Sigh...

I appreciate having a roof over our head(I really do).I even love our 658 square foot apartment.Though small it has many nice features.A ceiling fan for one thing.It also has a small patio out back and a laundry room within it's small walls which houses our second hand laundry set.I love not having to go to a laundromat.But one of the huge pitfalls we've discovered since living here for a year and a half is the neighbors.There many rude neighbors.Sad but true.People who are well old enough to know better have littered our front door area with their dropped cigarette butts;they have even dropped them from the floors above onto our daughter's head and left burn marks in the rug we use to wipe our feet before entering what should be our refuge.Then there are the neighbors just to the west of us who play their stereo so loud at all hours our bedroom walls vibrate with the sound of their"rap **ap."It would bother me if it was country or heavy metal as well.The point is not the type of music but the volume level at which they play it and the time frames.I do not think they work so it is not an issue of them getting off work and unwinding at 2 AM!But early this morning(sometime after 1 AM)really won the rudeness prize.I was awakened from a sound sleep to the sound of my husband having to shout(and shine a flashlight at 3 small children out in the night playing in the sprinklers just outside our bedroom window.They were all about 10-12 years old.No adults in sight and they were laughing and shouting and generally making a huge racket.He shouted more than once for them to go away and they finally did.Sadly in the time we have lived here I have had to e-mail the office's on-site management far more often than I felt I should have to.We have even had to call the police a few times.And then are the times we have close up all our windows on even nice days like today as the neighbors are all out smoking and I am coughing like crazy which annoys my husband.It's times like this I wish we were living our dream of life in the country away from neighbors of any kind.And in a place with enough land to grow some fruits and veggies.Nothing like apartment life with rude neighbors to turn us into a couple of misanthropes.:-)We both long to live in a place where all we hear at night is the sounds of crickets.Sounds nice,doesn't it?Makes me sigh with longing.Perhaps one day God will grant us the desires of our heart on this.:-)Until then I shall continue to be grateful I have a roof over my head.
Blessings~Sharon

So Funny

My husband and I(seen above on the day of my complete Mary Kay makeover given by daughter April)have been walking in the early morning hours(7 is early for Steve :-)).We both want to do what we can to lose weight and reduce the stress that comes from living life here on this earth.So we walk.Some days are good days and we walk with few breaks at all.Other days(not today ironically) we have to stop a few times(he has COPD and I have atrial fibrillation).One of the things I love about Steve is his joy in life and his well honed sense of humor.As we walked today and enjoyed the morning his humor was ever present.We had just walked past a vehicle that had some type of sticker on it.He said we should place it on our/my back.What did the sticker say you ask?This is priceless...It said"Caution!Makes frequent stops!I told you he was a funny guy.:-)It's one of the many reasons I married him and why we've been married for over 16 years.

Blessings~Sharon

Prayer Needed for My MIL Evelyn

My mother in law Evelyn was just diagnosed with skin cancer today.She is scheduled to have it removed on August 5th at 8:15 AM.She is 80 years old and I know would appreciate prayers on her behalf.Thank you all so very much.
Blessings~Sharon

Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day Fireworks

on barge in Willamette River

Portland,Oregon

Wishing each of you a wonderful day of celebration tomorrow as we celebrate our nation's freedom and independence.It's so much more than a day for feasting and fireworks although it is often celebrated in such a manner by most of us.:-)People fought and bled and died to gain us the freedoms we enjoy as a nation(no matter how often it seems they are being taken away we still enjoy more freedom,I think,than many nations around the globe).So have a blessed time tomorrow as you enjoy time spent with friends and family.And remember to be safe as you do.

Love and Blessings~Sharon

Wordless Poetry

There is something almost poetic about a clear summer sky above a canopy of green trees,isn't there?A sight very much like this arrested me and captured my eyes and made me smile in delight and wonder upon our walk through the complex very early this morning.It's medium is not words,but color,and texture and form,splashed around this part of our world,upon this planet we call earth.It caused praise to flow forth to the One who created such lovliness for us to enjoy.

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For the beauty of the earth, 
 for the glory of the skies, 
 for the love which from our birth 
 over and around us lies; 
 Lord of all, to thee we raise 
 this our hymn of grateful praise.

From the hymn

"For the Beauty of the Earth"

by Folliot S. Pierpoint

Blessings~Sharon

Prayer Needed for a Friend

Please keep my deasrest friend Susan in your prayers.I just found out this past weekend she had a stroke about a month ago.Her husband could not find her address book so that is why he did not call me.I had been thinking about her really strongly and so I called them and discovered what had happened.She and I met at work 20 years ago when I was single and in Sacramento.She and I became fast friends and kindred spirits.She knows Jesus so has a lot of people praying I am sure but extra prayer is always helpful.She is in a nursing home till September.She is 65 years old I think.She is slowly gaining strength and speech back.Thank you for praying this dear woman and friend of mine.

Blessings~Sharon

Oh Be Ye Glad

The following lyrics were going through my head as I awoke this morning from a sad dream involving my mother,who has been gone since January of 2001.In this dream I was doing whatever I could to avoid being near her in a large church.In reality much of my life was spent doing just that as I was weary of her ways.It was later on in life I discovered she had schizophrenia and probably had for much of my life.So much I did not understand as a child.So much pain and confusion and blank pages where there should have been a mother's love.I awoke from this dream saddened and somewhat riddled with guilt.Had I done enough for her in her later years?Had she felt my love and forgiveness on earth before being ushered into the presence of her Savior?And then came the lyrics of this song into my questioning mind and saddened heart.A whisper of His love to soothe this tumultuous soul.Thank You Jesus.
Blessings~Sharon

BE YE GLAD

Words and Music by M.K.Blanchard
© Gotz Music/Benson

In these days of confused situations.
In these nights of a restless remorse,
When the heart and the soul of the nation,
lay wounded and cold as a corpse.
From the grave of the innocent Adam,
comes a song bringing joy to the sad.
Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom,
has been paid up in full, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

Oh, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad,
Every debt that you ever had
Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,
Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

From the dungeon a rumor is stirring.
You have heard it again and again.
But this time the cell keys are turning,
and outside there are faces of friends.
And though your body lay weary from wasting,
and your eyes show the sorrow they've had.
Oh the love that your heart is now tasting
has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)

So be like lights on the rim of the water,
giving hope in a storm sea of night.
Be a refuge amidst the slaughter,
for these fugitives in their flight.
For you are timeless and part of a puzzle.
You are winsome and young as a lad.
And there is no disease or no struggle,
that can pull you from God, Be Ye Glad.

(Chorus)