Yes, I Am Still Here...

Yes, I am still here... I know it's a been a while since I last posted anything. If you are a Facebook friend, you know that I've been a bit "under the weather", and not just Hurricane Dorian weather, which, praise God, did not do us any harm at all...but now we must focus our prayers on those living in its track up the Ga., S.C., N.C. coasts, and especially pray for the folks in the Bahamas. What a horrible tragedy for them.  Here in Florida we were protected by what I would consider a true miracle of God, holding that storm just enough off shore to keep it from doing any serious damage to our state. We want to thank the Lord and give Him praise for sparing us.

I am still in the throes of unpacking, and at the current rate I'm going, I'm hoping to be unpacked in time for Christmas...but even that is questionable.  I look around and when I consider all of the things that are still waiting to be opened and put into proper places, I just want to go outside and sit on the deck and forget about it...

This was our view last evening after the hurricane had passed by, leaving us with a gorgeous sunset and balmy breeze.

Our "kids" came over and joined us for pizza on the deck...a no stress way to end the day.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about "An Interesting Coincidence?" HERE...

Well, here is my real front door after being painted...and actually we hired some guys to paint our door and shutters... They gave us such a good deal that we couldn't refuse. If it had been left up to us to get it painted, again it would probably be Christmas before we got it done, if then...

They did a great job and I didn't have to sweat a drop...

We are also happy to get our flag put out in time for Labor Day, but then the hurricane came and we had to take it back inside...

But hopefully we won't be getting anymore storms for a while, and we can wave our flag proudly and begin to settle in and enjoy our home.

Some of you have wondered if I will have a place for The Secret Garden here at our new home.  Well, the special bench made it,

and this is the view from its current vantage point:

I may still move it to a little more secluded spot but am waiting for cooler weather to clear that area out a little more to make it more appealing for sitting and praying, reading, meditating on God's Word. So for now this is better and not as "buggy".  When you live in Florida that is always a consideration when sitting outside, especially in summer.

We have already "christened" our house with the first birthday party for our oldest son. 

His sweet wife helped make our dinner of lasagna and also made the delicious cupcakes for his cake.  We are enjoying having them live about a mile away from us...such a blessing to have family near.

We are still using paper and plastic products, but we did dress up the table with candles for dinner! Took a few minutes to find them and the candleholders, but it was worth the search.

As you can see in this picture below, there are still many boxes stacked up in the kitchen waiting to be unpacked. That was last week, and it still doesn't look much better. As I said earlier, I've been a bit under the weather, and had to be put on benadryl 4x a day to counteract an allergic reaction I had to a strong antibiotic.  So I'm taking lots of naps in between opening boxes...and I am basically just very tired. God apparently wants me to rest, and so I am doing just that.

Today is the first day I didn't have to take the benadryl, and so little by little I hope to regain my energy.  Maybe we'll get unpacked before Christmas after all.

Meanwhile, hubby has been busy trying to get his shed/workshop in order. That is another big project, and when it is so hot outside it is hard to spend much time in there.

But our son helped him build a workbench, and that will be a good start. Next we need some good strong shelves to hold a lot of storage items,  but that will come. One thing at a time.

I haven't really taken any pictures of the inside of the house yet because I am still unpacking and rearranging things a little at a time. That will have to be a post for the future.

This is where I am sitting right now, writing to you. I love my little desk area, 

And especially love this little lamp with a bear roasting his marshmallows over a campfire, while the owls watch from the tree and a squirrel begs for a marshmallow down on the ground...

I also love that the scene on the lampshade is of a pond...

I also love that my little office/den is a room with a view...

I am hoping this will become an inspirational place to write and pray and connect with you dear friends.

See? I haven't forgotten you. I've just been a bit busy. I've tried to catch up with you on your blogs and/or Facebook, but I know I am way behind.  Please don't think I've gone away...I will be back...just having to take my time and prioritize what I do each day...

Praying that you are all safe and healthy and doing well. I know many have been through some difficult times, and others are rejoicing over good news in their lives.  We are all  connected to one another as sisters in the Lord (many of us)...and if you don't feel that you truly understand what that means, please feel free to ask...we'd love to introduce you to the "family".  

This is where I am at this point:

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God."  

Job 37:14

The Lord has done so many wondrous works in our lives here lately, that I just have to praise Him and give Him the glory for the great things He has done. I hope that is your testimony as well...when we stop to count our blessings and look around in awe at what God has done...how can we not praise Him?

Okay, I'm feeling the effects of the benadryl still in my system, and it is time for beddie-bye.

So good night dear friends.  Sleep Tight...and don't let the bed bugs bite.  :)

Update on the New House Saga

Good Evening everyone! It has been such a busy week already, and it's only Tuesday! Praying I can survive until Saturday, when we officially move into our "new to us" home, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise"...Keep praying for no rain! Thank you!

My Facebook friends already saw our back deck pictures last night, but since many of you are not on Facebook, here you go:

Here we are, our first "selfie" from the new back deck overlooking the pond:

Some of view from the deck:

Our kids stopped by and took our picture:

And then we took their picture!  The beautiful thing about our new home is that it is only about one mile from our kids! What a blessing that is already proving to be!!

So here is the deck as the workers are finishing it up today:

Yes, it is big enough to have a party! Can't wait to have a barbeque on the deck!

And then, to top off all the great news of this week, something else new has arrived:

 Since our house does not have a garage or any other kind of outdoor storage or even an attic, we knew we would need a shed to store our tools and other outside equipment...Hubby is quite excited and ready to start filling it up with all his stuff...no, this will not be a "she-shed"...(I wish), but I have been promised some space to store some things like Christmas decorations, etc., provided he doesn't do a lot of woodworking in there creating lots of sawdust, etc.  So we shall see how this works out...

So here's our selfie in front of the shed:

I am wearing my painting clothes as I was busily painting inside the house when the shed arrived...but I was very happy to take this little break for all the excitement!

This picture below is when the shed was being placed and leveled.  So exciting!

So little by little our home is coming together. I still have some painting to do outside and inside...the door and shutters will get a fresh coat of paint soon, but that will have to wait until after we've moved in now. I think I need to concentrate on getting the inside settled so we can live in it first. Unless there are some volunteers who would like to donate some time to do some painting???

I was so pleased yesterday that one of our neighbors came over to meet us while we were there working. She is also new to the neighborhood, and I think she was just checking us out to see what kind of neighbors we were going to be. Of course, I was in my oldest paint covered clothes and looked a fright, but we had a wonderful conversation and I think we will enjoy being neighbors.  A couple of days before that I met another lovely lady across the street, and found out we have mutual acquaintances in the community and church.  She also seemed delighted that we were moving into the neighborhood. Our house has been vacant for a long time, and it seems that we are quite the curiosity to everyone passing by as they are watching our progress on the house and hopefully they are happy to see that an empty house that was becoming a temptation for vandals is now becoming a lively hub of happy activity.  We pray that God will bless our home and that we will be a lighthouse along the shore for those who may need some hope and encouragement.

Speaking of prayer...many of us in blogland know our dear friend Sylvia at A Grandma's Blessings.  Early this morning Sylvia's husband Curtis passed away after a long battle with respiratory issues.  Please lift up Sylvia and her family in prayer, and perhaps send words of love and encouragement her way as you can.  She has been one of our sweetest friends here, and I know she would appreciate our thoughts and prayers.

Psalm 86:6-12

"Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

All nations whom You have made 

shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

For You are great, and do wondrous things;

You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

Unite my heart to fear Your name.

I will praise You, O Lord my God,

with all my heart.

And I will glorify Your name forevermore."

An Interesting "Coincidence"?

As Christians we know there is no such thing as a "coincidence". However this morning, when my hubby was getting ready to post the daily devotional posts on his website, https://simposious.com/ , he clicked on this site, Desiring God.org,  and the following is what popped up:

"God Chose This Home for You"

Article by 

Marshall Segal

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

Your address is not a coincidence.

Where you live — house, townhome, duplex, apartment, or dorm — is not ultimately a consequence of your budget, your stage of life, or your commute. You live where you live because God has deliberately, sovereignly placed you here. The long series of events, decisions, and circumstances that led you here really did lead you here. He brought you home one detail at a time.

The God who made the world, and everything in it, as Paul preached at Mars Hill, “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26–27).

God not only knit you together in your mother’s womb; he also sovereignly orchestrated all the places you would call home — the periods and boundaries of your “dwelling place.” You do not have a home by accident. Your home is an invitation from God to seek God, and a commission from God to help others seek God."

________________________________________________________________________

That was just the first section of the article, but what caught his eye, and he had to call my attention to it immediately, was the door...because that is almost exactly the same color that we are going to be painting the front door (and shutters) on our new house that we are in the process of moving into this very week! And then as we went on to read the article written by Marshal Segal for Desiring God.org, it was as if God was giving us a specific message about our very own new home.  I especially love the last statement quoted above, "You do not have a home by accident. Your home is an invitation from God to seek God, and a commission from God to help others seek God."

Yes, Lord, this is how we feel about our new home, and this little message today confirms exactly what we've been feeling, right down to the same color for the front door! No, there are NO coincidences with God. He perfectly orchestrates our lives so that we may be better servants in His Kingdom here on earth. We know that He is ultimately preparing us for our heavenly home, but He wants us to help others get ready for that eternal dwelling as well.  If our new home here on earth can be a place where we encourage and assist others in their personal walk with the Lord, then we will have accomplished our mission for this current place. Praise God!  And Thank You, Lord, for this sweet confirmation today.  

Now I must get dressed and get going as we have a lot happening at our new house today in preparation for our big move coming up this weekend. Please pray for us this week, and especially pray that it doesn't rain on Saturday! The forecast is looking wet all week, so we need those extra prayers!

Meanwhile, over weekend, in addition to celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with family, work was being done on the property along the shore of the little pond so that we could have a better view from our back deck (which is being built today!)  Here are a few pictures:  (It was actually raining while this fellow was working, but that didn't stop him. However the pictures are not as clear due to the rain).

I will have to do another post about our party later. If you are a facebook friend you have already seen them, but I will try to get caught up a little later. Gotta run!  But, please think how God may be using you in your particular home to serve Him right now, wherever you are!!! It can change the way you view your house, be it ever so humble...God wants to dwell there with you!!!!

Have a blessed day my friends!!

A Happy Institution...or "The Funny Farm"? Updated for Our 50th Anniversary

Updated for our 50th Anniversary - Today! August 16, 2019

Marriage, An Honorable Institution...or "The Funny Farm"?

(This was originally written on 8/16/2011, but has been edited for our 50th Anniversary. 

The message is timeless)

Today is our 42nd  50th Anniversary!  Can you imagine? In this day and age, a couple who have actually been married to each other for 42  50 years?  Yeah, sometimes I wonder about that myself!  How did we do it?  You may be asking..."Has it all been perfect wedded bliss?"  Well, what do YOU think?  Anyone who knows me very well knows that most likely it has not been all perfectly lovely all the time.  I will be the first to admit it that I've not always been sweet and charming and obedient and submissive and all that stuff...but, on the other hand, I can honestly say that even when I wasn't all sweet and lovely and blah blah blah, and even when my husband wasn't always perfectly wonderful and full of wisdom and always doing the right thing...even when we were absolutely acting like two crazy human beings...we somehow always found a way to love each other...in spite of the mistakes and arguments and disagreements and disappointments and trials and tribulations and heartaches and fears and sorrows and betrayals and ....well the list could go on and on. Why?  Because I don't believe it is humanly possible for any two human beings to live together in perfect harmony for forty two  fifty years without having some times of hurt and pain and disappointment, and doubts and fears.  It just isn't possible...and if you say to me that you've been married that long and have never had a disagreement or disappointment or have ever had to say, "I'm sorry...", well, I would truly question your humanity!  I would seriously doubt you were for real!  I would think that perhaps someone is fooling someone somewhere 'cause it just "ain't possible!" 

The thing that I love most about our marriage is the fact that in spite of all the heartaches and disappointments and moves (and we are in the middle of a major move right now as I write this today, Aug. 16, 2019) (more moves than I care to number), and frustrations and embarrassments and all the other trials and tribulations...we can still laugh...we can still love...we can still say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me...and "Yes, I forgive you..."  We can still lay our heads down on our pillows at night and no matter how awful the day has been...how angry we might have been, how tired we might be...we have always tried to live up to the one vow we took very seriously in the beginning...

"Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil!"  Ephesians 4:26

If I could give one piece of advice to any newly married couple it would be exactly that verse...if more couples could heed the wisdom of that one verse and practice it in their homes, how many marriages and homes could have been saved?  I know there are always exceptions and people who are just downright evil and mean and cruel...so I cannot give this advice to someone who has been trapped in an abusive situation...but to the normal everyday couple...if they would just try to practice this advice...kiss and make-up before your eyes shut for the night...even if you have to settle the issue the next day...at least agree to love one another in peace and let God bring needed rest and healing to your hearts throughout the night.  It is amazing how much clearer and better your thoughts are in the morning. 

I am not some "Pollyanna" who thinks just wishing and thinking good thoughts can make it so...but I do believe in the power of love and prayer.  Commit your way to the Lord...give your heartaches to Him each night...even if your spouse refuses to agree or change...YOU do your part!  Don't give way to stubbornness...for stubbornness gives way to unforgiveness and hard-heartedness.  Give God a chance to work in YOUR heart and mind first...and then see if He doesn't do something about your spouse's mind and heart as well!  Try it...pray about it...and see what God can do.

Yes, our marriage has been a real "institution"....sometimes a "funny farm", sometimes a war-zone, sometimes a place where angels fear to tread...but underneath it all,

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms..." Deuteronomy 33:27

That's the only secret to success in marriage I can offer...Make God your refuge...and rest in His everlasting arms...and no matter what befalls you...you will have a safe resting place...no matter what.



Mr. and Mrs. John F. Steiner
August 16, 1969 -The Honorable Institution of Marriage...

John and Pam Steiner  - 42 years later  ..."The Funny Farm" 



And today...50 years later!

Good Night, Sleep tight...and don't let the bedbugs bite!!

New House Saga Update

If you follow me on Facebook, you've been keeping up with the progress on our new house.  But if not, maybe I should take a few moments to record the week's activities so far...for my own record as well as for your entertainment. ...

The good news is on this past Monday we finally closed on our "new to us" house...

Here we are with our sweet real estate agent, Miss "Libby". (She is the agent who helped us buy our house).   I've teased her several times by singing the old commercial jingle: "If it says Libby's, Libby's, Libby's on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it, on your table,  table, table...It says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label label label"...
Thankfully she has a good sense of humor and is such a sweetheart to work with. She put up with all of my "I want to see this house even if we can't buy it until we sell our house" requests over the past year...and her patience finally paid off! On Monday she was happily sitting down with us as we signed our life away and became a member of the "Thirty Year Club" again, as the Closing Agent dubbed us.   Lord willing, our new house will be paid off in the year 2049...and I'll only be 99 years old! Isn't life grand?

So immediately following the closing we began the work list of things to do to get the house ready to move into.  The list is lengthy and involves a lot of hard work (and more money), but thankfully God has provided us with some good workers who do odd jobs and are great at helping folks like us who don't have a lot of "fixer upper" type skills...and they come reasonably priced, all things considered.

I teased our #1 son when he heard the list of things we are having done that we are spending all of his inheritance now so he won't have to worry about it in the future...I think he was just as glad that we weren't asking him to do all of these jobs since he has plenty to do on his own list...(did you see that our kids' business, "Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop" got a new workshop shed last week? Here's a link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BenandRosesCountryWoodshop/ where you can check out their products and projects. Here's Ben with their brand new shed workshop that will greatly help them expand their business:

God is so good...and He is blessing them in so many wonderful ways! We are so proud and happy for them. And we are very thankful to the Lord for making this all possible.

So back to the house story:

I told everyone on Facebook that one of my first chores was to clean the three toilets and bathrooms and install new toilet seats on the toilets.  Yes, we have three bathrooms...two of them are in our master bedroom! I've never seen two separate bathrooms in a master bedroom before,  but this one comes that way. We have  "his and hers" bathrooms...one comes equipped with a nice shower, and the other one comes with a nice garden tub. Guess which one I picked?  If you said the garden tub, you are right, however, I will be taking a shower in the other bathroom most of the time anyway...so it really doesn't work out like it was planned... But anyway...after I worked for several hours toiling away cleaning each bathroom and installing the new seats...hubby decided to try out one of the seats...and quickly exclaimed that "this seat is too small!"   And yes, I had to agree...they were the tiny little low, round "toidies" that seem better suited for a child than a 6'3" male senior citizen...or even a 5'7" female senior citizen...and so, while our erstwhile fixer upper workers were there replacing our front deck, hubby requested that they help us replace the three little potties with three taller, longer potties that are also more water efficient...especially since we are now paying for city water instead of having our own well.  I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of my nicely cleaned tiny commodes before they were removed and thrown on the dump heap (not much market for used toilets)...but I did get pictures of the nice new ones that were installed today...wanna see?  I know, this is fully of "potty talk", but I do think it's important, don't you? I mean, this is something that everyone needs and uses sooner or later...(hopefully sooner rather than too late...Ha Ha)

 Yes, I know that all three bathrooms have the same "lovely" wall paper...remember this is a manufactured home, and they do things like that...and yes, eventually I intend to paint over this lovely wallpaper, but for now I have decided to live with it.  It's not as bad as it looks in these pictures...and with the right colors of accessories, towels, etc., it will be just fine...but don't you love my new potties?

Okay, it is time to change the subject.  I mentioned that we were replacing the front deck.  Some of the wood was still good enough to use, but that which wasn't was replaced with new pressure treated lumber that should last a long time.

It is my intention to stain or paint the deck in about 30 days, as you have to wait for pressure treated lumber to "dry out" before you can put any kind of stain or paint on it.  So here are some pictures of the work in progress and then the finished product after the whole exterior of the house was pressure washed today:

Before:

During reconstruction:

After:

 We will also be painting the new frame around the front door when it is "dried out" and will also be removing/relocating the chain link fence that is in  front of the deck. In addition we will be repainting the shutters and front door with a fresh new coat of paint that is similar in color to this, but with a little more "pop" of color to brighten it up. These shutters are faded and some of the paint is coming off in places, so they need a fresh paint job...

Meanwhile, inside, we have been busy taping, prepping and getting ready to paint the "lovely" border

that goes all the way around the living room and master bedroom...here's hubby resting after working hard to tape all around the edges, etc.:

And here's how it looks after my whole day was spent today using primer to get the walls ready for paint.  We are going to paint the bottom half of the wall (including the border) with a creamy white that will give some contrast to the upper wall and hopefully will look like wainscoting when we are done.  I think we still need another coat of primer over the border before we paint...but these two rooms took all day just doing this much, so we shall see how much more primer we will do...

Of course several people have already told me that once I get all my furniture in this house you won't be able to see the walls anyway...so why work so hard??? Well, I know what is there, and I know what I want...so we will keep on working...

So thus far this is what has been done. We hope to get the painting done this week,  and then next week we have other projects planned, but you will have to wait and see.  Meanwhile we will be taking a couple of days off from our labors to celebrate our 50th anniversary this weekend.

Here we are fifty years ago August 16, 1969   "I now introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. John Steiner"

Stay tuned for further developments in all of these activities!

Psalm 66: 1-3, 10, 12

1.  "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

2.  Sing out the honor of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

3.  Say to God,

How awesome are Your works!"

10.  "For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined....

12.  "...but You brought us out to rich fulfillment."