Yipee!!! David is on his way back to the USA. Have you any idea how much I missed him? We talk daily on the phone, often more than once. The inability to do that made it much worse, like when you are fasting and you feel like you are starving but on a day when you weren't fasting you might skip a meal anyway.

David was able to call us 3 times. He called us very late Thursday night. He sounded exhausted. He was guarding a bodega where the tools are stored. Remember my mentioning that Bro. Ritchi lost all his tools because of theft. One thing interesting, in an icky way...he was telling us about the dogs down there. They travel in packs and are pretty much wild, and that they were eating at the horses legs. Ewww. And iguanas are everywhere, and the people eat them, alot. For photos of the work visit http://childrenslighthouse.blogspot.com/

We sat up late watching movies last night. It was fun and something we rarely do.

My shoulder and neck are feeling much better than last Sat. Still achey. However, I feel like if I don't get back to doing more than cooking, school, and email bits and pieces, I will go insane. I cannot stand to sit around and do nothing for very long. Maybe all those old movies where the Mom or Gramma says "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" have affected me. But if you think about it, the saying is true.

In one sermon Bob was recording the preacher was saying that the trouble with young people, teens in particular (1970-1990) **IMO this includes college age and singles these days** they don't have enough to do. Back in the era before the 50s 60s, farming was a huge occupation. The family farm was kept running by the family who owned it. This included the children. Chores were done before and after school. In the busy season of planting to harvest, sun up to sun down, people were doing something and had very little free time for "recreational activities" and sports were frowned on, though of as for the well to do only. By the end of the day, even being given permission to go to town meant nothing really, they were simply too tired, wanting only to rest and sleep. Into the next decade children were still choring, even city children. They did housework, yardwork, had paper routes, etc. Which kept them out of trouble moreso than the idle children of the weathly folks or the spoiled brat everyone knows about.

With ERA, rampant divorce, free *love* (fornication, adultery, homosexuality) the family and home began a downward slide. Gender roles started to blur. Children of unwed mothers gradually became typical, and is not accepted. Children have become the ones who lead their parents. Parents answer to the childrens wants, not just needs. Parents want to be a friend to their child. To be their friend they have to be nice, and give in, and please the child, which means letting them do what they want, when they want, if they want, and all the work falls on Mom, or Dad, or both. These parents are failures ad parents because they are not preparin their children for life in the real world. Why do you think college campuses and college towns all over America have trouble with drinking, drugs, parties, etc with 18,19,20 yr. olds causing trouble? 10-20 yrs. ago most of them would have been married and working, raising a family. Today they are still being babies with parents too foolish to pay for their parties. Is it any wonder that so many moms and dads can't wait for their children to turn 18 and leave home. They are so selfish, lazy, whiney, and rude they can't stand to live with them. It's easier to pay for them to party at college/university than it is to have them nearby. If these young people had to pay for their education themselves; if they had jobs, responsibilities, accountability to someone, they wouldn't be causing mayhem and unrest.
We were shocked when the Steelers won the superbowl that mobs were roaming the streets of Pittsburg setting fires, overturning cars. Imagine if they lost? Yikes.
I'm really on a roll lately....see I am very opinionated and judgmental. That is why people are hard on me...reap what you sow right.

I didnt plan to write so much, or ramble on...I planned to pop in for a few minutes to visit with you. Guess I did visit...did I overstay my welcome?

Ok dear girls--take no offense please bcz inside I am still very much a young girl--I must take my leave for today, and get to my list of put off tasks, most of which is sewing. Don't cry for me though, I do love to sew. And as I sew I commune with the LORD, work things out with Him, pray etc...plus the end result gives me alot of satisfaction and sense of purpose.

If I don't pop back in later today, I pray that you will all have a wonderful weekend, and that the LORD will speak to you, and use you, and make and mold you as He sees fit. This is my own prayer for myself and family.

Love you all,Terry at home in PA

Because of recent abductions in daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation... This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children,
everyone you know.
After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do : The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it . As soon as the car crashes bail out and run.. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat
B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side.. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8.. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point:
Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.


Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ---- This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America 's Most Wanted when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better to be safe than sorry.. Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or love one's life.

Are you ever surprised when you wake up and realize that it is Thursday, ALREADY?! I am.

An usual thing has happened to me in the last few years, time is speeding up. My gramma use to say that at you get older time goes faster. Now I KNOW what she meant. Months seem like days... February will be over in 2 days!!!!!

Over the last few days, I have heard snippets of sermons that Bob is digitizing and more than one has hit on the "time factor" from the perspective of redeeming the time. How do you redeem time? We hear loads of sermons on doing things "now is the time", and preaching on "what is your life? it is even a vapour..." All of us have heard these sermons, perhaps to the point that we just want them lighten up.

Redeem means to buy back. But how do you buy back something that can't be bought or sold?

I don't know what the preachers said, but this is just a few ways we can redeem the time, in my humble opinion, for what it is worth.

Do what you can, when you can. If you can help someone today, do it. Proverbs has a verse about that. No-one knows that consequences of a kind word, or gesture. Now think of that in reverse.

Make the most of the time you have, in other words, don't waste time. That doesn't mean we should skip sleep, stop taking vacations, never play a game or sit around resting, or fellowshipping(that is a ministry too).
Jesus told the disciples to rest. The Bible has a lot of verses that tell us to be still, to rest. We are not good for anything if we are overly tired. I think a lot of folks are going to be surprised at the Judgement Seat when their pile of deeds is billowing smoke black as night, to reveal a teeny pile of crowns, and some of those people who appear to do nothing will be receiving mountains of crowns. Maybe it was the difference between motives, or pride-to be seen of men. Some people can't stand to be doing the hidden work of God. They have to be out there in the front, up front, so everyone can see. But the hidden man of the heart is going to be judged, and who we really are will be revealed. Will we have to be ashamed? Many parts of a car engine are hidden, but does that make it any less vital? If that hidden part breaks, doesn't it need to be repaired? Is the bolt of the battery any less necessary than the tires? Without either functioning properly the car is hindered.

The body of Christ, comprised of all Believers, needs the little freckles on the pinkie toe, just as much as the beautiful curly hair of the head, or the genius brain, and pounding heart. All are part of the body, and have a function. Most of us would prefer to see the curly hair vs. the heart or brain. A broken tooth affects the body.
We need to be less hard on the bretheren who stray, in the sense that they need to be restored. Surgery, a cast, or therapy might be needed to get them back to health and full working order, but how will they even be willing to allow that if we kick them when they are down. Reach out an try to lift them up, try to help. Then if they slap your hand away, it is on them.

My mind is wandering a bit now...again the thinking of my brain has been fuzzy of late with the pain meds i am on....

Redeem the time....don't dwell on the past...sin or not...what was done or not done. Move forward today, do what you can today. This moment is all you are certain to have. Tomorrow might not come for you, or me.... tomorrow might be the day eternity begins.

Redeem the time by putting all the effort that once you put into vice, or your occupation, and put that effort into serving the LORD, doing His work. As wives and mothers, our best efforts in serving the LORD and doing His work is to love and serve our husband, and our children. To pray for them, feed them. Make a nice home for them. Provide clean clothes and sweet scented sheets, and peaceful place to rest. THEN once we accomplish all that, you might be able to go out of the home and reach forth you hands. Or you can train your children to do that with you, by your side. Go to the needy family with a bag of groceries or clothes for a new baby, and let them carry the sack, or hand it over. Let them learn by doing. Let them begin at a young age to redeem the time. Their days, like ours are numbered.

Redeem the time by reaching out to sisters in the LORD who don't have a godly husband, who are lonely, who are tired, who are sickly, who are weak....they need you! They are your ministry. It takes only a few moments to address a card and mail it. The message contained therein isnt the big thing, it is the TIME you gave the time you REDEEMED, that means so much. Have you ever gotten the mail on a bad day and had your frown turned upside down because someone sent you a note, card or letter???? Remember how you felt??? You can make someone feel that way too.

Redeem the time....don't leave unsaid, unwritten or undone what you feel led of the LORD to say or do today. And a side-note here...many times the Holy Spirit tells us to do or say or write to _______ and we ignore him, we put it off,...we are too busy to stop. I contend ladies that much of our busyness is of our own doing, mismanaging our time (Guilty! myself) and is a tool of the devil to keep us from doing as the Holy Spirit bids us to.

I love you ladies, all of you, and pray that all of us will take stock of our life and redeem the time, for it is short.