December 20, 2009 ❅

A Christmas Story & The power of Prayer

 

You could say we were prepared.......
1 awesome Toyota 4-wheel drive RAV4
1 mighty shovel
1 kitty litter bucket of cinder ashes
3 pair of back-up gloves to replace any wet ones
1 big tarp - enough bungee cords for an army
4 blankets
2 pillows
2 lap tops
2 charged cell phones
Reading materials
1 thermos of coffee
H2o
1 pack of chewing gum (secretly stashed)
 Homemade muffins
 Mom's sandtarts
 Granola bars
 Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate mini bars (plenty of those)
 Dried sweet cherries (sustenance for the hunger to come!) 
AND most importantly...God...

Yesterday, when Marty was driving home from JFK airport with Josh, Mary Anne, & me in the car, there were 20+mph winds making us dance the tango (minus the rose) all over the roads. SNOW ( something no-one wants - at least in my opinion) was falling at a rate of 1-2" per hour.

We will tell you that no-one slept a wink. We laughed. We were serious as the snow fell and the wind howled.  We silently prayed for safety. We felt Blessed!

We will also tell you that we felt even more Blessed because we know and believe God hears AND answers prayers!

This time prayers were answered in the form of 2 plow trucks plowing and salting in tandom right in front of us for miles! Break out the goodies :)

A 4 hour trip that takes 7 hours is a great adventure because we were safe and being watched over. TYJ. How can people live without HIM? Why would they want to?

Turn Around

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=urq8m_XBxzA~So Blessed......Just a mini-blog down memory lane......Amazing how our brains work.....NO rhyme or reason, but memories from years ago flooded my mind this afternoon on my way home from the college.  I was thinking of my Grandma Baskin and how, when I was a very young little girl,  she used to play the song Turn Around (shown above) on the piano; and sing this to me.  Her talking and singing voice was as loud as could be..seriously it really was. Ask my family! I fondly remember that I was always amazed at how she could  play the notes without looking at the keys, look right at me, smile, belt out the words in perfect pitch, and make me believe she wrote this for me.  She wanted to be an opera singer in her younger days.  Her soprano voice could be heard from "miles away."  In church she was known as the lead singer! She and Pap-Pap blended well - that is if you could hear him over Grandma!  (On a side note, I am thinking this "Baskin-loudness" was totally inherited and most likely genetic on my father's side of the family.)  She easily could have easily been an opera star. Hmm...maybe she really was in many ways. I encourage you to spend some time down a path that you may not always travel and recall a favorite memory.  I'm considering this to be a pleasant way to self-care <3 Enjoy the video and song and travel with me today.