Remembering 9/11

I posted this last year at this time, but I have more people following and everything I wrote then, is still true...  Today, this country should stop, and take time to remember the tragedy of 9/11 AND it's hope! It is something that we should never forget. We, as Americans, are NOT invulnerable to terrorist attacks, and we should be praying for this country, and its leaders, everyday!

I also want to keep in mind the wonderful way that so many people became heroes that day, just by showing love and care to those around them.

So many risked their lives for people they didn’t even know, and for so long afterward, so many “linked arms” and worked together to support each other in their times of sorrow and suffering.

9/11, for me, was also the day I knew my Mama (or Nana, as everyone called her) was going to die VERY soon. She had been fighting cancer for quite a while, and that day, when she saw the horrifying start of what I know she thought would be World War III, instead of fighting back, by praying as she had always done in every trial, she told me to turn off the TV because she was just too tired… Her body lasted another 5 days, but she finally let go and went home to her rest in Heaven with all of her loved ones here on earth to say good-bye, for a time, around her. I know, at that same time, that all of her loved ones up in Heaven were there to meet her and have a glad reunion the second after her spirit left here… her sister, her brothers, my dad, my brother… so many that had left ahead of her that she loved.

I have a hard time, at this time of year, remembering, but I also try to remember that here on earth, all things have an end except the love that has been shared. I know that she is just one more of those precious treasures that are laid up in Heaven for me to see when I get there. I am so thankful for the time I had with her and for the lessons in love that she taught me.

Nana wasn’t perfect, and neither was my Daddy, but that was because they were human. They did the best they could and they ALWAYS tried to do things out of love for us and others. They didn’t “preach” but just lived lives that showed their love and faith. My Ma would answer questions if I asked for advice, but she didn’t tell me how to run my life... she showed me, through hers.

When I was young and went my own way for a time, she let me, but I always knew I could come back and that she would love me, and she did. I know, now, the tears that she shed for me and the prayers that she said for me, for I am a mother now, with children that have gone on to lives of their own away from my area.

I was truly blessed by the gift of my wonderful parents that God gave me, as well as the gift of having had the chance to live in this country. Though things are bad and in many cases, getting worse, there are still a lot of good, wonderful, loving people in this country, and I need to do my part, whenever possible, to be a servant that shows the Master’s love to those I am brought in contact with.


Thank You, Lord, for the life You’ve given me… for my parents, and other loved ones, and for this country. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I have misused the privileges you provided, and help me to walk in your steps, daily, so that others see You in me, like I saw You through my Mama. Amen.


Here are the words to a song that helps me when I need encouragement. God truly does "Raise Me Up..."

Turn on your sound, you will be able to hear this wonderful, uplifting song. Enjoy… and get out the hanky…

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

There is no life – no life without its hunger;

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

Another "Show and Tail" Post

Time for another "Tuesdays' Show & Tail" hosted by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known. If you’d like to join, HERE is the link to the Guidelines.

Today, I thought I’d tell you about the first doggy love of my life. My Mom told me that I was only a few months old when my dad came home with a little, almost dead Chihuahua/Doxie puppy. It was covered with lice and fleas and several of its littermates had already died. They got the little thing cleaned up and de-bugged, cleared up it’s mange and gave her the name Bootsie because she was a dark honey color with four white boots and a white tip on her tail. (She's the pup between us)

They said she took to me right from the first and would lay with me gently for hours. Many is the night that I would fall asleep rubbing her soft, silky ear between my fingers. Bootsie, and Lena and Gonie (my two invisible friends) were my constant companions for the first 4 or 5 years of my life until my sister got old enough to play with, and then Bootsie was still always there.

This was over 50 years ago and it wasn’t horrible to have puppies, so Bootsie had a lot of them. That’s where I learned how to help birth them- though she seldom needed any kind of help, and mostly we just watched.

Bootsie was a born “MOTHER!” She raised puppies, and kittens and even a little duck! It was so funny because ducks tend to follow their mother’s while puppies don’t. That first day, she’d pick up the little thing and take it to her nest under the house (she always hid her puppies after a few days… probably to give them peace from us kids) and it would follow her back out, so she’d pick it up again and take it back… That went on for several hours until she finally gave up and brought all the pups out into a box Mama put in the washroom.

It was so funny to watch when the puppies would nurse, because the duckling would pick up a teat and sort of gently pull on it and open and shut it’s little beak on it like ducks do when they are grooming each other. At least THAT was a “puppy” she didn’t have to give up, and for many years, whenever they saw each other (when Bootsie would go outside into the back yard or chicken yard (later) they would go up to each other and Bootsie would lick the duck’s face and “Peep-Peep” would do little ducky kisses up and down Bootsie’s back. We have 8mm movie pics of that. This is a picture of my grandma, parents, sisters and me. I'm holding Bootsie and my sister is holding our new puppy, Petunia.

I had that precious little friend for the first eleven years of my life, and she was a very special part of it because I was kind of a shy, quiet little girl… always heavy… and, especially during those last years of her life (my pre-adolescent years) she was always there for me, loving me throughout everything… the kid’s teasing, my Dad’s heart attacks, etc.

I was heart broken, of course, when she took the "Rainbow Bridge," and what is so interesting is that I had never heard of the Rainbow Bridge until only a couple of years ago, but the night she died, when I thought I would too, and I wanted to follow her so badly, I dreamed of walking with her in a wooded area.

We came to an old bridge that crossed a river that was far below and there were mists raising off of it. It was night and the moon was shining so full. When we got there, Bootsie started to cross it and I tried to go with her, but she turned around and looked me in the eyes and I knew that she was telling me that I had to stay, and she had to go... I watched her finish crossing, and when she got to the angel on the other side, she turned again, to say good-bye, and then they went off into the woods on that side. That dream is still so very clear in my mind...

Faith and Thankfulness…

I heard someone last week, that said that “Faith is believing in a God that we can’t see AND deciding that HE should be in charge of our lives BECAUSE He is wiser than we are.”

It is true that I’ve never seen God’s (physical) face, but I have seen the work of His hands in the earth and in the sky, and in the things that He has done for me throughout my life. He gave me very special parents and Christian teachers and mentors, and though my wonderful Daddy died in 1969 when I was 17, I can see now that God has used that horribly wrenching experience to lead me into paths I never would have taken if he hadn’t been taken to Heaven. I KNOW that he loved God and I will see him again, too.

I saw how He worked in my Mom’s life and her faith as she struggled to raise me and my two younger sisters. I saw how He blessed that faith and took care of us over the years. I saw her faith in Him, even as she struggled to fight the cancer that finally sent her to Heaven, too, in 2001. Faith, Hope and Love are so much a part of each other, working together to help us grow in God's Kingdom!

I saw many miracles as I worked in a place called the Upper Room Drug and Crisis Center in San Jose during the time I attended San Jose Bible College in the early 70's. All of these things have helped to build my faith over the years.

I’ve seen God working in my children’s lives and the way that He has miraculously saved their lives over the years and helped them as they’ve followed Him. I’ll have to put in some of those stories here in the future.

The more I’ve seen, the more my faith has grown so that I can pray in faith and power, when it is needed. I’ve learned that FAITH is the opposite of worry (and vice versa), and that worry short circuits the FULL power that God can bring to bear on my problems when I DO trust in Him fully.



I am a truly “God Blessed” person, and I am so very thankful to Him for HIS Faithfulness to me. I know that He loves me, even though I have made some bad mistakes in my life, but through HIS mercy, He has forgiven me, and given me peace for the most part. I still stumble and have a tendency to not forgive myself sometimes, but He keeps reminding me of His love for me… and for THAT I am truly thankful!

Remembering 9/11 and My Mama…

Today, this country should stop, and take time to remember the tragedy of 9/11 AND it's hope! It is something that we should never forget. We, as Americans, are NOT invulnerable to terrorist attacks, and we should be praying for this country, and its leaders, everyday!

I also want to keep in mind the wonderful way that so many people became heroes that day, just by showing love and care to those around them.

So many risked their lives for people they didn’t even know, and for so long afterward, so many “linked arms” and worked together to support each other in their times of sorrow and suffering.

9/11, for me, was also the day I knew my Mama (or Nana, as everyone called her) was going to die VERY soon. She had been fighting cancer for quite a while, and that day, when she saw the horrifying start of what I know she thought would be World War III, instead of fighting back, by praying as she had always done in every trial, she told me to turn off the TV because she was just too tired… Her body lasted another 5 days, but she finally let go and went home to her rest in Heaven with all of her loved ones here on earth to say good-bye, for a time, around her. I know, at that same time, that all of her loved ones up in Heaven were there to meet her and have a glad reunion the second after her spirit left here… her sister, her brothers, my dad, my brother… so many that had left ahead of her that she loved.

I have a hard time, at this time of year, remembering, but I also try to remember that here on earth, all things have an end except the love that has been shared. I know that she is just one more of those precious treasures that are laid up in Heaven for me to see when I get there. I am so thankful for the time I had with her and for the lessons in love that she taught me.

Nana wasn’t perfect, and neither was my Daddy, but that was because they were human. They did the best they could and they ALWAYS tried to do things out of love for us and others. They didn’t “preach” but just lived lives that showed their love and faith. My Ma would answer questions if I asked for advice, but she didn’t tell me how to run my life... she showed me, through hers.

When I was young and went my own way for a time, she let me, but I always knew I could come back and that she would love me, and she did. I know, now, the tears that she shed for me and the prayers that she said for me, for I am a mother now, with children that have gone on to lives of their own away from my area.

I was truly blessed by the gift of my wonderful parents that God gave me, as well as the gift of having had the chance to live in this country. Though things are bad and in many cases, getting worse, there are still a lot of good, wonderful, loving people in this country, and I need to do my part, whenever possible, to be a servant that shows the Master’s love to those I am brought in contact with.

Thank You, Lord, for the life You’ve given me… for my parents, and other loved ones, and for this country. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I have misused the privileges you provided, and help me to walk in your steps, daily, so that others see You in me, like I saw You through my Mama. Amen.

Here are the words to a song that helps me when I need encouragement. God truly does "Raise Me Up..."

If you click on the link and turn on your sound, you will be able to hear that is wonderful, uplifting song. Enjoy… and get out the hanky…

You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

There is no life – no life without its hunger;

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.