It's that time of Year again..Won't you Give?

Hi Everyone,
I bet you thought I had left and was never coming back - NO! I have been so busy, still am, but I want my dear beloved friends, Tom, Becky and their two beautiful children to know I love them dearly and want to continue our wonderful friendship, even if we can't seem to meet up with each other in person. First of all, school has started back..Deep down I say YEA! but then again, it is time to get up every morning early, get my little granddaughter, Austin, ready to go to school and that itself is a whole day's work. She loves school, but doesn't sleep very well, so she doesn't like to wake up early in the mornings. You see she has sleep apnea and has so much trouble getting the quality and quanity of sleep a little girl needs. I pray each night that God will see me and her through each day, and so far he has kept his word. It's hard, but we know that she must go to school, and since she's just a little kid, she must have someone to guide her throught these early learning years. She thinks she is the only kid that has gone to school and had homework. That is a book by itself. She absolutly hates homework. Matter of fact, she doesn't like to do her work in the classroom. Her report card reflected it this year. She has been making the honor roll for every reporting period the last two years of school, and this first year in 2nd grade, she just got average work. It's not because she doesn't know the work, it is because she won't do it in class. She lags behind so the other kids resent her too. Oh what can we do to help her get motivated? I know, we've offered her several different items. Now we have a tin can with 7 things inside on slips of paper and when she's earned two days of good behavior she gets to pick one of the slips of paper and gets whatever treat is written on it. It goes from making cookies with me to earning $3.00! So I have a feeling that is what she's looking to earn, money. you know kids these days, they love money and to spend it. I love to spend it too, but you have to make it first in order to spend. Children, it's funny how they always think their parents are the number one Bank in town, isn't it? No matter what, your child always thinks that their parents can afford everything, just like all the other parents do. My granddaughter, Austin, always tells me, Nanny, you have that card put it in the machine to get money. She is speaking of the ATM Debit card of course. She knows if I write a check, it's money, but she has no idea that you can run out of money in the "real" bank. She thinks that there is a real money tree some place in this whole wide world. Oh the dreams of sugar plums and fairies we had as children. Remember way back when? I know, you're probably not that old yourselves..But let me tell you, I'm 57 yrs. old and I know that you can have all the dreams you want, just close your eyes and leave it up to the Lord. He will always lead you in the right direction. I trust my Lord to do just that. Without him in my life, I don't know what I would do. He is there to guide me and help me along the way to raise my wonderful granddaughter, no matter what. He doesn't care what I look like in the mornigs, what I wear, how much money I have, He just wants us to LOVE HIM no matter what. He will take care of the rest. I teach my children in children's church that no matter what, Jesus will always be there for them. He guides them each day and is always there to list to them. We can say a little pray that He will guide all the little children today, and let them all be safe within His reach.
I want to tell you that today, make a list of things you really want to accomplish. Try it. I know it will be hard to do, but if you can even list one thing to do today, try your very best to do just that one thing. If it's saying a prayer to our dear Lord, do it. Show yourself you can accomplish something, even if it is just one simple little prayer. Prayer will take you far, I know. I've had some rough times, some bad illnesses, and without prayer, I probably wouldn't be here today. It's going on 11 years of being breast cancer free. I'm so very thankful for that. My mother passed away at the age of 67 from breast cancer. My father died at the age of 58 with cancer and he had a massive heart attack. So I've love both my parents to a dreadful disease. I have a sister that has beat the odds too with breast cancer. She only had a lumpectomy, like I did, but that ws it for her. She didn't have to have any radiation, nor chemo. I had 5 1/2 weeks of radiation but no chemo. I'm so thankful for that. I can't tell you all how wonderful it is to be in the Lord's world today, raising my granddaughter. Even thought I complain a lot about her, I still wouldn't change it for the world. I think it is a matter of both of us needing each other.
Dear Lord, Please take care of all the children in the world today and every day. Take care of all the people that need help and the ones that won't admit they need help. Everyone needs you today Lord. Not one person on this earth can say that they have the perfect life, if they don't have YOU in their lives. Take care of our soliders over seas too. They are giving their lives for us to have freedom here in the USA. Their families are missing them during the holiday time. While we are enjoying the freedom that America has given each one of us, there is always a price to pay for it. These young women and men pay it with their own lives each day that goes by. Just like you Lord, they fight for a reason that they believe in. They see that this dreadful country has a need and hopefully they are there for the children of that country too. Amen.
Don't you feel like you've already accomplished something?
Also my church, Christ Community Church United Methodist is collecting items to put in our Operation Christmas Child - Shoe box project. My children's church class started collecting all sorts of shoe boxes and now we're asking people to go online to the website, Operation Christmas Child-Shoe Box project with the Samaritans Purse Organization and give what they can. There are so many things you can do, and this little project is just one of the small ways you can give each year to a child and know that it is greatly appreciated. If you'd like to donate items or money, you can either drop them off or mail them to our Church's address:
Christ Community Church United Methodist, 2130 S. Webb Rd. Wichita, KS 67207. Our phone number is: 316-689-8361. The website is: cccum.org. My children's church classroom are the ones that has started this wonderful project this year. We're looking for all sorts of things to fill each and every one of the many many shoe boxes we've gathered. Like I said, if you'd like to donate items or money, please feel free to do so, as it is for the children. With the cash, as it cost $7.00 to ship each and every shoe box, this is what it buys; a Bible in that child's language, more religious matherials, then the people at the wear house that load up the shoe boxes to ship, puts these precious items in each shoe box, then what is left over will be enough to ship the box to the country it is intened for. Our new pastor for our wonderful little church is Pastor Harry Christian. The church's website is: www.cccum.org . You can go there and read up what we're doing and while you're at it, stop by and see me! Just remember, I'm the one that is under the pile of shoe boxes trying to get them filled for the children that are really looking forward to hearing about Christ and know that maybe, just maybe, there will be a new toy or even shoes in the shoe boxes they will be receiving from this wonderful organization, OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD - SHOE BOX, SAMARITANS PURSE ORGANIZATION.
GET INVOLVED THIS YEAR! http://master.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/
We are taking donations up until 8 November. This will give us time to get the items, wrap the boxes and take them down to our local collection location. If you'd like to make up your own box, you can do so, just do not wrap it closed. You must leave the box so the people can get into it to place the Bible and other items in it when they get it to the shipping depot. Thank you all ahead of time. It will be greatly appreciated I know.