Eight gifts that do not cost a cent

Christmas is almost here and so is the New Year. We are all shopping for that perfect gift, but there are gifts that are free to share.

1. THET GIFT OF LISTENING...But you must really listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening. (Sometimes I forget).
2.  THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends. 
3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."
4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...It can be a simple "Thanks for the help" note, or a longer message. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may change a life, you never know.
5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT...A simple and sincere, "You look great in red," "You did a super job", or "That was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day. 
6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR...Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.
7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.
8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone. It is not that hard to say, Hello or Thank you!

Friends are like a rare jewel. They make us smile and encourage us to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, they make us laugh and they always want to open their hearts to us. So it is only fair for us to be "friends" to others. 

Remember, no one knows what the next year will bring, but one thing is for sure. God will be with us to help us endure any difficulty that we may face.

.......Do not be afraid or terrified..for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.      Deuteronomy 31:6  (NIV)

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Blessings for the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

What blessings have you experienced lately? I am sure there are many. However, sometimes we fail to recognized them as blessings, because they may be viewed as too "insignificant".

Did you have hot water for your shower this morning?  Did you enjoy a hot cup of coffee? How about food for you and your family. Did you get good results from your recent CT scan?, MRI, Ultrasound? Are you fortunate to have a family: parents, siblings, children, spouse? Are you able to walk, talk, drive, hear and see? How about that car accident you just missed and was pretected from? I had a few of those. Or maybe your child got admitted to the college of his/her choice? Did a neighbor or friend bring you soup or food when you were sick? We have been blessed with wonderful, wholsesome neigbors, and friends all of our lives. They bring us goodies and are there for us when we need help. Recently, when we had some bad winds and some big branches fell from our trees, neighbors from both side of us came over and took care of them for us. Now that was a BIG Blessing! And last year, our neighbors we had in California, flew here with their two lovely children, just to celebrate Galen's BIG birthday! That was another blessing. Sometimes blessings are small, such as an encouraging word, and other times they are big and noticeable, such as buying a new house, or an answered prayer. 

WOW....I guess I can go on forever....you get the idea.  

Blessings may be different for everybody, and sometimes we tend to ignore them, but we need to recognize them as what they really are, and start cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Where do you think these blessings are coming from? Most of them are not from our own doing, because we have no control over some things.  

What blessings from God have you experienced lately? Take a moment to reflect how He has blessed you in good times and bad. Recognize and remember His goodness, faithfulness, mercy and love. Start praising Him now and don't stop.

Happy Thanksgiving!!     

 

Autumn/Fall is in full swing

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, second to Spring. Both seasons have a great significance. Spring is all about renewal. Fall is about approacing the end of the year. I love watching the trees changing colors to yellow, orange and red. It is as if you are watching a living canvas, especially when looking out at the trees in the horizon. I feel so blessed living in NWA (North West Arkansas) where we have all four seasons. In Southern California where I lived for over 50 years, we only had 2 seasons, hot in the summer and cooler and wet in the winter. The trees and shrubs in our backyard were mostly olive trees, pink crepe myrtles, oleanders with flowers in shades of pink, red and white, a bottlebrush tree with beautiful red flowers, that always attracted hummingbirds, and a bunch of cypress trees, between us and our neighbors. Most of these trees were green all year round and some of them shed their leaves, but they never changed colors. Nevetheless, they were beautiful in their own way. 

Here in Arkansas, we have red maples, redbuds, dogwoods, pine trees and a bunch of oak and walnut trees. They all change colors and the leaves fall to the ground for us to pick up. That is not my favorite thing to do, but it's ok, because we get to see the beauty of the colors first. This time of the year, the air starts to feel cooler and fresh, which is a welcoming thing after the hot, humid summer months.  Nature and the changing seasons always teaches us lessons about God. It reminds us that there is a season to our lives as well. In every season we can be useful and productive in different ways. In our younger days we work and labor and  in our later years we get to see the harvest and rewards. We get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We see the faithfulness of God and his promises fulfilled, when we obey His commands. There may have been some seasons in our lives we did not like. However, because we have time to look back, and reflect, we understand why some things happened or did not happen.   

One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is the Book of Ecclesiastes. The author of the book is King Solomon, who we are told was the wisest man who ever lived (other than Jesus).  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.". 

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to weep and a time to laugh.

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to keep and a time to throw away. 

A time for peace and a time for war

and more...........

The message of this book is that Life withour God is meaningless. We will have happy times, sad times and challenging times in our lives, and yet we can rejoice in each season and be thankful to God who is always with us. He is there to guide us, protect us and care for us. Remember that God is in control and follow God's commandments....to the best of your ability. Sometimes we fall short in the category. We. We may slip here and there, because of our human nature, but God is loving and very forgiving. 

Ecclesiastes is a great book to read because it reveals to us how little control we have over our lives, contrary to what we may believe. It also teaches us lessons to apply to each of our seasons.

Be thankful for the season in your life.    

Have a Geat Day!

 

    

Have you examined your heart lately?

 Our car stays in the garage for the most part, therefore it stays pretty clean. Every so often though it undergoes a thorough cleaning. Last time we washed the car and detailed it meticulously, it made me think how often we clean and take care of our cars, homes, how we look, and how we dress, yet we fall short in taking time to examine and cleanse our heart and our "inner being". It is as important to care for our "inner being" as it is to care for our "outer being". 

Why are we so meticulous and focused in cleaning our cars, then cleaning our thoughts, behaviors and relationships? Unfortunately, our world is becoming darker and darker. Kids are exposed to bad ideas, evil thoughts and teachings, and it seems like they don't have a responsible adult to correct them, or lead them to the right path.  This has been creeping up to us slowly but surely in the last 30 or 40 years. The schools have failed us and so have our government representatives who we have elected into high positions. 

The senseless shooting of Charlie Kirk, September 10, 2025, is a perfect example of the pure evil that is out there. Young people are shooting innocent, wholesome and God fearing people, because they don't agree with their ideologies or religious faith. When did this behavior become the norm? When did it become acceptable? The other disturbing thing is that there are supporters of these shooters, cheering and applauding this horrific behavior. I believe most of this is the result of not having wholesome people guiding these individuals. We are too busy with satisfying ourselves, our desires and wants, then stopping to analyze our "inner being" and our spiritual and mental health. We need to take time to clean our minds and hearts daily. It should be a routine such as taking a shower and brushing our teeth. This can be hard to do on our own, but we can ask God to help us. Our inner self is described as being renewed daily, even as we get older and our outer self diminishes. It is never too late. We can examine and  transform our hearts to bring hope, peace and God's love through the Holy Spirit. 

Hebrews 3:12  See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

Proverbs 4:20-21   My son, pay attention to what I say, turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. 

Let's practice on examining, cleansing and renewing our hearts and minds daily. This includes me as well.......

 Have a Blessed Month!

 

 

 

 

Discontentment

 Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich. 

"Be content with what you have because God has said "Never I will leave you; never will I forsake you."      Hebrews 13:5

"Godliness with contentment is great gain. We come into this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing."                   1 Timothy 6:6-7

Philippians speaks of Paul's ability to be content in both abundance and need, learning to be content in any and every circumstance through Christ.                  Philippians 4:11-13

Let's be content and grateful in all that we have.

Have a Blessed day!

Don't put it off

 Do it this very moment! Don't put it off-Don't wait.

There is no use in doing a kindness If you do it a day too late!.....Kingsley

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth......Proverbs 27:1

Another month is almost coming to an end. We are enduring the heat and humidity, but I am thankful for all our blessings and how God watches over us. Two months ago we went on a cruise to Europe and both Galen and I got very ill with pneumonia. I never thought we could get it, since we had taken the pneumonia vaccines a few years ago. However, that is not the case. Having the vaccine doesn't mean you are immune to it, just that you get a "milder" case. Well, if that was mild I would hate to experience the stronger one. My grandfather died from pneumonia in the hospital and so did my father-in-law. It is not to be taken lightly, especially when you get older. Thankfully, the medical staff on the ship took good care of us and we survived it. It could have ended up a lot worse. You see, we cannot predict the future, which is actually a good thing. We probably would not want to know. But what I realized is that we need to take action with the things we want to do or say and not put them off.

Recently, there have also been many disasters in many States. There have been floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, airplane crashes and murders, just to mention a few things. One day families were together and the next day their loved ones were gone! What an unexpected loss. I cannot even begin to imagine the sudden grief they have to endure. I wonder how many things were left unsaid or how many things were left unresolved, because they thought there will always be another day to deal with it. Why do we always leave things for later? How much time do we think we have? My mother used to really bug me, because she wanted me to do things "now", and I would say: I don't have time, I will do it later.

I remember a couple of instances where I wished I would have not postponed what I wanted to do. 

We had a neighbor, her name was Pat. She was a widow. She had a daughter who lived in another state. I had never met her. Pat got sick and I called her a few times and promised I would go visit. She kept asking me to come over. Well, time went by and one Saturday morning I called to see if I could visit. An unfamiliar voice answered the phone. I explained who I was and why I was calling. She told me she was Pat's daughter from Minnesota. To my big surprise I was told that Pat had passed away that very morning! I was stunned and sad at the same time. I had waited too long. I regretted that I had not acted sooner. That taught me a lesson. Have you ever had that happen to you?

On my daily devotion a couple of days ago I came across an article in the Los Angeles Times.. (not my favorite paper).It was submitted by Ann Wells and the title is "A story to live by"

She wrote:

"My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This", he said is not a slip. This is lingerie" He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Everyday you are alive is a special occasion. "

I remember those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California, from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I thought about all the things that she had not seen, heard or done. I am still thinking about his words, and they changed my life. 

I am reading more and dusting less. I am sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I am spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I am trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them. I am not "saving" anything. We use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped and the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. I am not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends. 

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it is worth seeing, hearing or doing, I want to see, hear and do it now. I am not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think she would have called some family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I am guessing-I'll never know/ It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get intouch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letter that I intended to write-one of these days.Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough that I love them."

So, you see, the point of the story is that we don't know how much time we have on this earth. Don't put things off. Don't wait for tomorrow or a special moment because tomorrow may never come. 

DO IT NOW!

God Bless

 

 

Teach us to number our days......

 "Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are: help us to spend them as we should."                                                                                                                                           Psalm 90: 2 (TLB)

God always gives us instructions. Unfortunately, we don't always pay attention to what he is trying to teach us. We think we know everything. We are like little rebelious kids who don't want to obey our parents, and most often run into trouble. We find out, or recognize that our parents were right, but in most cases it is too late. We have learned our lesson the hard way. We want to fail our way. We are too proud to listen and obey. This becomes more evident as we get older, and we have time to evaluate our life.  

Our Father in heaven, through his Word in the Bible, is talking to us. All we need to do is read the word, study it and figure out what he is telling us. The hard part is to obey, but it is never too late to start. 

Choice, not chance, determines our destiny. Let's make the right choices.

Have a blessed day!  

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Happy Easter

 Easter is just around the corner. This year all Christians are celebrating Easter on the same day, April 20. This only happens every 4 or 5 years. It has to do with the Julian vs the Gregorian Calendar. The Eastern Orthodox religions follow the Julian Calendar and everyone else follows the Gregorian. It gets complicated. Regardless, Christians all over the world are celebrating the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection. This is a very happy ending to all the horrible things He had to endure, and a joyous time for his followers. We owe Him our love, respect, loyalty, obedience and gratitude.

Unfortunetly, there is still a lot of misery in the world, that we cannot explain. Tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, leaving many people dead or homeless. Russia and Ukraine are still at war and so is Israel and Hamas, and those are not the only wars. There are others going on in other parts of the world that we don't hear about, or they don't make the big news. Many Christians are persecuted and tortured in some parts of the  world, by Muslims and Hindus to name a few. We wish we could all live in peace, but that's not how it is. There is a lot of hatred going around, and yet there are also a lot of blessings surrounding our lives. Sometimes those blessings are ignored or failed to be recognized. Those could be things that we take for granted. Are we ignoring family members, just because they are always there? Do we recognize how much they mean to us or how much they help and support us? Do we thank them for it? May other things may seem insignificant as well. 

So, today and everyday, take notice of someone or something special in your life. Don't let the distractions around you take away your joy. Be grateful to God for the gift of His Son.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"                  John: 3:16 (NIV)

Let's not the abundance of God's gifts cause us to forget the Giver.

Happy Easter!

 

   

 

How to stay ahead of scammers .....Part 2

Several months ago I shared a few tips on Cyber security. So, here is part 2. 

We attended a one day "seminar" which was presented for seniors in our city. It was very informative. All of us are familiar with some of the scams, but the bad guys keep coming up with new ones all the time, and they are very convincing. One of the new scams that emerged in 2019, was cancer screening and cardiovascular genetic testing. They pretend to tell you that your doctor ordered the procedure and get medical information from you, then they bill medicare.They say is free to you. They send the bill to medicare for tests you may or may not have received. If Medicare doesnt pay, you may be responsible for thousands of dollars.  

There are four (4) signs that it's a SCAM

1. They pretend to be from an organization you know. They use a familiar name: social security, medicare, IRS, a bank and they sound very official. They also use the latest technology to change the phone number that appears on your phone, to make it look like they are calling from your bank. Someone we know, fell for this trick. The number on her phone appeared to be from her bank and she answered the call, giving the crook information she should not have given out. When she realized the scam, it was too late. Later she had to change all her account numbers on her credit cards, checking account and savings accounts..

 2. They say there is a problem or you have won a Prize. They may say you owe money, someone in your family has an emergency, or there is a virus on your computer. Some may say you won money, but you need to pay a Fee to get it.

3. They pressure you to act IMMEDIATELY. They don't want you to have time to think and they play on your emotions. They may threaten to arrest you or sue you, or take away your driver's license.

4. They ask you to pay in a specific way. Usually they ask you to pay with a gift card. They may send you a fake check and ask for you to deposit it and then send them more money. 

These are signs of scams and we all need to be vigilant and alert of their schemes so that we don't become their victims. Most of the callers are from other countries. Most scams, we were told, come from Russia, China, India and places like Jamaica. This is big business, and they are pros at what they do. 

BE AWARE!

To avoid being a target for these scumbags do a couple of things:

• Block unwanted numbers
• Don't answer the phone if you don't know who they are ( they can leave a message)
• Don't give out any personal or financial information. 
• Resist the pressure to act immediately
• Talk to someone you trust
• Report any suspicious activities to your financial institutions or the authorities

We are all vulnerable. Most people who have fallen for these scams, say that the person sounded very legitimate. These callers are well trained and know what to say to throw you off. Again, be careful and don't fall for their lies. Hope that this helped.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

   

We live in a chaotic world...

Three years ago, I wrote a blog about 36 ways to reduce stress in a chaotic world. Well, I think we live in such a world right now. Nothing seems to make sence and people are stressed to the max.. Stock market is up one day and down the next day, gas prices at the pump are going up and down, not to mention the prices for groceries. Violence, theft, lawlessness is everywhere. I feel so blessed and relieved not having school children. I pray for the parents. People attack you verbally or physically for no apparent reason or  you looked at them the wrong way, or unintentionally you addressed them the wrong way.

Well, you get the idea. Did I leave anything out? I am sure I did. The world seems to be upside down. What is good is considered bad, and what is bad and evil is considered good.

Revisit my blog, posted on October 30, 2018. It may be of some comfort to you.

36 ways to reduce stress in a chaotic way..

Have a great Day

Sad but True

Not too long ago, Franklin Graham gave a speach, where he said that "Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again". He said America will not comeback. The American dream has ended, he said. That is very sad. I don't think that is the case. Maybe there was a set back, but America will come back, although it will take time and perseverance. My father had a dream all his life to come to America, the land where dreams come true. Finally, when he was 59 years old we made it to America! He was so happy to be here at last, and he was very proud when he became an American citizen. He couldn't wait for that day...he studied and studied because he was determined to pass the citizenship test.

Much has changed since we arrived in 1970. One of the things that has changed is that we have become too "PC", politically correct.  Much of freedom of speech has disappeared. Unless you agree with certain agenda, you are called a racist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, you name it. While we were all busy watching TV, being on the Internet, on our cell phones and on "social media", we let many of our rights be taken away. My dad experienced first hand, Communism in his homeland, Albania, where he was born. He also experience riots in Istanbul, Turkey, in the early fifties, when his business was destroyed. That is why he wanted to come to America, the land of the free! What we have seen happening in tis country is not good. I saw a Korean young lady on TV. She escaped North Korea to come to America for freedom. Once she started college, she says it was appalling to see how our own universities are indoctrinating students with anti-American propaganda. She said she found it deeply troubling, to see the similarities with the country she fled from in search of "freedom." She realized that the PC culture has lost basic common sense, and she feared United State's future is as bleak as North Korea.  

WOW! That is alarming.

We are collapsing from within. No one has to fire a shot. We don't need outside interference. We have managed to destroy our country all on our own, and that is ashame.There are shootings in schools, grocery stores, theaters, churches and other places of worship.  How could we have done this to the most powerful and admired country in the world?  Have you noticed ? Many americans here hate this country, and yet they are still here. They threaten to leave, but where can they go to have it so good? Thousands and thousands have gotten in illegally, through our open borders. Why? Why would anybody want to risk their lives to come in if we are as bad as some claim us to be? Because where they are coming from is way worse. My family came in legally, and waited many  years in line. We went thru all kinds of vetting before being allowed to enter. I take offense when our government allows people to walk in and get the same priveledges as the ones who did it by the law! Hopefully this is changing with our new Administration in the White House. 

Of course one of the most tragic things that has happened over the years is that our society has embraced godlessnes and lawlessness. We have witnessed it in many major cities, where people rioted, looted, burned and destroyed businesses and other property and authorities let it happen. Again, with the right people in place maybe we can reverse some of the damage that has been done. 

God warns us NOT to embrace a lifestyle where "everyone is doing whatever is right in his own eyes" Deuteronomy 12:8. Moses warned the people to "be careful to obey all the words that God commands you, so that it may go well with you and with your children." Deuteronomy 12:28. Unfortunately, young people are no longer being taught some of these universal principles. If we choose to reject God's words, we have to be ready to reap the devastating consequences.

We are catering to the minority,  which by no fault of their own, are ignorant and have not been taught traditional views of family, morality and religion. A recent Gallup poll showed that less than half of americans belong to a religious group. The precentage fell from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020. This decline has happened in less than 20 years! That is amazing. If people don't get regular interaction, encouragement and instruction from God's word, the result is what we now see in our country and around the world! 

However, I am hopeful that things will be turning around soon and that we will again experience a positive change in our beloved country. The country that my family longed to come to for so many years. I am so thankful that my father persisted and never gave up. His persistence paid off and now we can experience freedom that he did not have for so many years! 

God bless