilled chicken pieces.

This is Mexican rice from Alamo Cafe. I never know what to do with leftovers from Alamo Cafe. Sometimes Graham will cook the refried beans in a breakfast taco, but usually the rice gets thrown out after a few days. This is about a cup of seasoned rice. As the soup cooked, the seasonings from the rice were incorporated into the broth. I didn't add any other spices.

This lovely okra came from Meredith's garden. After the hundred degree heat hit, the okra was about the only thing left standing! I figured it was time to do something with it, so I chopped it up and threw it into the pot!

Also in the pot is a handful of fresh parsley and about a half cup of frozen corn. I let this boil, then simmer on the stove for about a half hour.

Here we have a delicious bowl of soup and some Asiago cheese toast for our pre-choir supper. Now we just need to find our notes and warm up the old pipes! And we're off to choir!

The Fruit of the Spirit

Our Ladies' Bible study is doing Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" study this fall. It's an in depth look at the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit found in Galatians 5. We are now in Week 4 and looking at the Biblical facets of Joy. I love the fact that Beth always directs us to find much more in the Scriptures about a subject than we ever thought possible. This study is not a disappointment.

After I finished my cross stitch of the Amish house last month, I glanced at the cover of that leaflet and beheld three baskets of fruit! So, while I'm waiting for a birth announcement chart to come, I rummaged through my stitching drawer and pulled out some Aida cloth, gathered up my threads, and set to work on this one. Instead of the Scripture verse on the chart, I am going to try to fit in the verse (or part of it) from Galatians 5, listing all nine of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. Quite aptly, this week I'm finding much JOY in my stitching!

Before and After

It has been many weeks since Treasure had her last haircut. Quite honestly, I always think that she's getting her last one, and then she gets her check up with Dr. Earl and we breathe a sigh of relief and settle in like everything is normal.

Then, about eight weeks ago, she developed her eye trouble. It started out looking like an allergy, with goopy stuff appearing throughout the day. Her eye doctor said she had dry eye and gave me some drops for it. Right away Treasure was agitated when I put the drops in her left eye. So after a few days of her rubbing it and pawing at it, I stopped them in that eye but continued to treat the "goopy" one.

BEFORE

At her cancer check up with Dr. Earl, he was as concerned about her eyes as he was with her bladder and set us up with some different drops. (Treasure's Eyes) Again, the drops in her left eye agitated her to the point that she scratched the cornea and developed an ulcer.

I say all this as an explanation for her long, shaggy hair - especially on her face and around her eyes. Our weekly visits to the doctor and the slow progression of healing (Bad News and Good News) has made me hesitant to let the groomer's close to her face. Imagine how happy I was last week when Dr. Earl was encouraged with her healing! I decided it was probably better to risk a little water in her eyes and get a much needed haircut! Sooooo....

I took her to Petsmart on Wednesday, with stern instructions to be very careful around her eyes, and look at this pretty puppy I picked up! What a difference a haircut makes! Of course, the groomer doesn't realize that Treasure is not a fru-fru doggie, so she happily put little pink bows beside her ears! We waited just long enough to get a picture to give her buddy Jefferson before ripping those bows off her head!

AFTER

Isn't she sweet? Getting the hair away from her eyes makes them look so much better. And at our appointment on Thursday, Dr. Earl was encouraged enough to put her on some steroid drops that should bring the rest of the swelling down. She still has dry eye, but I think we've found a way to work with that without causing more problems. And it won't be long - after only a few more walks - until she's gotten rid of the "beauty shop shine" and is back to being her rough and tumble self again! And that's a good thing.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After all the rain from this weekend, I'm happy to report that Treasure's "beauty shop shine" is now gone! And her eyes improve daily, giving her back her Westie confidence and energy that were lacking for a few weeks.